It was the first race, in way too long, that I enjoyed. Honestly, I was not sure I was ready for an 11 mile trail race. I had run a 9 mile trail race in mid-January that was depressingly difficult and slow. In fact, about 4 miles into that race, I was ready to be done.
This 11 mile trail race though - I don't know what was different. It was early - I had to get up about 5am, to drive 45 minutes. It was cold - 16 degrees. It was in the mountains (how hilly was this race going to be??).
The race started promptly at 8am in a State Park. It was predominately on a trail, with a few small stretches of pavement. It was beautiful - sun coming up, along the lake, cold - but green sprouts coming out of the ground along the way. It was not a technical trail, like the January race, and it was rolling hills (nothing too outrageous). The miles were not marked, and I did not wear a watch, but about mile 6, I realized I felt really great. I wasn't exhausted, my body didn't hurt, and I felt really - really good.
I needed this.
Because the coming week was not really - really good.
Every now and then, my husband and I will look at each other and say, "Tea Parties." This is what we imagine life is like when one has daughters only. . .tea parties, barbies, and rainbows. Calm. Peaceful.
We usually say, "Tea Parties" after the boys have flooded the bathroom (again), broken the dishwasher door (again), left hand (and sometimes foot) prints on the walls (and ceilings). . .you get the idea. I know that this is just a Grass is Always Greener mentality. There are daughters who are probably just as destructive as our boys. And, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys - but I am constantly amazed at some of the issues that I deal with having my boys.
Mother Nature decided to share some of New England's winter weather with us this week - so we did not have school the past few days.
Being trapped in my home, I decided was a great opportunity to look for a missing Science Book. My son's 5th grade teacher had mentioned it was missing about a week ago - and while I had done a cursory glance through the house, and not found it, I decided to to don the Hazmat suit and dig into the disaster that is my house.
I did not find the science book.
BUT, I did locate 18 books that belonged to the school. Have I mentioned that my eldest son is a hoarder? I don't use this term lightly - he really is a hoarder. I found these books in various nooks and crannies in his room - all belonging to the school. . .but not the Science Book.
It was really bugging me that this book was lost. However, it did not seem to faze my son in the slightest.
First day back at school today - and I was tearing apart his cubby looking for said Science Book. I vented to a coworker about it, and she suggested looking between car seats. I did not find the Science Book - but I did find missing book #19.
Later in the afternoon, I got a text from the teacher - the Science Book was located - in the classroom! Relief. Satisfaction - I had torn the house apart, and it was truly not in the house, so I wasn't going totally crazy. . .yet.
And, a little later in the afternoon, a call from other son's teacher about his vocabulary. . .No, she was not complimenting about his amazing and correct use of words like: irk, tremulous, boustrophedonic, or disquisitionary. No, he was flexing his vocabulary muscles with inappropriate words for school.
So, while I sit here and figure out how to help teach my son about inappropriate words (again), I find my mind wandering to. . .tea parties. . .
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