POSSIBILITIES

Things are changing around here...and I don't mean just the weather.

It's changing, alright. See, I live in Cleveland, where March has slightly bipolar and mildly schizophrenic tendencies. For example, today is 71 degrees and sunny. And Saturday, for the big Saint Patty's Day Parade downtown? Calling for 31 and snow.

I'm used to it. I like to think it makes me a hardy soul.

Anyway, my life is changing dramatically--fast. In some ways, I am absolutely in awe of what's transpiring. In others, I'm petrified beyond words. But I'm growing, and that's always a good thing.

I see so much potential in so many things right now. Maybe it's because I'm getting into what my students call "the good stuff" in our history classes...things they love to study, like World War II in World History and the 1960s in US History. And every year, I'm always amazed at how much fascination they have for these tumultuous, troubling times.

Potential is a beautiful thing. Potential is hearing a student today who is rather marginalized by his class and other teachers--who’s constantly sent down to the office (sometimes by me!) and getting into trouble--ask me how I became a history teacher because he really wants to do that. Potential...in the most serendipitous places. It’s what keeps me going sometimes.

Potential is looking at these wheels and doing the research on how a good set of wheels can save you up to 10% of your ride time. Now, don't get me wrong--I am definitely a firm believer that the engine is the most important thing. Put me on Lance, Floyd, or Michellie's bike and I'm still going to get dropped. But I look at my bike and I think potential. For me, it's the discipline with the possibility of the greatest improvement. I've worked on my engine a lot the past few years, from my first MS 150 all the way to Ironman Wisconsin, and while I still have miles and miles to go before I think of myself as a cyclist, I love that it challenges me. I love that it makes me frustrated at times, that it doesn't come easily to me...that some of the most troublesome rides I've had have taught me the most about myself.

So I look at these wheels and look at these legs, and think, "Man...we've got some work to do, but we're gonna have some fun, aren't we?"

I know that I can't possibly predict what my future holds at the moment. And this is something I'm gradually getting used to...which has been a bit hard for this Type-A triathlete girl who lives by her race schedule and puts her workouts into her PDA. And it is this, I think, which will make this year very hard. I feel a little out of control--kind of like when you're 3 or 4 years old and you figure out how to make yourself dizzy. It's fun, but soon it's a little scary because you realize it's out of your hands.

There's a great deal of potential in me. More so now, than ever. Not just on my bike, and not just in my classroom.

It's a little scary, but it's going to be pretty damn exciting to see how it all unfolds.