Spring is here, too busy to post

Now that spring is truly here, I have even more excuses for not posting much. It is simply too nice most days to stay in the house, in front of a computer. There are the regular household chores that have to be done, and some days those barely get completed, because who wants to sit inside folding laundry and cleaning the kitchen when it is 73, sunny, and oh so green outside? Malcolm certainly doesn't. If it is not raining, and sometimes even when it is, he is out in the yard as soon as he has had some breakfast. In his pajamas. I have managed to get him to the point where he puts his boots on without being told first, but that is sort of Pyrrhic victory, since he just pulls them off as soon as he gets to the sand box. Then he runs around without them, and I have to go collect the boots and, if he had them on, socks. He is certainly living up to the stereotype of the little boy who loves to play in the dirt! So much laundry from such a small person!

The vegetable garden is a bit behind - we had to shore up one of the beds, and the weather has been a bit erratic, so the tomatoes aren't in yet - but the lettuce, carrots, peas and kale are all growing apace. Iris are blooming all over our neighborhood, and our roses are starting to shine as well. If it weren't for the occasional severe thunderstorms that threaten us with golf-ball sized hail and the chance of tornadoes, April would be absolutely perfect.

Change is good, at least this time

What a difference a month makes! Instead of ice and snow, we have temperatures in the 70s most days, and everything is starting to bloom and grow.

I have been pondering another form of change and growth lately, in my attitude towards running. I've been running consistently for a little over a year now. Before training for last year's 10K, I ran occasionally, as a way to change up my exercise routine and do something that felt...cooler? than the elliptical. I had run three 5Ks when I decided to try a 10K, so it wasn't as if I was a complete beginner. But it was still something I did mainly for the benefits it gave me for other activities, like keeping me fit for tennis. Now? Now I can honestly say I run because I like running. That feels like such a radical statement for me, given that for most of my teens and 20s running was something I avoided at all costs, something akin to torture and craziness. These days, it is therapeutic, necessary. While I won't go so far as to say that I have felt a true runner's high, I definitely feel a mood lifting effect when I run these days. No matter how bad my day is or how foul a mood I am in, a run makes me feel better (at least for a little while).

Of course, I do still run to stay in shape, because I like to bake and cook and eat. And I believe in the Blerch. It is what got me started running, and some days it is what gets me out the door. I doubt I will ever run an ultramarathon, and might never even run a regular marathon, but if by getting out there four or five days a week I can keep the Blerch at bay and make myself happier, that is enough for me to keep putting on my shoes, strapping Malcolm into the stroller, and heading out for a run.