Go

I clearly remember telling someone that Davis and I were ready to have kids because 1) we liked to go to bed early and 2) because we got up early.  Looking back, that person I was talking to had incredible restraint.  Children are 24/7.  They have no off switch.  When your child is born, you are not given a tranquilizer gun to use on yourself, or your children.  Rather than announce the time of birth, the midwife, doctor, parent - or whomever catches the baby, should just yell "Go"!  Yes, "go!."  Because, as soon as the baby is born the lifelong marathon, complete with happiness, exhaustion, love, trials, tribulations, biting, and bodily fluids begins.  

Liz and I were talking the other day about time without children.  Neither of us could really recall what a weekend without children would be like (meaning a weekend that didn't include buying gifts for children because we were away, calls from husband's about where certain lost toys...).  And we were utterly perplexed about what weeks on end with children would be like, and we were even more perplexed about how we thought our lives were busy before our kids were born.

I am starting my training for this year's half marathon.  Although carving out the training time is tough, I am embracing the time by myself.  Time to think.  Time to not have anyone climbing on me.  Time to run away (in an appropriate way).  Time to have fun.

Dr. Scott, paleontologist from Dinosaur Train, says we should all "Get outside.  Get into nature.  Make [our own] discoveries."  At our house we try to do this as much as possible.  While getting outside, getting into nature, and making discoveries can be time consuming and challenging - it does, somehow, slow time - in a wonderful way which nothing else can.

This past week my small friend got out there with a vengeance.  They competed in the Old Town Country Club Olympics.

And Oliver competed in his first race - the High Street Mile.  He was a very social runner- he'd run over (and sometimes back) to say hi to a friend, and then sprint ahead.  He also loved stopping at the half mile for water and trying to strike up conversations with other runners about the run thus far.  Given the social nature of his run, I was quite impressed with his 11:07 time.