The kids witnessed a car crash on their way home from school today. They were crossing the street (with a walk signal) and a car turning right stopped to let them cross. The truck behind her wasn’t paying attention, though, and slammed into her. The kids scurried across the street, stood there for a second, and then came home. Christina said there was glass everywhere. I don’t know if they should have stayed on the scene or just continued on their way, but I’m glad the truck didn’t push the woman’s car into them and they made it home safe.
Tag: caitlin
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April 27
Today was a busy day. I woke up before dawn to run the Strides for Pride run for JASMYN. It was probably my best race yet, not for finishing time, but for how I felt while I was running. It went over a bridge, twice, which is brutal. I didn’t even attempt to run the uphills. But I ran all the rest of it (minus about 1-2 minutes when I stopped to walk just because that is my expectation now). I think the downhills on the bridges made the rest feel easier, but I felt so good when I was done. I’m proud of myself. And then Christina had day two of her dance competition. There weren’t any other teams in their level or division, so they won regional champions by default. It’s hard to say how they really did without a clear benchmark, but I do know that they looked a lot better today than they did at the last competition. Christina left happy and excited, and that made me feel happy and excited. I’m so glad she has this thing that she loves this much. Everyone needs that. Robin, on the other hand, had two two-hour cheer practices today, which was just a little much for her. As much as she loves cheer, she is doing a little too much of it right now. I can see the exhaustion in her body. We’re just limping to the finish line, which is next weekend with not one, but two postseason cheer competitions. Luckily they are within 25 minutes of each other, and there’s a chance she won’t have to compete in both competitions on the same day if her level 3 team doesn’t progress to the finals on Sunday. It’s not looking like a sure thing either way right now. I guess we’ll see. No matter what, on Sunday she’ll finally be DONE. And THEN what? Mama is restless already.
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April 17
I finished this sweater a few days ago, which I started sometime in 2023. There are so many things wrong with it, but through some miracle there are enough things right with it that I can wear it and it even looks presentable. And now I’m in the weird, uncomfortable position of having nothing to work on. I do have some machine sewing to do, but I can’t do that on a weeknight after everyone goes to bed. I’m sure I’ll come up with something.
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April 12
It was a long, busy day. Christina had a dance competition this morning, and her team swept their level, taking home at least three top prizes. They looked absolutely amazing. And then, although I really, really didn’t want to, I ran the Wine and Chocolate 5k. I was 9 seconds off my time for the last race, and about a minute and a half off the Santa race in December. Considering how little I wanted to run, and how often I stopped to walk, it’s a pretty good finishing time. With walking, I averaged about a 12:45 pace, which is about what I do on the treadmill. The weather was perfect, although my sunglasses kept falling off my face, and that was annoying. And there was wine at the end!
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April 1
Today was a long, rough day. I had a pretty nasty headache and left work early, but still had to teach the NAMI course tonight. Headache’s gone but now it’s somehow 11pm and I feel like I’ve done very little for myself all day. I did read a little, and did a crossword puzzle. Everything feels chaotic right now. Literally everything. But I said no twice today and that is a big step for me.
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March 16
I woke up before dawn – again – to run another 5k. My time is not improving, but I am still having fun and I’ll take it. Eventually I’ll get back to finishing times I can be happy with. Today I finished in 41:33. If I can run a whole race at my fastest split time today, I can shave almost ten whole minutes off my finishing time. Right now I’ll settle for running without stopping or dying.
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March 3
Not much to say about today. It was Monday. Kind of a disappointing day on the scale and on the treadmill. I ran 25 minutes out of my 30-minute goal. I don’t understand the mental block I have with this. I know I can do it, but in the moment, I don’t care if I can do it. I just don’t want to. I have a race next weekend and I really want to run the whole thing. It is going to take a huge mental push if these treadmill runs are any indication. Try again Wednesday.
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February 27
Pinot is not forgiven, but he is pretty cute. And bendy. And definitely more comfortable than me.
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February 23
We attempted an escape room today. Billy and the girls had never done it before and I thought it’d be fun. It turns out we are not all that good at puzzles. It took us almost 20 minutes to solve the first one, which didn’t leave much time for anything else. But I think everyone had fun and now we HAVE to try again.
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February 18
We played Mind the Gap tonight, and Christina cried real, actual tears because she felt incapable of rolling a high number on the die. Had we rolled more fives and sixes instead of ones and twos, we might have had a chance. Billy had to ice it by saying she could have as many cookies as what she could manage to roll. She rolled a two. Girl should never bet on craps, is all I’m going to say.
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February 15
Christina and I got pedicures today. I also bought myself a bikini – the first one I have dared to buy in probably at least 20 years. Robin and Christina said it looks good on me, and they’re usually pretty quick to say when something doesn’t look good on me. We also went food shopping in like 45 minutes from the time we left to the time we put away the last item in the fridge. So it’s been a pretty good day.
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February 11
What a waste of a day. I ran out of medication and the pharmacy couldn’t refill it, so I ended up on the couch all day. I did manage to stay awake long enough to finish making all those octopuses and play a few rounds of Uno Attack (taking short naps while people dealt the cards). Some days this is all I can manage.
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February 5
It’s been 33 years since Dad died. I realized in the car today at some point just how small a part he had in my life. I’ve lived almost three times as long without him as I did with him. And yet he is such a big part of me. I wish I could have known him better. I’d love to meet him in a coffee shop and talk about what he wanted from life and what he misses most about it. For now, I have his drawings hanging over my bed, a ring, and some faded memories left to linger. Dad, wherever you’ve gone or not gone, I love you. As little time as we had together, you remain big inside me. I still use the alarm clock you gave me in sixth grade. I can’t decide if it’s sad or touching that it’s one of my most treasured possessions. Whatever the case, I hope this day finds you at peace, knowing you are remembered, and loved. And thanks for the alarm clock. It still works great.
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February 3
Robin is dealing with the heart-wrenching reality of low self esteem paired with other insecure teenagers pressing on it. I wish I could insert some self confidence in her, but it has to come from her. One thing I have had to learn over and over as a mom is that I can’t fix everything. Sometimes the most helpful thing I can do is sit with her in silence while she works things out for herself. The good news is that it does seem to help in its own slow but meaningful way. If nothing else, she should always know that I am in her corner no matter what. No one could love her more.
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January 24
I bought these jeans in New Orleans, and I swear they fit comfortably four days ago. Today they are tight. I am trying not to lose my mind over it.
