Endurance

I've gotten in pretty good shape since I've been here. Only some of it, and only recently, has it been on purpose. Because I'm in a hot costume all day, I drink a lot more water than I used to. If I don't eat healthy, my body doesn't feel happy during work. It's harder to move a lot of excess weight and stay on top of my game when my body isn't happy. Because salad and apples are on sale at the Disney cast member discount store, I eat a lot of salad and apples. Then I started running/elliptical-ing/other forms of working out, because I need to exhaust myself in order to sleep through the night. Doing all of the exercise because of work every day was making me stronger, and so I have to do more to tire myself out. I think my body is a little tired now, though. I took a break yesterday, but I went for a run outside today because it was cool and drizzling. I have never been able to run for very long... I was in softball, so most of my muscle is fast-twitch. I could run a football fields length fast enough to maybe impress a couple of people, but heaven forbid you ask me to run around it a couple of times.  Now, I'm learning endurance.
Endurance seems to have penetrated a lot of areas in my life recently. I can diligently stick to a check-list, I can keep my patience with roommates and co-workers for longer periods of time without getting frustrated. I know now from experience that it's true that when you ask for virtues, God gives you opportunities to build these virtues. I also am building a little bit of emotional endurance. Last week, I found I was having waves and waves of homesickness, and I was fighting back a couple of tears here and there. I find myself continuously encouraged by daily readings and the FOCUS talks. Spiritual work-outs energize me just as much as, if not more than, physical work-outs.
I am SO EXCITED to be going home this week. My brother, Will, is one of the leads in his musical, and I'm just so incredibly proud of him that I had to ask my mom to let me come home. Thankfully, I think she and my dad missed me enough to go for it :) It also means I go to TNS on Thursday to see my friends from CCM at Mason, and last but not least, Kevin! I'm also excited that, even though 2 of my roommates (one being my actual room-roommate) got strep this week, I dodged the bullet! I guess I kind of have a lot going for me right now, and I wish I was better at not complaining. I want to start reading more about the life of the saints, but I have so many things on my reading lists right now that I 'm not sure how realistic that is haha. Right now I'm reading Common Sense 101 and Perelandra, then I'll be reading Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love and That Hideous Strength, and then I have a bunch of other books here that I would like to read as well. My brain is starting to go in all directions, so that's usually a good sign that it's time for me to go to sleep.