You can't go fast if you go too slow so GO GO GO GO!

I used to say to people "I'm a runner. I run!" with the pride of an accomplished athlete, as though I'd won competitions, or at least participated in A Competition. I didn't, but I was proud anyway. Running is hard. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. When you start to run, it's hard. But once you make it past the first week, or the first few miles, it gets so much better, and then it's fun and mile for mile the best exercise out there.

I ran for fun in the hills of Elk River, and then I ran to lose the weight I gained with my pregnancy. Worked like a charm. However, once I lost the weight, I moved, and without a parent partner living in my house to watch the tot, I stopped running, and haven't started again in a regular pattern. It's the figurative and literal hill in front of me, and I'm determined to climb it to feel that perfect running feeling again. Not to mention the runner's ass. That's something I also miss.

The end game of this whole thing will be a race. And to quote the Backyardigans...."Whoever is the first around will get to make that victory sound."

Climate Shock

I realize my only two entries have related to weather. Purely coincidence.

I recently took a trip to the beach in Mexico with my mom, her husband, and my toddler, Ben, who is weeks away from 2. He got pretty ill before we left, delaying our departure by a few days, and forcing us to fly alone, without the assistance of Grandma and Grandpa. Not the first time I've flown alone with him, but the first time since he was young enough to take a long nap and find distraction in animal crackers. It was one of the biggest challenges of my mom-patience so far, 4 hours in one seat with a cranky tot still fighting a lung infection. But we made it, thanks to The Backyardigans, my Mac, and tiny trucks.

Once we arrived, the sight of his grandma and grandpa changed his tune entirely, and from that moment on he was the happiest I've seen him since....summer. Which lead me to this conclusion: Ben is solar too! I figured as much, since this perfect creature is much like me in all the best ways. During the daylight hours he was walking, running! outside, playing in the sand, and watching the waves. Happy boy on the beach.

The joy of this trip for me was, besides watching Ben enjoy himself, was the down time. The closed-eyes laying on the beach in the sun, the slow walks around the resort grounds, and most of all, the reading. I devoured two books during my trip. The first was basically a waste of time. My sweet boyfriend got me the book for Christmas, so I felt obligated to read it. Awful book. Honestly a waste of time and money. Ellen DeGeneres, while usually witty and clever, cannot write. The second book, after hearing rave reviews for months and never landing a copy, was The Kite Runner. A Mazing. Believe what you hear, and read it. Storytelling at it's best.

Upon my return, the temperature is 1, and we're in the throws of winter. I can take it, though. My soul is restored, recharged, and ready. And now begins the tri-weekly struggle to get my son to take his tubby.

I'll Follow The Sun

I am solar. My mood and energy is directly related to the amount of sunshine I experience in a day. I know I'm not alone in this, a lot of people feel better when it's sunny, feel sad during the drab winter, and feel pulled outside on nice days. I wouldn't go so far as to say I have the dreaded Seasonal Affective Disorder, since I'm actually not blue in the wintertime, haven't yet purchased a sun lamp, and don't max out my credit card for a beach trip each winter. I simply feel extra happy to be living my life when there's a brigh sun in a clear blue sky. Like today. An unbelievable day. It's nearly November, and I'm walking around town in a t-shirt. My boy is playing outside in the leaves. The dog is basking in the backyard, with absolutely no interest in coming inside. This sunny day puts those things in the forefront, and lets my unemployment, lack of permanent address, and single parenthood stress all fall to the back, where they actually belong. Too often I let myself obsess over the planning, interviewing, house-hunting mess when I should actually be focusing on the fact that right now, I have absolutely everything I need.