We are family

With our oldest child gone to college and the other three yapping at her heels, I am most happy to have all four kids under our roof for Thanksgiving.
It wasn't too long ago that we were sleep-deprived and knee-deep in diapers and baby bottles. Now, we are a few years shy of an empty nest.
When you have a baby, everyone tells you to hold on; that childhood is fleeting and the kids grow up so fast. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just give me five hours of uninterrupted sleep.
But, turns out, everyone is right. Saving time in a bottle? Wish I could. Don't know what you've got till it's gone? Don't I know it.
So, while the masses are out post-Thanksgiving, trampling Wal-Mart workers to death and shooting each other in the aisles of Toys R Us, I'm deliberately, stubbornly holding onto each minute, letting it drag out into pure, blissful, mind-bending boredom.
The less I do, the less busy I am, the longer time takes. Four days of being all together stretch into a wondrous blur of nothingness.
The conversations are far from stellar. A few grunts and groans. The typical taunts, teasing and tears. And yet, I am loving the noise.
What used to drive me over the edge, pulling out my hair along the way and going off on a psycho mommy rant of can't-we-all-just-get-along, today gives me the warm fuzzies.
If only for four days, our six separate parts come together and make us whole again. It is a feeling that I will both chase and cherish forever.

More on the journey

It's the journey, not the destination.
I heard this phrase at a yoga training nearly three years ago and it changed my life. Well, maybe not in the ways that people typically think of change.
I'm still me. Same body, same hair. Still married to my husband of 20 years. Still have four kids, the same friends, the same house, and the same, two damn dogs.
But, every day, these six short words play through my mind at a random interval. And, each time, I marvel at the simple wisdom and pure loveliness of the concept. It's like playing peekaboo with a baby or fetch with a dog. I never tire of rolling this fabulous thought around my brain.
Stop focusing on where I am going, why I am not there yet and what is wrong with me for failing to arrive. Love who I am at this point in time. Don't berate myself for what I am not or what I have not done.
Instead, catch every moment and delight in its beauty.

The Joy of Running

Our running group is a wonderful metaphor for how life should be — unplanned, uncomplicated and thoroughly enjoyable.

You show up, you run. Something gets in the way, no big deal. See you next time. The motivating factor is not so much the workout, but the constant roadside chatter.
There is nothing we don’t talk about: Spouses, kids, parents, sex, politics, organic cleaning tips and holistic healing advice. Moments of silence are rare, particularly when all eight of us make the appointed hour.
This unburdened contemplation of any subject matter without fear of judgment frees the mind and opens the road as it unfolds beneath our feet. Every run is a journey and a celebration. They are moments in time filled with the subtleties of daily life and a true friendship that stokes the fires of the soul.
At the start, there was no hint of what was to come. We hooked up through happenstance — a new neighborhood, a new town, a chance meeting, a reconnection of friendships past.
That is what makes our rag-tag group all the more a blessing; some mysterious gift bestowed on us for reasons still not entirely clear.
There is the plain, pure and hard fact of the workout. If not for each other, there are many days when few, if any, of us would run.
There is the friendship and the camaraderie, both of which make life infinitely more precious. And, when we are at the proverbial end of our wits, there are the free counseling sessions.
Some days, I wonder, is this it? Are we just here to enjoy our time together and help each other through the daily dose of chaos and drama? Or, will some other, deeper purpose evolve?
And, therein, lies the greater beauty.
Whether in running or in life, traveling alongside a kindred soul makes it easier to ride out the unknowns of the journey.

Big Chill

The winds are blowing from the north/northwest this morning, gusting up to 30-something mph. The weather says the temp is 23, but feels like 7.
No kidding.
But, as cold as it is, sadly, depressingly, this is just the start of winter here. In another month, we'll be longing for 20 degrees.
It's not much better inside.

Given the lovely economic downturn, I'm doing my part to cut expenses. Lowered the thermostat to 60 and pushing hot fluids. So far, it's easier than going back to work full-time.
The husband and kids are finally starting to adjust to the austere chill in the house, although I do have to monitor the thermostat. Someone (husband is key suspect) keeps trying to turn the temp up to 64. Much too hot!
Less whining. More layers.