Textgiving

Thanksgiving is best described as the holiday of text messages.  Mac got an iPhone, and he texted people even when he sat next to them.  We texted each other from different rooms.  It was all in good fun, we also talked to each other.  But how better to share the event than to share some of the texts?

• Talking is lame so I will text u even though u are right there next to me
• I survived.  I know you survived mom, Aunt Debbie didn't text me to tell me to call 911
• Add salt.  Now add some pepper for color.  aaaaah, much better
• J is a jerk, he kicked Sam. 
• H and A are standing on the table.  I am sending you a picture
• Soup time.  But is it not as good as yours.  You are my favorite now.  Mom, it lacks flavor.  Add salt.  Now add pepper for color.  That is fine, but it only effects the broth.  The balls looked fine to me.  They are, I just like yours better.  You are still my favorite.
• Where are A and H?  I don't know.
• You need to shower, your butt is bad.
• Pls pass the snacks.  How much longer till we get there?  3.5 hours.  Mom, I love you.

In all, it went much better than I would have expected.  Mac behaved so well he earned computer and Wii back.  Thoose in the know, know that is a BIG thing.

If you want to get in touch with me, text Mac.  He will text me and I will get back to you.

Ten years from now

Lunch with my 10-year-older self is the topic for this Thursday's entry.  Sure, we could have gone all traditional and written about what we were thankful for, but the purpose of this little exercise is to challenge ourselves and I think we can all manage a Thanksgiving post at this point.

So, anyway, I am going to dine with my 10-year-older self.  Before that happens, let's do some math.  I will be in my early 50's.  My kids will be 21, 18 and 16.

The reality that I will have a freshman and senior in college sort of freaked me out.  Where is all the money we saved for college?  The kids are all driving, and this is our first Thanksgiving since Sammy started college.  He best be coming home.

The actual topic, is what would you discuss with your older you.  I just needed to do the math so I could fix in my head where we were.  Ten years is not that far away.

What would I want to know?  I think that I would like to know that Mac is ok.  I really want to know that all the work and effort I have put into trying to make him a productive, happy member of society has paid off.  At 21, he might have a girlfriend.  I wonder who he will end up with.  What sort of job will he try and get?  Will he understand why we were so hard on him?

Of my three kids, I worry most about Mac.  He seems like the most likely to struggle as he gets older.  I wonder, am I wrong about that?

Of course I would be interested in hearing about how Sam and Hannah are doing.  Perhaps Sam is going to college on a soccer scholarship?  ::it is hopeful that the billions of dollars we spend on soccer might turn into something, I realize it is unlikely::  Maybe by this point he will be over soccer, but it is hard to imagine.  I wonder if Sam is tall, and is he still charming?  Right now, Sam bats his eyelashes and gets out of trouble with every single teacher.  He oozes charm.

Hannah, she is trouble that one.  Too smart for her own good.  Perhaps a good question to ask is will I survive having her as a teenager.  I bet my older-self might be wondering the same thing!

My curiosity centers mostly around the kids.  I feel confident that Bob and I will still be together.  I imagine I will have a job, have to pay for college some how.  I imagine we will still be living here, but who knows.  Those details aren't really interesting to me.  I know that I will figure it out as it comes.  The only thing I will wonder about myself is do I ever let my hair be uncolored?  For those that don't know, I am 100% grey.

Want to see what the other ladies wonder about?  Check them out at Froggie, Merrylandgirl and Momarock.

Don't mock the slow old lady on the trail

As I ran along the trail today a skinny 20 something with a bouncy ponytail entered the trail.  It was at my 3/4 mile mark.  The trail is fairly wide, but apprently my slow fat runner self was in her way.  She yelled, move over old lady.  I gave her a look and trundled along as she sprinted away. 

I passed the bridges, the mile markers and approached the bridge over the train tracks.  There is a big hill over the train tracks.  I have been pushing myself to run up said hill.  As I lowered my center of gravity and trundled along up the hill (to the almost top this time) I spotted the mean girl.  She was walking over the bridge.

When she hit the "turn around" she, turned around and passed me again on the bridge going the other way.  I didn't pay it much mind.  Until I turned around and went back over the bridge.  When I got through the yucky hilly part, I was trying to lengthen my stride.  I noticed that I was gaining on her.  I kept on.  I figured once I got up to her, she would sprint away.  Happens all the time.

As I kept getting closer I thought, seriously, you are going to let the slow fat old lady pass you?  The one that was in your way?  Really?  I passed her.  I didn't say anything.  I decided to model classy trail behavior.  Besides, it just creates bad karma. 

In other news, I have been reading a blog written by the slow, fat, triathelete.  She is currenlty training for an Iron Man.  YIKES!  Check it out, I echo her feelings about coming out as fat.  I may have more to say on that.  Coming out as fat

Down by the lake

It is Thursday, and it is time for the next installment in our blog project.  The topic today is what is something you have always wanted to do but never done.

I want to go on vacation.  Yes, we go to California on a very regular basis, and while that is fun, it is not a vacation.  I realize that California is a vacation spot.  I also realize that while we are in California we do things like go to amusement parks (Disney, Legoland, etc).  But, again, this is not a vacation, it is a trip to see my family.

I want to rent a house on a lake or the ocean and get up in the morning and go outside my door to the beach.  I want to spend long idyllic days frolicking in the water.  Evenings would be spent relaxing by the fire and enjoying each other's company.

We could spend the twilight hours on the deck.  Watching the sun set, while the kids toss rocks in the water.  Perhaps even feed the ducks.

I am not a huge boater, but perhaps we could canoe a bit.

But, all we would do is relax.  Maybe go into town and take in a movie or go out to eat or do a bit of shopping.  But mostly, it would be peaceful and lovely.

Do not harsh my fantasy with the reality that my kids don't get along that well.

Want to see what the other ladies have to say?  Check them out at:  Froggie, Momarock, Merrylandgirl.

Beware of the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt

It is Thursday.  It has been a really shitty day, so before I dive into the topic at hand I want to paint the picture of my mental status.  I have not been feeling real well for the past 2 or 3 weeks.  Not sick, just not right.  The stress level in our house seems to be inching its way back up.  Last week when I did my thankful post and said, "I probably wouldn't do this again unless we went back to the dark place," made me nervous.  Because I felt that the dark place was looming over us, like a cloud on the horizon that you can sense but not quite make out.  Now, the dark place is that black line of storm clouds marching towards you.  There is still time for the wind to blow them a different direction and spare you, but will it?

I am going to get to our topic, which comes as a welcome relief to the reality of what is happening here.  The likelihood is that I will not probably ever address the reality of what is happening here, because somethings aren't really any of your business.  No, I am not trying to be coy either.  I just wanted you, my lovely reader to understand that as I write today, I am really running from something that scares the shit out of me, that I am not sure I can do again.  Chocolate anyone?

Our topic is to talk about clothes you can not wear or would never wear.  It stems from Momarock's babysitter wearing jeggings on her most recent assignment at the house of Momarock.  I imagine that Momarock could rock the jeggings, but she says that they are something she would never wear.

So, I am over-40 and over-weight. This list of things I can not wear or will not wear is long and alphabetized.  Seriously, there are somethings that the general public that can see wants to never have me wear.  A bikini leaps immediately to mind.  I swim, I wear a bathing suit, but without a large enough lycra content to keep all the jiggly parts from jiggling, it ain't happening.  I see people who are too large to wear a bikini and think, while I respect your self-confidence, you might want to re-think your fashion choice.

I think that I might be happier if my fashion choices didn't revolved around "things that cover my body."  But, I also don't want to expose my stomach to anyone.  So, if it is too tight, too short, too belly shirt, it ain't happening with this girl. 

There is a whole range of 20 something clothing options that are just not appropriate for a woman of my advanced age.  I like to look cute and stylish, but I don't want to look like a fool trying to wear her teen aged daughter's clothes.  My actual daughter's clothes won't fit me... no way no how.

I saw some tights at the mall one day.  They were ripped, and had a mock fly on them.  But they were not jeggings, they were tights.  Why in the world do you need tights with a mock fly on them?  Seriously, tights are NOT ment to be worn outside of your skirt.  I could sort of see how these tights would look cute with a mini-skirt, in an 80's retro sort of way.  But, they are just not an appropriate pant for anyone.   What do you think?  (Remember they are tights, made out of a fabric that reminds me of beefed up pantyhose.  Hannah has tights that are more substantial than this.)

I am going to leave you with that picture, because a picture is worth a thousand words.  Want to see what the other ladies have to say?  Check them out at:  Froggie, Momarock, Merrylandgirl.

PS  Don't worry about us, just say a prayer for us!  We are trying to avoid a rocky place and could use the help.

I can

Who am I?  I define myself as a mom, a writer, a knitter, a wife, even a soccer mom.  I would never in a million years add runner to that list.  Seriously, have you seen my butt?  Runners have much smaller butts than I do.  But, we need to back up a bit for all this to make sense.

I have been challenging myself to do things I never believed that I could.  One of them was to run a 5K.  Which I did in mid-October.  I was pretty proud of myself for doing that.  I am now even faster and able to go farther than I did then.  It amazes me.

This weekend my SIL asked me to run with her and friend in a 5 mile race while we are in for Thanksgiving.  Now, let's do a little math, a 5K and a 5 mi race are not same same.  As you may recall from studing the metric system, 5 kilometers is actually 3.1 miles.  So a 5 mi race is almost double what I have accomplished so far.  I would also like to add I have NEVER run that far at one time in my life.

Seriously, if you had asked me to run in July, I would have told you "Only if a bear is chasing me."  I started to run in August, and celebrated running a whole 1/2 mile without stopping to walk.  Now in 4 short months I am considering running 5 miles?  There is something wrong here.  If you see locust, don't be surprised.

I was sharing this story with a friend.  She asked me, as I was telling her about how I was considering running 5 miles on Thanksgiving, if I was a runner.  Even Bob didn't immediately say I was a runner.  He said no.  I said no.  It isn't part of my definition of myself. 

Really, what is a runner?  The dictionary definition is someone who runs.  I run.   But, still, I am not ready to call myself a runner.  Right now, I am out there proving a point to myself and the world.  I am doing something I never thought I could.  I am showing the world, that while I may not look like someone who can run 5 miles, guess what I can.  haha jokes on you.. you non-believer.

Some things I have learned on this journey is that running is more a mental thing than a physical thing.  I think our minds tell us not to do something, but in reality our bodies can do them.  I think we get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task and give up.  I am not fast, but I keep on keeping on.  Oh, another thing... socks matter, who knew.

Runner or not, on Thanksgiving, I am going to run 5 miles.  Not because I want to be able to eat more, but because I want to prove to myself and everyone else that I can!

Electricity ROCKS

It is Thursday, and you know what that means, yup, Thursday blog project.  Today's topic:

There is a thing on Twitter called "What Went Well Today" where you tweet things that went well during your day. (Within the 140 character limit of course.) Anyhow, I'm asking y'all to keep track for the next five day (either from today through Wednesday or Tomorrow through Thursday - which mean you post Thursday night) things that went well. If you'd like, share them on your blog. Then talk about your experience doing this little exercise. Was it hard for you to come up with what went well? Did it change how you looked at things? Is this something you think you'll keep doing?

Saturday
We returned the hummus-that-ate-Glen-Ellyn without any issue.
I got to take a nap today.

Sunday
We have electricity.  Our old house does not.
Still got to go to knitting.
In spite of rain, Panthers win!

Monday
Submitted my paid article to Interfaith Family
We still have electricity, our old house still does not.
Halloween!  Candy!

Tuesday
Mac got straight A's, 4 of which were A+'s.
We still have electricity, our old house still does not.

Wednesday
Hung with friends
Carpool!!
We still have electricity, our old house still does not
Did I mention the straight A's?

The Conclusions:

For the most part I am pretty positive about my lot in life.  Yes, I have bad days, and yes there are people that piss me off, and I have generalized angst about things.  But, generally, I believe that I am pretty lucky and that usually the universe is not out to get me.   That said, it was hard for me to think of something note-worthy that was good that happened everyday.  It isn't that my days are bad, I think it is that my baseline is to expect good things.  So, good things are not necessarily noteable.  That isn't to say that I don't appreciate that most days are good.  I totally do, I just don't tend to recognize each little event that goes into making them good.

The one really good thing I kept going back to during the week was the fact that we have electricity.  I LOVE electricity.  Seriously, if I could marry it I so would.  Electricity is like a million Mark Harmons.  My good friends in Connecticut do not have electricity.  They are not expected to have electricity until maybe Monday if the stars shine on them and the wind blows in the right direction.  My old house in Connecticut sits dark.  My old house missed most of the brunt of Irene.  Our little Hamlet didn't loose power for too long in that event, but now, folks are saying it might even be 2 weeks.

The kids are so happy to turn on the television, to have heat and to be able to use lights.  It has really made us aware of how blessed we are with our little conveniences.  Bob and I have talked about how we do not have to spend $5,000 to get a generator, because we both know that we would be driving to where ever to buy a generator if we still lived there.  While we are saying we are happy we don't live there anymore, it is really just good luck.  We are currently appreciating our good luck.

At the end of the day, I don't think this is something I am likely to continue.  At least as long as things are the way that they are.  If we go back to the dark place again, I might start doing this.

Want to see what the other ladies thought was good?  Check them out at Momarock, Froggie, Merrylandgirl.