Day 105

Post-run ramblings... Put one foot in front of the other for 6.5 miles and a certain kind of clarity emerges. Today, I formulated a prescription for greater happiness. Mine, and by association, all of the boys (and the two girly cats) in the house. Here goes...

Less: Judging

More: Noticing

Less: Running intervals on treadmill
More: Jogging on the path with Digs

Less: Eyeliner
More: Red lipstick. (On fully conditioned lips. Else it ain't pretty.)

Less: Grumbling
More: Smiling

Less: Hand-holding
More: Hand-holding

Less: Rule-making
More: List-making

Less: Static
More: Cowbell

To be continued...

Day 96

Burlington was a balmy 50-something today. I was feeling fab all (sunny) day--until I found myself regretting that I hadn't gone for a run. On this perfect, 50-something March day. I felt guilty. Why hadn't I at least logged a short jog? I thought about it.

J & J starting some seeds.  

Well... I had run "really, really, really, really fast - like a Cheetah" around the yard, again and again, dragging the Radio Flyer in wide loops, stopping periodically to take invisible tickets. 

... And I'd walked to the dog park with all four of my boys (humans + Digs!), stopping to spot the singing cardinal and appreciating all the other tunes whose artists I couldn't identify, pointing out exactly where Kai, Ri and I had seen the adolescent-boy moose galloping down the bike path when Kai was three months old. "Yeah, moose," he'd nodded in agreement, as if he totally remembered. 

... I whipped up a batch of banana wheat-germ muffins with Jules. 

... I danced to Fat Boy Slim with Kai. 

... I tossed baseballs to JuJu (and taught him the valuable lesson that no matter how badly your pitcher sucks it is not polite to yell "too high" and "too low" in a disparaging tone).

... I made a yummy new recipe (samosa-inspired twice-baked potatoes from Veganomicon) ... for family dinner with Chris and Ri. I had a Red Stripe while sauteeing and stuffing. It tasted of spring. 

It was awesome day. 

Day 4

Today, it snowed. I'm not a fan of snow. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I hate the stuff. I have gone so far to say that. A lot of times. Often with a few obscenities tossed in, you know, for good measure.

Digs was digging today's first snowfall of the season (12/8/11)

My family was surprised when I signed on for four years at Allegheny College in snowy Meadville, Pennsylvania. (Save for the snow situation, it was one of the best decisions of my life. In part because it was there I met some of the most amazing people I know, including Holly Tedesco and Cara Pasqualone, who'd better be reading to hear about what an impact they've had on me.) When I moved to Vermont in 2002, my family was just confused. Why was a girl who hated the cold and the snow moving to Vermont? Story for another day.

What I'll will say is that snow still makes me cranky, sad and anxious. Cranky because, when it's cold,  I like to drink coffee and stay dry, not scrape the windshield and drive an icy 14 miles to an office. Or 6 miles to the boys' daycare. Or anywhere. Sad and anxious because I want to become a rugged, awesome snowboarder--like everyone else around here seems to be--but speeding down a mountain strapped to a board still scares the shit of out of me. 

But here's the conversation I had with Jules this morning:
Jules (very excited): "Mom! It snowed! It's Christmas."
Me (summoning enthusiasm): "Wow. It did snow. But it's not Christmas. It's winter."
Jules (Again, very excited, looking out the window): "Look at the tree! It looks like a Spidey web."
Me: "Yes, it does. It's super pretty isn't it?"

It was incredibly beautiful. And, you know what? I think that a fake-it-(for the kids' sake)-till-I-make-it approach to winter might really work wonders for me this year. This afternoon, Ri and I took Digs and Butler for a walk on the snowy trails. And it was awesome.