How We’re Spending Our Time

You know, sometimes I feel a little bit guilty, because I talk about all of these wonderful things to do, and then I hardly actually get around to doing any of them.  When the girls were younger we definitely spent more time going to specially programmed events.  These days, if they’re playing happily together, or if they’re playing with a neighbor, I hate to put a stop to it.

One of their favorite activities is constructing fabulous residences for dolls or stuffed animals, and then playacting them through some serious drama.  The funniest part is that they actually have a dollhouse, which Santa Claus scored at our nursery school’s annual garage sale.  But it’s much more satisfying to create something from scratch.  Here are some rooms from a mansion that they put together recently for Doggie & Monkey out of the kid-sized table and chair set that we have.

What’s really disturbing is that occasionally there is a naughty bad child in one of the plots, and the other characters do all sorts of horrifying things to her (all of the main characters are girls, of course), like locking her in a closet and making her wear a leash.  I try not to listen.  I guess it’s the feminized version of gunplay.  Either that, or my children are undiagnosed psychotics.

Lately the girls–especially J–spend a great deal of time examining what’s growing outside.  I have piles of half-decayed dandelion bouquets.  We have a perennial garden outside that was established by someone who knew a great deal more about gardening than I do, so there’s a tremendous amount of anticipation each year because we literally don’t know what’s going to happen next.  I have a vague idea, but for many of the plants, I don’t know what it is until I see the flowers.

In the process of writing this post, I’ve actually been called away from the computer twice to see some new bloom that’s surfaced since earlier this morning.  So, that’s what the girls are up to.

I’m still running!  I have to say, that  Couch to 5K thing does not feel like it’s been worth it, exactly.  Well, I don’t know.  I did get a nice jacket that I wouldn’t have bought for myself, and I probably wouldn’t have actually registered for a race on my own, but there are just way too many participants.  Theoretically we’re assigned a mentor, but I think that the actual mentoring-ness of each mentor varies wildly (and yes, I am aware that that’s not a word, but you know what I meant, right?  right?)  I’ve barely had contact with mine, and I don’t know any of the other runners.  So the group run ends up feeling a lot like a cocktail party without  the food, the attractive outfit, or like, the cocktails.  And, you know, if you also were running at this unbelievably crappy cocktail party.

Anyway, it turns out that just signing up for it and getting the funky shoes was enough to get me motivated.  Of course, I still struggle with a complete lack of any sense of direction.  So the last few times I’ve run, I’ve done different routes, but I would try to remember to go a block farther on each loop, so I was sure that I’d gone farther than the time before.  And each time, I’d eagerly sit my sweaty self in front of the computer to Googlemap my run, only to discover that I’d run the same distance again (2.6 miles.  Exactly).  So I mapped out a little route so that next time I’m going to absolutely, positively go farther.  If I manage it.