We’re enjoying some beautiful weather here in Colorado, though it makes dressing for school a little challenging. The mornings are cool enough for long sleeves and pants, but by afternoon it’s shorts all around.
As usual on Friday, I offer a sampling of what’s gone well, and things I wish I could do over and invite you to do the same…
So here we go!
Do-Overs
Half-assed training for a half-marathon…
I’m sure I’ll write more about this when it’s actually over but here’s the story so far. Way back in the spring, I was wanting to get out and run more. I love to run just for the sake of running, but I can’t always remember that at 5:30 or 6 when the alarm goes off in the morning. I’m full of reasons why it would really be better for me to stay in bed for another hour… Even though when I get myself out of bed and out on the trail, I can’t believe I would ever NOT do this for myself.
So from time to time I sign up for a race- usually a half-marathon. It’s my favorite distance, giving me a good balance of reasonable pace and reasonable running time. In other words, it’s not too fast (like a 5K or 10K) and not too long (like a marathon).
I’ve done this kind of race a few times now, and have a pretty good idea about how to train. I didn’t set a time goal for myself- I just wanted an excuse to get out and go running.
Well, this time around, I’ve not done much training at all. My longest run so far has been about 9 miles. Which means I’ll finish the half marathon (13 miles) but it will probably hurt.
While there are many things in life one can cram for (contrary to what your parents and college profs wanted you to think!), marathon training is not one of them. Kind of like growing tomatoes. It just takes time. And at some point, if you don’t put those seeds in the ground, you’re not gonna get any tomatoes. Or you’re gonna get just a few and have lots of green ones left when the first frost comes.
So that’s one of my do-overs for this period of time… wish I’d started training more seriously sooner.
Changing Rhythms…
I’m still not quite in the groove for the fall yet- as evidenced in part by missing last week’s post. This week seemed to slip by quickly as well- and I didn’t get nearly as much accomplished as I would have liked. (Seems like I say this every week. hmmm… will have to give this further thought!)
Lamenting lost opportunities
Well- that may be a bit strong. But the truth is there are always WAY more things I want to do than time to do them. We had considered auditioning as a family for a Christmas production here in town. It sounded like a blast- especially if we could all participate together. But as I looked at the schedule, put the rehearsals and performances on the calendar, it really started to become clear that this would be just too much. There were already conflicts with school things, violin performances and DH’s planned business trips. So, with much regret… I’m giving up on this for now.
Is it so wrong to want to do it all?!?! On the other hand, I hope there are always things I want to do. I’ve seen folks who don’t have anything they WANT to do. It’s not pretty!
Still learning to say “NO.”
There were a couple of times this week when I really might have made my life easier had I been able to summon a quick and decisive, “No.” Nothing too serious, but I’ve made commitments that will complicate my life just a little more than usual next week. It may not be too late to back out- but it will be messier than if I’d never committed in the first place. This is a constant learning for me!
High-Fives
Slowly finding the rhythm…
It always takes me a while, but we’re getting there. I sat down this week and figured out exactly how many hours I had in my week, which of these could be considered “prime time” (i.e. kid free) and which were “sub-prime.” I then took my general list of things to do and marked those which required the most focus and freedom from distraction (like writing and class prep), and those that could be done with one or more kids around (like some phone calls, some email/web surfing, etc.). Then I plugged in my regular commitments, and designated certain hours for certain tasks. We’ll see how the whole thing works out in practice- but having the skeleton of a structure feels good. The thing that just might make the difference is noticing that I have sometimes tended to do ‘sub-prime’ tasks in ‘prime time.’ Reading blogs can wait until after school, writing them- not so much!
Dinner is served…
One of my big high-fives this week was effective meal planning. It wasn’t anything fancy- but I knew what we were eating every night. So I actually remembered to take the ground beef out of the freezer before trying to make tacos. And I had all the ingredients after only 2 trips to the grocery store this week…
Just knowing what’s for dinner makes my whole afternoon so much more relaxed. I hate getting to 4:00 and thinking “Oh shit… what’s for dinner?” I have a few ‘desperation dinners’ in the pantry/freezer- but it was nice not to have to go there this week.
It was so much fun, I think I’ll do it again for next week!
School daze….
So far fourth grade is going well. My son came home this week with an assignment to draw a map of our neighborhood and said, “I think I’m going to like fourth grade. We get to draw lots of maps.”
I think having the glasses and vision therapy is helping also. Previously he would complain about math class, but this week said that it was fun. Let’s hope it lasts!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I like your “subprime” time vs. prime time categories. I’m easing into a new schedule since August 25 and not quite truly there yet, thanks to germs (my preschooler’s) and such. I’m glad your son likes school so far. My little boy started preK this year and is, well, easing into his new daily schedule too. And you’re so right re: just having the notion of a plan and structure is wonderful!
@Emily-Sarah, It always takes me a couple of weeks to really find the groove. And even when I think I’ve got it, there’s always something that comes up (like germs!)… That’s why for me a schedule that’s too rigid is doomed for failure. But if I don’t have some structure, I end the day wondering what I’ve actually done with it! Congrats on making the leap to PreK. That’s a big step for mommy and kiddo!