Notes from the Red Bird House

I promise it's purely coincidental. On my day off, I run and then I go to my favorite coffee place and write. Lately, the running and the writing have merged which is why you've been plagued by a series of blogs about running. And life. I like to think I bring it all back around in the end to something everyone can relate to. Well, living people anyway. People who refuse to live? Nothing I can do for them. Not. A. Damn. Thing. Today I had a run that defies explanation. Great, you say? That means no blog! Not so fast. I may not know exactly how I'm going to do it, tell it, write it, but there'll be a blog. Sit back and watch. ~~ I won't say it was all a mind thing. I took an off-day yesterday and ate pizza for dinner, so in theory, I was better rested and better fed. Rest and food are two very important variables, but I really, really, really think my brain had as much to do with it as any physical preparation. I started my morning (Get ready to say "Here ...

"We are all so much more capable than we give ourselves credit for."   ~  Deena Kastor, Let Your Mind Run When I headed out for my long run this morning, it was 78F with 81% humidity. At 5:45AM. Storms were in the vicinity, but if I ran fast enough and got lucky, they might hold off until my final 5k. Might. I could have skipped the run. Conditions were going to be shit - oppressive and heavy - and my training was going well - well enough to skip one long run. However, I promised myself I'd train for this damn fall half marathon and I'm trying really hard not to break promises to myself. But f***, it was a struggle. When I checked my Weather Channel app right after my alarm went off, when I stepped outside to let my dogs potty and it felt like a rain forest, and when I got out of my car at the trail head and struggled a little for breath, I really, really wanted to bag it for the day. Instead I laced 'em up and hit the trail flashlight in hand and sungl...

I'm reading this book about running. Now before you say 'Oh, God....another blog about running', roll your eyes and click off, hear me out. Yes, it's a book about running and surviving and succeeding in the world of professional distance running, but I urge you to keep one thing in mind -  Life is an endurance sport.  The lessons Deena Kastor lays out in her book, Let Your Mind Run , apply to every aspect of our lives. Not just sport, and certainly not just endurance sport. All. Of. Life. So, dare to read on. You won't be disappointed. Well, maybe you will be in my writing and interpretation of her message, but the message itself is absolutely magnificent and the key to winning at life. ~~ I won my first race in December 1992. It was a 10k and only the second time I'd raced that distance. I PR'd by three minutes. I thought it was a fluke - either the course was short or the timer was off - so I raced again the next day. I hadn't thought of that secon...

I don't know how many of you read my post last week ( Bat-Sh** Crazy...Among Other Things ) about how I'm a little bat-sh** crazy. And a fiction writer. I truly think those two go hand-in-hand. Please don't make me name names. Suffice it to say, nearly every book/poem/short story you read in your high school lit class was written by someone a lot like me. Though, given their fame and success, I'd argue they were all probably crazier. I'll have to ask my sister if anyone sane has ever been included any of the Norton Anthologies. I'm honestly curious now. Anyway, I digress. I'm here today to offer further evidence. I made light in the introduction, but something big happened to me as a writer this morning. Yes, to all you non-writers out there, it's going to make me seem beyond nuts. However, my hope is that, when writers read this, they'll raise their fists in the air and exhale a euphoric, "Yesssssssssssssssssssss!" in my honor. They'...

So, something happened while I was cutting my hair tonight. Let me backtrack a little and tell a quick story. Many years ago, my girlfriend and I were flat-dead-broke. She was in school; I was underemployed. Our rent wasn't much (the house wasn't much either) and fortunately we were able to take advantage of leftovers from the restaurant where my girlfriend worked, but extras were non-existent. Like eye brow waxing, for example. No problem. We bought a waxing kit and Melinda (She won't mind if I use her name) volunteered to do mine. And she was good at it. But I think there was some wine one night, then a rip and a really strange look on her face. What? I asked. Let me get a mirror, she replied. She handed me the mirror and quickly backed away. Is that all? I asked. She'd taken off a good chunk of one of  my eyebrows. Relief washed over her. To this day, she says that was the moment she learned the true essence of Grace. Ok, fast-forward a decade and a half. This morn...

For those of you who have been living under a rock and/or not paying attention to my social media feed, I published my first novel this summer. And my second. And my third. Let's call it The Match Trilogy (available on my website - www.staceeannharris.com - and Amazon.com). It has been one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life. I'm lucky. Readers want to chat, ask questions, know things about me and the books and the characters. Don't get me wrong. I never tire of answering questions. If people are asking, they are interested, perhaps even engaged, and that's an incredibly good thing. I am flattered, humbled even, by the whole experience. I've said it before, but it warrants saying again. If having people - some friends, some not - buy and read  something you've written doesn't humble you, you're doing life completely wrong. So yes, I will answer questions all day long and talk about it even longer to anyone who takes the time to strike up t...