Remember a while back when I talked about making sure I was SO VERY prepared for the Wine & Dine half marathon? Remember when I said I was going to lose 20 pounds before the race? Remember when I made ALL THOSE PLANS? Well, life happened. I could make a million excuses about why I’m not ready, but the bottom line is that I’m not ready. Physically, I’m not trained at all. Sure, I’ve run. But nothing of any length or importance. Mentally? I’m so ready I could run it tomorrow. This is probably a bad idea. In one part of my mind, I feel like it’s going to be…
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Just Write: I’m Just Writing
This morning I forgot to take my medicines. Well, that’s not entirely true. I took one thyroid medicine. And then I looked at my pill case and thought to myself, “Self, don’t forget to take these before you leave this bathroom.” Surprise! “Self” as we’ll call her, forgot. “Self” got about 3 minutes from work and went, “Oh crap! Self, you forgot your meds! This isn’t going to end well.” And let me tell you. About 5 hours later, I felt like I was in a haze of hot, purple, smoky air with somebody pushing me a little to my right every time I stood up. All that is probably…
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Mom Guilt
But mom, I want to sleep late and stay home and play with my toys. Can’t you take the summer off? You used to be home all the time. Can we just move back to Fort Valley? It smelled better than Atlanta and you didn’t have to go to work. And I want my chickens back. Working Mom Guilt. I have it. Almost a year ago, when I started back to work for the first time in a very long time, Henry and I started on the same day. Summer was over and nothing was really different except he got to ride a bus from school and hang out with…
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What A Difference A Year Makes
A year ago, I woke up and (without knowing it was National Running Day) spent $19.95 to get the Couch to 5k program. I’m not sure why, but I was at home alone, feeling pretty crappy about myself, looking at my swelling feet, wondering what to do with myself. My one goal was to get off the couch and be able to go for a jog in Central Park for BlogHer a few short weeks later. That’s it. I wanted to lose a little weight, get a little exercise, and maybe get a race t-shirt sometime in the nearish future. I put my feet to the pavement and invested in…
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Two Halves Make a Whole, Right?
I did it. I did the thing I swore I wouldn’t do. I signed up for a second half marathon. I know. I KNOW. You all told me that I would be addicted. You told me I wouldn’t be able to run just one. You told me that I’d forget how much it hurt at mile 9 and the next day I’d be wondering when the next one was. You told me my first wouldn’t be my last. I didn’t believe you. But my bank account believes you because I just signed up for the Wine & Dine Half at Disney in November. It just *happens* to be the weekend…
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Emergency on the Race Course
It was about mile 6 when I really had to go. The thought of stopping my clock and going into a port-a-potty on the side of Highland Avenue wasn’t my idea of a good time, but you know what they say? When you gotta go, you gotta go. And really, I HAD TO GO! Easy enough, huh? I walked right in, there was no line like at miles 2 and 4. Did my thing. Used the hand sanitizer. Opened the door. Opened the door. Opened the… OH MY GOD, THE DOOR WON’T OPEN! OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED? OH MY GOD, THE LATCH ON THE OUTSIDE IS LOCKED. WHOOOOOO LOCKED…
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The Key To Grace
The other day, I stopped at the mailbox to grab the mail. That’s a task I dread most days. It’s never anything fun. Bills, sale flyers, notices that are for people who may or may not have lived here previously (there are like 12 different names on mail that comes here — strange). There was an envelope in there with an unfamiliar handwriting. It was “bulky.” I opened it and was left breathless. This is a Giving Key. If you’re unfamiliar with The Giving Keys, take a minute and head to their site. It’s an amazing story of how a musician simply made a few keys with words of encouragement…