7 Quick Takes Friday!

Last updated on: March 9, 2017 at 5:08 pm by Calah Alexander

7 Quick Takes Friday! 2017-03-09T17:08:55-05:00 Calah Alexander

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So I started running again this week. I ran every morning except yesterday, when I woke up feeling sick and figured that was enough of an excuse to sit around and watch TV all day. (I cleaned and baked bread in the afternoon out of sheer guilt, though.)

I hate the postpartum return to running. It’s the most embarrassing and awkward thing ever. I mean, this is what I want to look like, and on good days this is even how I feel inside:

But then I catch a glimpse of my shadow or my reflection in one of the canals and realize that I actually look like this:

Minus the smile

This wasn’t that big of a deal when I lived in Vegas and Dallas. There, I could anonymously run down the street and not be too terribly embarrassed, because I literally didn’t know a single person. Here, every person who passes me either lives on my street or on the other side of the Piazza. I know them all. So on top of the literal pain of running, there’s the pain of swallowing my dignity and being like, “yes, I am awkward, un-athletic and jiggly. Keep driving, please.” It’s not fun, but I’m addicted to endorphins, especially now that my seratonin is on strike. So I bite the bullet and run. Or, you know, walk/jog extremely slowly while huffing.

I’m also almost finished with this book that I started three weeks ago. I’ve been reading it slowly because I’m really enjoying it. This week I’ve started sitting down with the book and my one (wah!) daily cup of coffee and reading in our sitting room with the windows open. It’s extremely peaceful for the 2.5 minutes that someone is not crying/screaming/hitting their sibling. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and am going to post on it soon, because it’s so wonderful. And it makes me want to visit a Benedictine monastery SO badly, but the closest one is a 3 hour drive. Boo.

Did you catch that detail in the last paragraph? With the windows open? Oh yes, dudes, it is FINALLY winter in Florida! 74 degree days! 50 degree mornings! 50 degree nights! Open windows! Long-sleeved shirts, sometimes! The occasional breeze!

I’m beyond happy. I love cold weather, and even though this is the closest I’m going to get to “cold” for the next year at least, I’m grateful for it. I even had a window-to-window conversation with my next door neighbor yesterday. It’s really fun living in a place where you can chat with your neighbors across your open windows.

Until I start yelling at the kids. Then it’s embarrassing, even if the kids totally deserve it. (They do, the little scoundrels.)

And because this is the internet, my next quick take has to be a disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I never curse at my children. I sometimes curse at the dishwasher, the washing machine, the broom and the vacuum, but almost always when the kids are out of earshot. And those rare-ish times when I fail at self-control, I put Tabasco on my tongue while my kids watch. Cause that’s the punishment for swearing in our house. Unfortunately it doesn’t work very well with Charlotte, who loves Tabasco. Sometimes she says, “what the hell” and then goes and gets the Tabasco sauce herself.

Seriously, where’s my trophy?

And now I must leave you, because of this:

Go see Jen for more quick takes! Happy Friday!

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7 Quick Takes Friday

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Of All Things Visible and Invisible

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November 13, 2012 Slow and Steady

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