Straight to the top

Here it is. 

The post you've all been waiting for. 

My second half marathon.

Aka 'the one where I almost died'

or

'the worst and hilliest course on Earth'

Let's do this thing!

 My number.

 I'd like to say that I came in 38th place.

 But I didn't.

 For this illustrious half marathon I came in LAST.

 Now I can cross that off my bucket list

 My feet wrapped up pre-marathon. Sexy, right?

 The all important pre-race meal.

 My favorite part is the chocolate milk in the star wars mug. 

 My dad took this photo. 

Then told me "Don't do anything idiotic".

 Sometimes he is so inspiring it brings tears to my eyes 

 The starting line.

 Where I felt the usual pre-race nausea and extreme regret. 

 Somewhere along the trail.

 I wish I had time to take a million pictures because it was so beautiful.

 But that last place spot isn't going to win itself- I had to stay focused. 

 I wonder how many other racers I intimidated with this kind of sexiness?? :) 

 And THIS is the result of no training.

 I could feel this by mile 3.

 NEVER NEVER NEVER do a half marathon unless you've been training ALL THE WAY up to it.

 Or your feet will look like this :) 

My two half marathon medals!! 

Two down...hopefully many more to come. 

I would do a stream of conscious breakdown of every mile but I think we've all suffered enough in the lead up to this thing. 

I will say that around mile 10 I began to feel really at one with the Earth and thought about laying next to this corn silo. 

And my mom walked the last mile with me again and I kept accusing her of lying to me because she would say "The finish line is just up there" and it WASN'T. 

 (I am a grateful and gracious daughter)

This thing was not for the faint of heart. The hills were NUTS.

But hey, life is a challenge or nothing at all, right?

Lori Ann

2 time half marathoner

High on a mountaintop

Random Day Before the Half Marathon Updates

 I went and got my race bib and "goody bag" today.

 Do not be fooled by the term "goody bag"- it's a hodgepodge of hand sanitizer, strange coupons and other weirdness.

I did have the misfortune of realizing, once I got there, that this is quite a 'hilly' course.

 The registration lady said "Some people won't touch this because of how hilly it is".

 The race t-shirt actually says "Hill Master" on it. 

HOLY HANNAH.

This was NOT the halfie to half heartedly train for. 

(And by 'half heartedly' I mean- NOT AT ALL)

This one is going to kill me. 

My parents have already graciously offered to support me if I don't think I am up for it. 

But there is just this weird voice in my head that says "You have to do this, Lor" 

We'll see what happens. 

ANYWAY

 This the the Party Store.

 We lived just down the street from this thing when we were in Michigan and it's still there!!

 Sadly, when I lived here, liquor prices were not at the state minimum.

 Dang it. 

 My mom and my aunt Karen.

 I congratulated them on being the two women who took the infamous Hinsdale brothers off the market.

 They both stated that they would be happy to put them back on the market :) 

 Speaking of which... my dad and his brother. 

It's SO SO odd to see my dad in the role of younger brother.

 I heard people calling him "Little Davey". 

My dad. 

The man whom I see as a Darth Vador-esque, all powerful figure...being called "Little Davey"

. It was SO INTERESTING.

 (Do you see how they have the same hands? My grandpa had those hands!)

The really cool thing was that my Uncle Don said that I looked a lot like his mom.

 My grandmother. 

No one has ever said that to me before.

 A random ancestor.

 I've never heard of Eben Sparhawk but now I will have to research him. 

I like the name Eben. 

My dad and like 8 of his 11 first cousins on his dad's side. 

It was interesting, surreal, and eye opening to go to Michigan. 

I identify so strongly with Pennsylvania and always think of this as home that I forget that half of my DNA and half of my heritage comes from Michigan.

 Most of my dad's family lives there still. 

It doesn't call to me at all though. 

When I was in France, Belgium, and even just flying over Ireland, I could feel a tie.

 Like I always say it felt like I place I had been before and had only forgotten.

Michigan doesn't feel that way to me. 

I don't know why.

Anyway, wish me luck on the HILL MASTER tomorrow. 

Next update will be post marathon. 

Lori Ann

It's like I got this music

This is the Michigan Post you've all been waiting for.

The Family History Picture Wall Post.

You know how awesome your own family history is?

Now times that by one million and that's how exciting MY family history is going to be for you!

LETS

DO

THIS

THING! 

Various family pictures from my grandfather's youth

Let's go from the oldest on down...

My great-great grandfather Augustus

Then..

 My great great grandfather Elmer

I am going going to go ahead and say what we are all thinking...he's very handsome!

If thinking your great great grandfather is hot is wrong, I don't want to be..

Ok, ok..it's wrong.

ANYWAY

These two (above) are the fathers of these two...

My great grandparents.

 My dad's paternal grandparents.

Naomi and Ray.

Who looked quite delighted to be married that day.

Then on to....

My grandfather (Gordon- the one on the right) and his siblings.
(It was Bob's 90th birthday- the baby in the middle- that we were there to celebrate)

More of my Grandpa and his whole family

And more with my grandpa

I had never seen these pictures before this trip to Michigan.

It's so weird to get a glimpse into the life of someone who is so closely related- just one generation away- and who you never knew in any meaningful way.

I am glad that my sister's children won't have to learn the story of their grandparents in this same way.

(Not that there aren't many scandalous secrets of Terry and Dave to uncover!)

Thanks for indulging me in this trip down family history lane.

And I apologize for calling my great great grandfather hot.

Are you happy now?

Lori Ann Hinsdale

Daughter of the American Revolution

and granddaughter of some really interesting people 

Haters gonna hate hate hate

This post will start and end with a self indulgent selfie.

You are welcome.

This installment of the Michigan Series is called "Random Stuff that you won't find all the thrilling"

 Brace yourself to be moved to both laughter and tears.

This was me in the car.

Is it obvious that I am slowly dying on the inside?

It's always interesting driving from the East to the Midwest.

The land gets slowly flatter and flatter and there is so much corn.

Who is eating all of that corn?

Holy Hannah.

My mom and I.

I love that I am like a good foot taller than her.

Does anyone else feel a feeling of mild despair for the residents of places like Toledo?

I feel like it's where you end up when you've given up on all of your dreams.

My parents actively refused to pose for me.

They don't understand how important this blog and my instagram feed are to the world. :)

Erin kept me entertained throughout the trip.

This is just a sampling of the many texts exchanges that kept me from going over the edge and murdering my brother at a rest stop. 

We got Verner's soda as soon as we got there.

It's only available in Michigan.

Michigan also sells liquor in their grocery stores.

The Bourbon was right across from the capri suns.

That's got to be convenient for stay at home moms.

Give the kids their capri sun and put them in front of Dora.

Then have a few shots of the good stuff and send angry texts to your husband.

This was me, trying to look casual.

Like "Oh, just chilling in the bathroom of this hotel. Good moment for a selfie"

But this glamorous look wasn't casual.

It took me like 7 minutes.

There is a real person behind all this glitz and sparkle, people.  

Lori Ann

93

Michigan Trip: Part 2

On the way out to Michigan we noticed that the Flight 93 memorial was not too far out of our way.

So, we stopped to see it. 

I've been to the Trade Towers Memorial.

This place had the same feeling. 

It's a feeling I've only ever experienced in one other place. 

Dachau concentration camp in Munich, Germany.

Like a deeply empty, cold feeling. 

It was such a beautiful day. 

Probably not that different from how it looked a little less than 13 years ago. 

 This was the impact site. If you look at the end of the mowed path,  you can see a boulder in the distance.

 No one is allowed into this field because it's considered a burial ground.

 Most of the remains were never fully recovered. 

 This is when you pull into the park. It's a 3.5 mile drive back through rolling hills, orchards, and ponds.

 It's so odd to see such a beautiful place marked by such tragedy. 

 We arrived at the same time as a bus full of Amish.

 My sister reminded me that they don't like to be photographed. 

I explained that this is why I was photographing them from behind.

 She didn't seem appeased by my reasoning:) 

 They had markers that described the whole day. 

Pictures of those killed.

 Descriptions of their heroic actions.

 I will never forget this man's name. A true American Hero. 

 It's hard to read, but at the end of the marble wall- each panel with a person's name, it reads September 11th, 2001. 

This is the field no one is allowed into.

 It felt sacred.

 Like the old cemetery near my house.

 Or the chilly, rain drenched gravel grounds of Dachau. 

I did feel some sense of peace here. 

This is a place where brave people were brought home to their Father in Heaven.

Evil was here that day, but so was the most loving force that has ever existed.

God was here on that day.

You can feel it and you can see His love in the actions that these incredible people took, sacrificing themselves so that others could live.  

If I lived my life with one percent of the courage they demonstrated in those few, terrifying minutes, I would feel that I led a brave life. 

Lori Ann

About a beautiful boy who died

I am back from Michigan, people. 

It was an epic trip. 

Which would be impossible to completely cover in one blog post.

Well, I could do it but I have a feeling it would be one of those posts. 

You know the ones I am talking about. 

Where people have like 19 family pictures and they are talking about this great uncle's cousin and you start skimming really fast through the pictures and wondering if post secret has been updated lately. 

Or what you want for lunch. 

So, in order to save us all from extreme "I don't know these people, nor do I care" type boredom, I am going to just mention the highlights over the course of a few posts. 

Brace yourselves.

The Midwest just got really, really interesting. 

The number one highlight from my trip (in my mind at least) was this. 

We found my uncle's grave.

 My dad hasn't seen it in over 60 years.

 My mom saw it 35 years ago.

Just as a refresher, my dad's oldest brother was hit by a car at age 4 and died. 

My dad was born about 10 months later. 

My grandmother never got over his death and eventually couldn't even go to his grave site. 

I, of course, am all for seeing graves and dramatically leaving flowers and saying prayers. 

My dad is very different. 

He spent about an hour cleaning up the headstone.

 Removing the overgrown grass, scrubbing it down with a brush, pouring water over it, creating a planter space for the flowers we brought. 

 

My father is such an example for me of true charity. 

He didn't stare at the grave in silent reflection.

 He cleaned it up, removed about 30 years worth of dirt and dust, and made it shine. 

I kept thinking that his mother would have been so happy to see him watching out of for his big brother. 

So, while there were a lot of cool things from this trip- including crossing this off my bucket list

Leave flowers at the grave of my Grandpa and Grandma Hinsdale

Finding my Uncle Ray was the highlight of my trip.

 I'll never forget that moment.

I love that his grave is shaded by a pine tree.

I love that it's in a little, quiet town.

I am so happy my dad got to see it.

It was my dad's birthday when we found it.

I remember the first time I looked for my uncle online.

I couldn't find any record of him having ever lived and I looked for days.

And then I found him.

On March 15th.

His birthday.

God works in mysterious ways.

But He is a God of miracles and a God of families and I know that more today than ever before.

Lori Ann

p.s.- Up next- the Flight 93 memorial and running into the Amish. And a bus called 'Special Ed's' that sells donuts. And my concerns about why they haven't been shut down by the department of health. 

You just bought your expulsion papers, Nwanda

I am not normally one to jump on the social media bandwagon.

Like, when a celebrity dies, I'm not all "He was my favorite actor, I'm so sad".

But for Robin Williams I will make an exception.

Two of his movies changed the direction of my life and how I see life in general.

The first being Dead Poet's Society.

If you haven't seen, I can't recommend it enough.

Everything he says is so powerful and it makes you want to live life to the fullest.

I can't tell you how many times I've quoted this movie to my clients.

I always tell them that Robin Williams was quoting Thoreau or someone and he said

"Most men live lives of quiet desperation. Don't be resigned to that'.

I have seen that movie a hundred times.

It's what inspired me to write my first bucket list. 

And then, later, Good Will Hunting.

This movie means a lot to me as a therapist.

I've often wished (as I think every therapist does) that I could have moments like he had with Matt Damon in that movie.

Where he is telling "It's not your fault" over and over.

And Matt Damon breaks down.  

Of course, I haven't had those exact moments.

But I've seen clients have mental and emotional break throughs.

And it felt just as powerful.

And I've (honestly) tried to channel that intensity that he showed in his depiction of his character when I am talking to my clients who are going through a rough time.  

So, even though I don't think I have ever talked about Robin Williams on this blog before

He has changed my life in amazing ways. 

And he will be greatly missed.

I know he has found peace with Heavenly Father.

I know that we all go home to His arms.

It's moments like this that I feel deep sadness for those without faith.

It's such comfort in times like these.

Lori Ann