You all should know that I have been waking up every morning at 6:20 a.m. to walk for an hour with a friend. I hate this. And love this. I hate it in the two minutes between 6:17 a.m. and 6:20 a.m. when I am awake, still in bed and wondering if there’s any way I can stand up my friend without being rude and embarrassed.
I love it every minute of the day after 6:35 a.m., once I’m underway and after I’m done. Something about early-morning daily exercise makes me feel so virtuous. I am a night person, a middle of the day person, but not at all a morning person. But I like being a morning exerciser, so I make choices.
While the rest of you are melting like an ice cream cone held by a two-year old, I am wearing jeans and a sweatshirt while I sit at the pool and watch the kids swim. It’s been 70 degrees here and a little overcast. (A morning marine layer scoots in from the ocean and it takes until noon before the sun burns it off.) I love this kind of weather, although I’d really like to spend more of these cloudy afternoons swinging in a hammock, reading.
And no, I have no hammock, nor do I ever read in the afternoon unless I’m at the pool and then it’s like this: read one sentence, “Mom, look at this!”, look, smile, nod, reread the same sentence, “No, that wasn’t it! Look at this!”, look, smile, give thumbs-up signal, scan page to figure out where I was, read the same sentence again. This is a very slow way to get through a novel.
My daughter has packed up ten stuffed animals, her CD player, headphones, a Petco Pet Member Card, a rubber band, a dolly, and–who knows?–a partridge in a pear tree because we’re going to visit friends for the weekend. She is very excited about this impending adventure, but the 14-year olds are mad because I “ruined” their weekend. “Thanks a lot, Mom!” (They had planned a sleepover tonight and were going to a sort-of birthday party on Saturday. “Can I just stay home?” one of them asked. “No!” I said. “Why?!” he said. “Because,” I said, “You’re not old enough, you’re not responsible, and because I said so.”) I bring joy and despair wherever I go.
Look out.
Actual Unretouched Photo 
I am procrastinating some housework too. Only, my housework consists of powerwashing the actual house so that we can begin painting it tomorrow. ho hum…maybe it will wash itself.
I spent a lot of time at the pool this summer and not once did I think to bring a book. I admire you for trying.
LikeLike
I feel like I’ve been caught… I am supposed to be cleaning for dinner guests tonight. So what if they are my parents, I still want the house to look nice, you know, so it looks like I actually *do* something during the day. Sigh!
Steph
LikeLike
I read the same way! No wonder it takes me over a month to get through a book.
LikeLike
I read novels in the same manner! LOL!
I’ve gotten smarter though as I’ve been taking one of my new old books down to the lake with me. You know the kind, slightly falling apart which someone else has already marked in *grin* I also have a handy dandy highlighter in hand and not only highlight the things I like in the book, but mark a dot every time I have to look up at some spectacular swimming antics. It makes it easier to find my place…hehehe…
Blessings,
Tammy
LikeLike
That’s a mom—bringing joy and despair wherever we go. Some days I feel like I exist to ruin everyone’s good times and fun.
LikeLike
This is what I am doing right now! Having to walk to the window every 1.10 minutes to check out the latest pool trick of my son’s. I do the gym thing in the early mornings and it is so very tough to get in that car.
LikeLike
i’m very good at procrastinating and also at ruining my kids’ plans!! that’s what mothers do, right?
LikeLike
I’m not a morning person, either. I missed exercising this summer when the kids were home. (I mean I found a great exuse not to.) I am back home from dropping them off by 7:30A now, so I am back to walking in the morning. And the rest of the day I feel so good about myself. But if I could sleep late, instead, I would probably skip it.
LikeLike