That kind of parent.

I've always been a little disturbed by "those" parents.  The ones dragging their toddlers to the ski hill when they can't possibly be enjoying themselves.  Too little to really learn much of anything much less how to ski. 

What sort of monstrous parent shows her toddler videos of other toddlers skiing?  Only one who plans to catapult her daughter into a life of fruitless comparison and unattainable standards.

 

 

Well... I am not that kind of parent.  I totally let Clara scrape up her new skis (a present from Hanukkah Harry a.k.a. Keith Brodsky) on the patio since the snow is a little daunting for her still (boy, she turns 2 in February I sure hope she gets with the program soon!).  And I taught her one of the most important things about resort skiing: it's all about gluttony.  Greasy pizza?  Check.  Sweet treats as snacks?  Check.  It was actually a really fun day and reminder 987497897 that my pre-parent judgments should have been checked at the hospital door.     

 



 





Back in the Saddle-ish (?)

If you at all follow this blog (which I doubt anyone does anymore...) or my Facebook, you know that an annual tradition in my world is "Fat Camp" or a backpacking trip involving Meghan Hicks and now Amber, perhaps Dave and whomever else.  This year Jill was able to join us since she had some sort of respiratory illness that ended her Tour Divide early (bike race from Canada to Mexico).  Amber's co-fish-biologist-nerd buddy Lora also came which was a real treat. 

 

Last year Fat Camp didn't happen, which is good because I wouldn't have been able to go due to work obligations and having an infant.  This year I still have work obligations but now that my infant is a toddler it's a little easier to abandon her like the crappy mom that I am.  (I kid, she's totally fine... I hear happy parents are good parents etc.).  As you likely know, my Fat Camp friends are all fit athletes.  I have never been much of an athlete but I once was fit at least.  I haven't been exercising much and I don't have much of an excuse anymore.  I won't belabor this point but I am starting to feel the effects of the combination of age (I'm 40 now!) and inactivity (and beer consumption, yum).  But boy oh boy this trip reminded me of the point of staying fit and active.  How else can you experience the beauty of places like the Wind River Range in Wyoming (where we backpacked)?  It helps to not be a *total* beer swilling fat-ass.  Luckily it's not too late for me quite yet and I feel inspired and motivated to resume getting out as much as I can and even bring Clara with me so she can grow up liking all the same stuff I do so she wants to hang out with me all the time.  That's totally going to happen right?    

by Jill Homer

Getting out for this trip, where we didn't even do the huge days we normally do (we did I think 56 miles in 5 days whereas we normally average 15-20 miles a day), was a good wake up call that I need to get back into shape and that I really need this kind of stuff to stay balanced.  It's good to get outside.  Thanks friends for a wonderful trip.  I don't want to get too ahead of myself but I think I might be back soon.

By Lora Tennant

Almost a year of motherhood

I was inspired by Jill to update my blog -- I will be honest, I haven't been reading blogs but I happened to read hers today and it made me feel like I should update my blog.  It has been so long since I updated this blog that the photo uploader seems to have moved on into some new method of accepting pictures and the old way doesn't work.  I am having difficulty uploading pictures but the few people still checking this are probably also friends of mine on Facebook and have already seen all my pictures anyhow.

Clara is going to be one in just a couple weeks.  It's hard to believe and amazing how much she has grown and developed into a little mini-person.  It has also been kind of a loooong blurry year.  A great one, but being pregnant seems like decades ago.  In the way that I used to obsess on races and training I obsess about milk supply, baby nutrition and baby sleep.  I haven't really cared particularly about much else and I don't feel apologetic about that fact.

However, now that Clara is almost one I am trying to start running again and am hoping to get back into some semblance of shape.  I turn 40 this summer and it seems that fitness becomes less optional as you get older.  I don't want to hurt and fall apart as I enter middle age.  I am signed up for White Mountains 100, which is the hardest race I've done heretofor which seems like a good way to work on my fitness -- it's in about two months so I'll do some something or rather and then by the time I finish the race I should be fitter.  If nothing else it should make for a good story.  I'm still all about good stories.