Who the hell is Kevin?

A long time ago, in a land not so far away two people met and eventually fell in love. It truly is an interesting story, and one that you may or may not know part or all of. The key elements are that a boy and a girl met while country dancing, boy liked girl, and hounded her until she eventually gave in and decided that she might like him too. So, on a Tuesday evening in August of 1997 they wed, with their two best friends and their family present. It was a back yard wedding and a beautiful day. They went to New England on their honeymoon, heading for Maine, but never got there. The truck was full of antiques, and it was time to turn around and head home. So they turned around, found a small hotel and woke up in the morning. On this particular morning one of those things in life happens where you can remember exactly where you were and what was happening when you heard about it. She was in the shower and he was sitting on the bed watching the news. Princess Diana had just died in a car crash.

Since that time, they've moved south from Elma, NY to Scio, NY where the boy had grown up on the weekends with his Dad at "camp". It was 50 acres that they eventually purchased, and then added an additional 95 acres to, and then just last year another 50. 

Over the last 18 years so much has happened. Now there are two boys in the picture, Brogan (15) and Kelleach (13), and as many as 6 dogs and some cats. Life has been wonderful, and we've fortunately been blessed. 

I am he - he is me. I am Colin, the boy in the third sentence. She is Kris. She is my wife and my life partner and my best friend, truly my very best friend. We often talk about how fortunate we are. Fortunately for each of us, the other is patient when it's necessary, and because of this we seldom have disagreements that last more than a few hours. When one is upset, the other lets the steam blow off, and patiently waits for the waters to calm. It has worked for this long, and seems to get easier as the time goes by. 

So - who is Kevin? I was Kevin - in a way. See, Kris's grandmother used to call me Kevin for the first few years. She thought it was my name, which might not have been right, but she knew that Kevin didn't like coconut on his cake. The important details, not something as trivial as getting a name right y'know? 

Doty was a funny old lady who raised 4 girls on her own when her husband died in a car accident, and had her hand in the raising of a few grandchildren also. She died a few years ago, but had a great life, and made Kris, her mother and her aunt's who they are today, for better or for worse. So Doty actually brought Kevin into the picture, partially. Of course Kevin in also the 13 foot tall tropical bird in the movie UP. She's the mascot on many of our runs. She's attached to my running backpack that goes to events with us and patiently waits for us at the finish. 

Kris and I began our running/racing in 2009 with our first race being a 10K - the Dogfish Dash at Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware on September 27th. Since then we've run a bunch of races together, and some separately. Kris laughed last night about signing up on her own for a race for the first time. She's doing the Oak Tree Half in Geneseo while I am in Colorado in a few weeks. 

So this blog will be about life, and love, and running, and raising a family, and dogs, photography, stained glass, hobbies, projects, and keeping a house whole and healthy. Running with Kevin isn't just about running as running is often considered. It's not about the putting one foot in front of the other on the road or trail. It's about putting one foot in front of the other in life. So, if you find yourself bored, please come along for our journey. It's well on it's way, but feel free to jump in at any time and run with us. We would love to have you. 

Thanks for reading.