Fresh New Year
Time is passing at light speed again. I'm desperately trying to get ready for K's birthday party and baptism, plus now that the kids are back in school I'm living in the car again. (I've put 40,000 miles on the van since we bought it 15 months ago. Yes, 40k, and I'm a "stay at home" mom.) My blood pressure kind of spiked again, after plummeting to rock bottom NORMAL levels while the kids were on break. It doesn't help that Terence's work life got unexpectedly busy right now and my normally unflappable husband is a bit stressed too. Lots of fun around here, right?
It's race season here too, and I signed up for two races this winter (spring? our seasons are murky). The first one was yesterday-- a trail race that I have now participated in five times. This was my third time doing the 17k distance (which is about 10ish miles), and I did a great job-- 2:08:34 was my time. It wasn't my fastest time (which was 2:04, back before I'd had S) but I'm older now and dealing with chronic injuries that I didn't have then, so it really was a great run. I pushed myself hard, and I am feeling it today. My legs ached almost as badly as they did after the marathon. (The marathon may have been much longer but it didn't include going straight up mountain faces, which wrought havoc on my quadriceps and calves).
Terence ran the race too, though he has been having knee issues so he only did the 9k distance. His loop through the trails included about a mile long section in the middle where we would be on the same trail and then a mile section at the end that would be on the same trail. My race started 15 minutes before his did, and I headed out on my wide loop into the back wilds by myself. But as I came up on the junction of trails for the 9k loop and the 17k loop, who did I see but Terence turning onto the trail right in front of me!! What were the chances? It was like a little mini boost right about the 3 mile mark of my race! We checked in with each other and then I kept going-- like I said, I was pushing hard while Terence was trying to take it easy in hopes that he could actually make it through the race without his knee giving out. (He did, by the way. Even if his knee was swollen and stiff and he had to walk most of the last mile or two.) We were both winners in my book!
What else in on our plate around here? Well, I'm painting the kitchen (finally) and hope to be able to tackle my bedroom and bathroom before 2017 ends. Science fair project season is upon us (yippee, can you feel my enthusiasm, ugh). I also need to get way more consistent about doing preschool stuff with S so she is ready for kindergarten-- they hit the ground running full steam ahead nowadays, and kids who don't already know their numbers and letters and some basics about writing are way behind the eight ball.
2017 is the year of milestone birthdays around here: K turns 8, which is a big one. He'll be getting baptized and starting cub scouts and finally able to ride in the car without sitting in a booster! B turns 12, which means she'll be leaving behind primary at church and joining the young women's program. It's kind of like leaving childhood behind in a way. (You can see the dramatic physical changes happening already. We are entering the puberty zone for the third time. Yikes!) J will turn 14, which means in church life he will move from the deacons' quorum to the teachers' quorum, and he'll be old enough to go to big activities like stake dances and youth conferences. (Whether J will ever attend a dance is the question. M hasn't done so yet.) Then there's M-- this is the year she turns 16, which is the mother of all teenage milestones (perhaps tied with turning 18). She'll be old enough to drive and to date and get a job, and she doesn't want to do any of them. *sigh* We are not a family of people who like to leap forward into new experiences I guess.
Still, it is going to be an interesting ride. Lots of things to look forward to! Bring it on, 2017!
It's race season here too, and I signed up for two races this winter (spring? our seasons are murky). The first one was yesterday-- a trail race that I have now participated in five times. This was my third time doing the 17k distance (which is about 10ish miles), and I did a great job-- 2:08:34 was my time. It wasn't my fastest time (which was 2:04, back before I'd had S) but I'm older now and dealing with chronic injuries that I didn't have then, so it really was a great run. I pushed myself hard, and I am feeling it today. My legs ached almost as badly as they did after the marathon. (The marathon may have been much longer but it didn't include going straight up mountain faces, which wrought havoc on my quadriceps and calves).
Terence ran the race too, though he has been having knee issues so he only did the 9k distance. His loop through the trails included about a mile long section in the middle where we would be on the same trail and then a mile section at the end that would be on the same trail. My race started 15 minutes before his did, and I headed out on my wide loop into the back wilds by myself. But as I came up on the junction of trails for the 9k loop and the 17k loop, who did I see but Terence turning onto the trail right in front of me!! What were the chances? It was like a little mini boost right about the 3 mile mark of my race! We checked in with each other and then I kept going-- like I said, I was pushing hard while Terence was trying to take it easy in hopes that he could actually make it through the race without his knee giving out. (He did, by the way. Even if his knee was swollen and stiff and he had to walk most of the last mile or two.) We were both winners in my book!
What else in on our plate around here? Well, I'm painting the kitchen (finally) and hope to be able to tackle my bedroom and bathroom before 2017 ends. Science fair project season is upon us (yippee, can you feel my enthusiasm, ugh). I also need to get way more consistent about doing preschool stuff with S so she is ready for kindergarten-- they hit the ground running full steam ahead nowadays, and kids who don't already know their numbers and letters and some basics about writing are way behind the eight ball.
2017 is the year of milestone birthdays around here: K turns 8, which is a big one. He'll be getting baptized and starting cub scouts and finally able to ride in the car without sitting in a booster! B turns 12, which means she'll be leaving behind primary at church and joining the young women's program. It's kind of like leaving childhood behind in a way. (You can see the dramatic physical changes happening already. We are entering the puberty zone for the third time. Yikes!) J will turn 14, which means in church life he will move from the deacons' quorum to the teachers' quorum, and he'll be old enough to go to big activities like stake dances and youth conferences. (Whether J will ever attend a dance is the question. M hasn't done so yet.) Then there's M-- this is the year she turns 16, which is the mother of all teenage milestones (perhaps tied with turning 18). She'll be old enough to drive and to date and get a job, and she doesn't want to do any of them. *sigh* We are not a family of people who like to leap forward into new experiences I guess.
Still, it is going to be an interesting ride. Lots of things to look forward to! Bring it on, 2017!
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