habits of inspiration.

with every new month, i have a tendency to set goals...some realistic, some not so much. maybe it's the flipping of the calendar page or the changing of the date preface that makes me want to start afresh - to kick bad habits and develop healthier ones. spring cleaning, anyone? ;) ok, i'm a little ocd with clean but regarding my daily relaxation habits, well, they could be better.

for the month of april, i have one goal. to replace my couch potato boob-tube status with good old-fashion exercise and fresh air. hello endorphins, goodbye oprah! now it hasn't always been this way. before i graduated college, i hardly turned the tv on; i had one, of course, but it sat there collecting dust. there were just too many important things to do! but now, with the daily grind of work, sleep and other commitments peppered in, i find my first instinct in attempting to relax is to pick up the remote....and then hours seem to slip by, throwing productivity out the window. but i'm fed up. enough's enough. time to reclaim my life, my inspiration, my motivation.

speaking of inspiration, my work environment is anything but. the freezing cold AND polluted basement of TRB makes the cheeriest person what to crawl up and die. seriously. BUT just 2 blocks south lie the nation's most magnificent sites - attracting young and old from coast to coast and countries afar. so with lunch in hand, i left the dungeon behind me and adventured down 19th till i hit constitution ave....with no real purpose i meandered 3 blocks west past some of the more impressive federal buildings. first the DOI (explore america!), then the federal reserve (fun fact: when chairman, greenspan used to walk to work everyday), and finally albert einstien relaxing in front of the NAS (what a funny statue). however at the state dept (HELLO condi), i crossed the street to the beautiful green expanse called our national mall.

feeling a little out of place among the sea of oh-so-obvious tourists (it's a monday, people!!!), i wandered up henry bacon drive (who?) to the majesty of the lincoln memorial. it had been forever since i had last visited honest abe, so why not. after climbing the steep steps i finally reached this monument of marble where “in this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union, the memory of abraham lincoln is enshrined forever.” whew. after reading the gettysburg address to his left and his 2nd inaugural speech to his right (he was assassinated just a month later), i finally found a spot amidst the crowd to sit and enjoy the wide-sweep of the mall below. from the reflecting pool to the newly built WWII memorial, through the spike, past the castle and down to the hill, it was breath-taking. pathetic that i live just 2 miles away but miss out on this view!

fully thawed and rejuvenated, i decided i better head back the reality before i left myself drift too far. so i clopped down the steps, heels clicking away, announcing to the all the dc visitors that i didn't belong and should be back at work. sigh. on my return, i strolled past the vietnam memorial, soaking up its solemnity while trying to dodge the all the families full of kiddos. but again and again, i'd see a local, fitting in their noon-time jog...talk about inspiring!

now, it's been a hell of hiatus since i have last brushed off my running shoes. i'm talking years. my excuse? eh, well, y'know, um...ha - i'm out of them. with the custis trail and the W&OD just outside my apt door and the sites of dc across the potomac, i have way too many options to ignore. and between daylight savings and my recent ta-ta to tv, time is on my side. at least it appears my april goal is realistic. fingers crossed!!! one exception: thursday's are off-limits - i need my weekly grey's/office fix! some habits die hard.