Passion, Purpose, and Fortitude

   This year has been nothing less than eventful.  I challenged myself to accomplish feats that just years ago I mocked. I found a passion that I did not know lived inside of me.  My wife accomplished a feat that was years in the making with a finish that the both of us will remember for all our years.
   Throughout the year I kept focused on two main points: passion and purpose.  Those two nouns really grew to mean a lot to me.  They are truly symbiotic in nature.  You cannot have purpose without passion, and to have passion there must be purpose.  In all my endeavors this year I had held my purpose close to my heart. I wanted to not only raise money and awareness for the charity that I championed, but I wanted my sons to really see that a single person could make a difference.
   I was able to show my boys purpose.  And I think that they could definitely see the passion.  Some of our best moments were the saturday Bernstein family workouts.  Kerrie had her pacer Cooper on the bike while she ran, and I had Connor pacing me on my long runs that seemed like forever.  I don't think he will ever understand what it meant to me to have him by side while I ran for 5 hours. He showed me something that day, and I think he got what I was showing with my effort; not so much my words.

   So with our summer behind us and fall in full swing, we come to our newest noun - Fortitude. 

      Fortitude: mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty.

   The offseason poses so many challenges to a hopelessly addicted athlete.  We struggle with balancing how much time to take off to heal versus the amount of activity we must do to stay sane. It is also the time we take to reflect and begin to think about goals for the year to come.  I think with the year the Bernstein family has just put in the books we have a lot to look back on.  Even harder will be the setting the goals to come. 
   With my recovery in full swing I have already set sights on 2013 goals.  I am focused on the passion and purpose that carried me through the year and it is my hope to stay on the track of helping others do the same.  When we hit the winter I know that it is time to really dig deep.  Push when the weather says stay in bed, stretch and move when the snow flies.  Get out and enjoy what I have and discover what I have yet to achieve. 
   The offseason will be met with fortitude.  No matter the challenge, we will rise to meet it.  I have accomplished a lot but there is so much more to come.  Get ready Bernstein family, as well as the rest of you, 2013 is gonna be big.