Know thyself

Today one of my fellow SNBC/kickball friends had replied to a general kickball call-out e-mail after which I sent him a one-off message inquiring how he and his "happily-pregnant-with-first-child" wife were doing. He indicated the usual stuff--wife feeling good but getting tired, swelling up in the summer, so he's helping out more, etc...

He then told me they were starting on their daycare search and asked if I had any suggestions.

I let him know how very fortunate we were to have family care for our children and gave him the name of a mutual co-worker who quite recently went through a very thorough daycare selection process and would have a ton of information to share.

In my infinite wisdom though, I thought I should send him some little parental nugget. Instead of giving him suggestions on daycare, I went this route:

So the only advice I have to give is this (and it also applies to raising your
baby and everything else down the road): each person’s opinion is just
that—opinions. Many people will try to influence you with their
perspective of how things should be and that their way is better. You do
what you feel is right for your lifestyle and your child’s needs.

I hit send.

He was kind and replied: Thanks for the advice!

I processed that for a moment, then replied back:

Ooh! And I should also warn you---I am probably the biggest offender of
sharing my opinions or offering unsolicited advice. Just tell me to shove
it anytime and I won’t be offended.

His response: HAHAHAHAHAHA

I think that was his polite way of telling me to shove it...

-------------------

One more thing: I will have you all know that the "tell me to shove it" offer is not extended to everyone who reads this (you know who you are!).

:)

My First 5K!

31st Annual GET IN GEAR 10K Run/Walk
Minneapolis, MN Saturday April 26, 2008
5K OFFICIAL RESULTS - FEMALES

Place Bib Name Div Age Time Pace
1 5442 DEBRA GORMLEY 1 41 20:33 6:37
517 5573 JENNIFER JENSEN 101 34 36:11 11:39
537 5660 JESSICA K. 106 34 36:36 11:47
602 5880 JENNIFER N. 118 34 38:10 12:17




Okay, so I didn't run like a Kenyan, but I felt I ran a good race nonetheless, as did my partners who motivated me to sign up with them. I can not imagine running a 6:37 mile. That is pure insanity!

The weather at race time was gross. I'm still cold--12 hours after finishing. As mentioned in an earlier post, I started my training in single digit weather with below zero wind-chills to contend with. But this is the end of April, for goodness' sake. This morning we woke up to 32 degrees, snow on the ground and the wind gusting up to 25 MPH in our fair city. It was indeed crappy weather. But that didn't stop the people from coming out to run /walk.

My impression of this type of run / walk format was that we would line up according to pace and once the race started, the walkers would stay to one side of the road, the runners on the other side. It was not to be. We girls were toward the rear of the pack waiting for 9:50 to approach and then the mass of participants just started to move. There was no audible horn or starting gun to mark the beginning of the race. Once moving out of the chute, it took a while to get some room to get the stride going. And then when it started opening up a bit, it was a challenge to bob and weave through the walkers who meandered through the route and keep the momentum going. Because of these reasons, it didn't take long for us to get separated. Whether we intended to or not, we each ended up running our own race.

Despite the crappy weather, my Dad got out to the course and cheered us on. It was really neat to hear him call out: "Jennypoo!" to catch my attention on my way out, approximately at the one mile marker. On my way back, he was there again and I gave him a high five and kept on trucking with his encouraging cheers, "You're looking real strong out there. Keep it up!"

For the final quarter mile, there was a mild incline and straight-on wind gusts greeted us. While I tried to keep a little left in the tank for the finish, the wind was countering my efforts and I just couldn't make the final burst I had planned for. In the end, it didn't matter. The most important thing is that we all ran the entire course and we are living to tell about it.

We rock! Thanks again, girls, for inviting me to run with you. I'm looking forward to our next race together.

Testing...is this thing on?

Recently at a family gathering, a dear uncle thanked me for the fun-to-read thank you notes I sent on behalf of my kids for the Christmas gifts they received. He said I should've been a writer. I chuckled at the thought. I really do have a good time writing thank you notes--Christmas, birthdays. In fact, I get a lot of, "thank you for the lovely thank you. You have such a nice way of writing. I look forward to receiving them."

I try to tell a little story other than just:

Thank you for the toy. I like it a lot. I like to play with it all the time. Love, Cate.

It goes more like:

Dear Uncle Cliff, thank you so much for the Groovy Girls sticker fun book. I love the groovy girls! It was the first thing I wanted to play with. I like to have the Groovy Girls surfing on the beach. I really think the treasure chest you gave me was a lot of fun. I ate my chocolate right away, I cuddled with my little bear, I placed my snowglobe in my room, I shared my candy with Grandma and Grandpa, I colored with my new crayons...phew! I hope mommy remembered anything. Well, I've run out of room. I can't wait to see you at the big party at your house. Love, Cate

Okay, okay, I know that's not exactly how kids talk. But you get the idea and the recipients seem to enjoy it.

Damn, I digress on my first blog. Go figure. A friend introduced me to this site and so I thought, what the heck? Maybe I can write more than just a thank you note from time to time. Even if I am writing to myself, it could be fun to jot down the ramblings in my mind.


So....testing....is this thing on?