Admiration

I hung out with a new friend this weekend - we spent hours upon hours upon hours on a patio that ended up not making any money off of us. Poor patio, fun for us.
She's cool. I met her a month ago at a function where she's friends with the owner and I was invited by a friend of a friend. She owns a couple of businesses and is a year younger than me.
I admire her for working so freaking hard. It's pretty incredible.

I ran with two of my friends from my dojo and running group yesterday.
One is doing the 50km and one 50 miles (80km to the Canadians out there) in a trail race next month.
My buddy has been working so hard over the past 6 months. He's organized so many running meets for us, he's worked with people on the Ultra circuit (An ultra marathon is anything above a normal marathon, which is 26 miles (42.2 km) to learn techniques for trails (running in the mountains vs on the pavement).
I admire the work he's put in on this huge venture. I can't even fathom the idea of running for 12 hours. I'm doing my own series of killer runs in the winter, but nothing like he's doing. I'm doing about 80km over 4 days, he's doing 80km in one day. Unreal. And I get to ride a rollercoaster in the middle of my marathon day! He will be running up mountains.
I admire the work his friends and family put in and how his wife is so proud of his accomplishments. They are probably one of the most amazing families I know and am proud to call my friends.

She was offered a position making double I make, and they offered to move her. She's in negotiations and it's not for sure, but there are tears of joy in her eyes as she tells me this. I'm so incredibly stoked for her. I admire her for being one of the most intelligent women I've had the privilege of knowing most of my life. We chat over wine as she tells me about this cool conference she's been invited to join. Her corporate life is going up and up and it's just so amazing. I'm so proud of her accomplishments. I admire her perseverance.

She's taking 2 months off with her kids to fly and see her family overseas. Her husband has been promoted, promoted again, and promoted some more and currently living overseas for many many many months. She's working towards getting the kids organized and working and then putting things on hold in order to make it work. I admire how much work she's doing as a tester to see if this could be their life going forward. Travel for work, live all around the world for work... could they do it as a family. Amazing.

She packed up everything she had and moved. She left, with a ring on her finger, and the hopes and dreams of a new life and promotion at work, with the man she will grow old with. She takes every new experience as a joyful and exciting one and never looks poorly on any opportunity. She looks at the world with a mix of opportunity and enjoyment. I admire that about her.

They started up a new business... just cause it wasn't here in this city, as they found out. Another partner found them and convinced them to try something else to see how it works. They created something that wasn't here and probably wouldn't be here for awhile. They are now being contacted left right and centre and their business is booming! She works her normal job, day to day, and he runs the business with the other partner. The three of them are creating something that is going to be fantastic, in fact, it already is!
I admire the work they put into their lives. They work hard and play hard and they have an incredible relationship on top of that.

He had a harsh accident putting him out of his races for some time. He still finds the time to connect with those who are the most important to him and puts himself out for those who need him. I'm proud to call him family and I admire the work he does for so many!

There are so many people in my life I admire and I feel so lucky to have them all in my life. They say you are a product of your surroundings and the people you spend your time with. I think I can be ok with having these people (and so many other amazing people - you know who you are :)) surrounding me :)