Impetus

Because I am a stay at home mom I am entirely free to sculpt my day into whatever I choose. Some days I fail. Yesterday, was turning out to be one of those days. I was cooped up inside surfing the web while Amelia napped and Henry played games on my iPhone. Though I don't believe that a little down time is a bad thing every once in a while, it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY OUTSIDE and my kids and I were inside looking at computer screens. So, as soon as Amelia woke up, I packed her in the jogging stroller and Henry jumped in his Jeep Power Wheels and we went out for a little run. Henry protested. He wanted to stay inside. I coaxed him by offering to look for alligators at the pond. There is one pond about 3/4 of a mile from our house where we always see 7' alligators when the sun is still up.

On our run yesterday afternoon.

We travelled 3.27 miles; Henry in the power wheel, Amelia in the stroller and I in my old running sneakers. When we got home we played t-ball in the backyard. Henry won, he always wins.

It's amazing how a little run can change the pace of the whole day. We were bored, we were ignoring each other, we were inside on a beautiful day. Today running was the impetus for an awful afternoon changed to a fun, active, outdoor afternoon that I enjoyed with my kids. (Amelia was in the exersaucer on the back patio having a fabulous time playing with her toys and watching mom and Henry chase each other around the bases.)

Next time I'm having a bad day I need to remind myself that the impetus for a better day is a little run.

Today I ran approximately 4 miles, along the beach, over the bridge and back.

Dolphins on the Bridge

Today I walked 2.8 miles. I might run later.

I walk daily with my friend Susie. I strap Amelia into my purple jogging stroller that my old neighbor gave to me and she straps her son Elliott into a stroller and we walk. Our route is the same every day; we start walking at her house, walk up the Granada street bridge, over the Halifax river, around the parks and back to her house. 

Today while we were on top of the bridge we saw dolphins in the river! The Halifax river is brackish water so salt water creatures play there as well as fresh water creatures. My best guess is that some of the dolphins were babies, they were so small.

I'm motivated to do something more for myself than just take care of kids. I love my children and I love that I get to care for them and nourish them, but I also yearn for something more than children's activities and cleaning. Since I'm so into running lately, I've been thinking maybe I should organize a local race.

In Utah, where I used to live, there are races all the time. For the past four or maybe five years on Thanksgiving day I have run the Turkey Trot 6k in City Creek Canyon, in Salt Lake City. This year, Joe and I couldn't find a race, so we ran our own 6k. We plotted a trail on GoogleMaps and ran it with our kids in a stroller. It would be cool if I could replace that independent run with a race that I plan and execute... a big one that is timed. That would be awesome. When I was in college I planned way bigger events with ease, perhaps my motivation to run regularly will also motivate me to do something else for myself.