I went for a run this morning. Today is day two of my plan to run for thirty-three days in a row. Why thirty-three? Because someone told me it takes 66 days to create a habit, but I figure I’m a fast learner so thirty-three oughta do it. Plus, Kino is less than 66 days away, so that number would be useless if my goal is to get in shape for Kino. The logic works, trust me.

This morning, my run (ahem! fast walk) took me to the top of a little hill by my house overlooking Tucson from north of River. It was so pretty up there. Lots of birds and cacti and bunnies. It reminded me of where we used to live when I was a kid — way out southwest, past Cardinal and Valencia. This was before there was a casino and the insane amount of development that has happened out there. My bro and I used to hop on our little BMX bikes and go cruise around the desert. It was awesome.

When I was a kid, I also had particular soft spot in my heart for the horny toads. I can’t have been the only kid who was obsessed with those unfortunate little guys. But how could I not love them? They are like little tiny dinosaurs. Little tiny dinosaurs that you can take home and keep in a bucket with gravel in your bedroom until one day they mysteriously “disappear” (I’m looking at you, Mom) and you are forced to go find another one. (I miss horny toads. Now I have turtles and that is just as good. Even better, my mom can’t get rid of them.)

So today, in addition to my 33-day plan to create an exercise habit for myself, I am starting work on making a new habit. My new habit will not be to go kidnap horny toads and keep them in a bucket, no. My new habit will be to take a little time, every day, to admire the singular beauty that we have in Tucson. Even if it just means appreciating the sunset as I drive up the freeway. Even if it just means taking a moment to admire the weird and wacky colors on the building in South Tucson. I encourage you to do the same.*

With love,
Tannya

*Also, I encourage you to recycle more, consume less, and conserve energy. Tucson can only stay beautiful if we actively sacrifice today to keep it that way for the future.