I Just Can't Stay Away

I'm back. Yes, I'm needing hardcore practice time, but I don't spend THAT much time on the blog, and I miss spewing my thoughts into cyberspace. It must be the narcissist in me.

Updates since my last post:

Josh is STILL SICK. He is on his twelfth day of fever. TWELVE DAYS. I have gone far beyond good sick mom. I am now Great Sick Mom. I am Marathon Sick Mom. But I'm also so aware of my blessings. We went back to the doctor on Saturday, since he took a turn for the worse, and all I could think after the chest x-rays, throat swab, ear check, and blood work came back normal was how grateful I am that I'm not dealing with a terrible, chronic illness with this sweet boy. I have friends whose children have had cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and I admire them with all my heart. Seeing Josh limp and weak on the couch has wrenched my heart. When I imagine him hooked up to machines in a hospital, it tears it in half. Missing 8 days of school at the end of term...not good. Knowing he'll return to good health soon enough...all good.

Ben. He's trouble. Have I already said "We're talking about trouble, my friends, with a capital T and that rhymes with B and that stands for Ben?" Yes? Well, his terrible twos have come early. Last week I made a beautiful pot of beef barley soup with gorgeous shredded beef. We ate it for dinner, but I made plenty for leftovers. The next day, I heard the dog making some suspicious noises in the kitchen. I went upstairs and screamed. Ben had opened the fridge, taken out the container of soup, opened the lid, and put it on the floor for the dog to eat. Thank you, Ben. The leftovers were gone, and I had to deal with my dog's stomach problems later that day. Nice. He has started pinching, hitting, climbing, and demanding his own way. Where did my angel Benno go?

Ben. He's also very cute and very charming. When he asks for something and I give it to him, he says, "Thank you much." He gives hugs and kisses liberally and loves to read books.

I had my sister-in-law Ashleigh's shower here on Saturday (although I didn't throw it. Her sister and friend did, and did a way better job than I would have.) She's a great and wonderful person and will be a darling mom. I can not wait to meet their little man.

I've ordered my recital outfit...hope it fits! Can't wait! Have to find shoes! And figure out my hair!

My runs are getting faster and faster! I can hardly believe it. Running with my faster buddies and doing speedwork is paying off. I did 3.1 on Friday in UNDER NINE MINUTE MILES. This is big, my friends, big. I know many many people are much much faster, and I shouldn't be so excited, but I am, darn it. Yee Haw! Even my long runs and hilly runs are faster than I ever thought I'd be. Visualization is a powerful tool.

I'm using lots of exclamation points! Wow!

And that part about running was really braggy, but I'm leaving it in anyway, because I'm just THAT excited about it.