I am finding out that the more I push beyond what I think my comfort zone might be, or what I perceive my limits to be, or to tip-toe outside of my box -whichever catch phrase floats the boat – the more activities and experiences begin to become part of my life that have never been considered to be in the repertoire, so to speak.  Who would have thought I would ever ride my bike across the country?  Who would have thought I would voluntarily agree to have my picture taken (horrors!)?  Who would have thought I would even have stayed home to raise my children?  Not me, I can tell you that.

Committing to racing RAAM is a big leap for all of us.  We four who are ordinary mortal women with, perhaps, a big lust for life.  Coming with that commitment is many new and thrilling experiences that I didn’t anticipate. Case in point, our video, or soon to be released, multiple videos.

Jim Harper, of Jim Harper Photography, has agreed to become a sponsor for our team, by providing us with video footage and still photos that we can use to promote our ride and our cause, LiveWell Colorado. Jim is a soft spoken, tall, lanky guy who is meticulous in his creativity and vision for promoting our message.  He is pushing us to think about our reasons for doing RAAM and to think about many other aspects of our lives that will be affected by RAAM.  Not that we haven’t thought about it. Sure, I have thought about it, I mean I think about it on occasion – like 23 hours of the day – but to put it all into words is scary.

Honestly, I would rather go careening down a mountain pass on my bike at 50 mph than have my picture taken much less be on video with actual words coming out of my mouth that are supposed to be semi-articulate, semi-entertaining, and somehow interesting all at the same time.  Uh . . .no. A teensy bit past my comfort zone, my limits, my box, as it were.  But there is Jim.  Gently prodding, asking questions that he would like to know the answer to and imagines most would as well.  Trying to find the correct lighting to illuminate my “best side” (this would be the side that doesn’t have a nose on it) while quietly suggesting that it will be of benefit to actually think about what I am planning on doing before I race out the door to Oceanside with one shoe on and one shoe off.  That is not in my box either.  Generally speaking, I am not a planner.  I do.

Jim doesn’t accept that excuse.  He considers every shot, spends countless hours editing, arranging, voice – overing, all that fancy photography stuff, trying to make sure our message is conveyed to all who might be interested in our challenge and commitment to LiveWell Colorado.  He is serious about his work and serious about Rocky Mountain RAAM.  Suddenly, I realized that this is important not only to Amy, Ann, Rainey, and me, but potentially important to many, many others who will be touched either by our spirit or actually touched by the good that will come to their neighborhoods and communities through LiveWell.

So take a peak at our first short video.  There is more to come in the very near future.  In the meantime know that making something like this was, for me, almost as big of a leap as riding my bike across the country will be.

My box  is looking pretty good from the outside.