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2013 Recaps ~ 2014 Resolutions

Mr. P, Little Boy, and I said goodbye to 2013 over a homemade feast of roast duck, foie gras, beet and orange salad, mashed turnips, and champagne; since New Years is sandwiched in the middle of a work-week, and since none of us would make it past 10pm, it was lovely and low-key. While Little Boy relished in the thick slices of foie gras, Mr. P and I reflected on 2013 and our plans for 2014…

Vacations

  • We started 2013 skiing blissfully in France, then returned again in May to rainy northern France for a family reunion (stopping in Ireland for a great extended layover). Our most ambitious (and expensive!) trip was Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in August. Interspersed along the way were periodic trips to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Pennsylvania.
  • In 2014, our first big trip will be a long week skiing in France in February. We’ll go to San Francisco a few days in May, then… ? We’re still trying to figure out our summer trip. We’ll finish the year with XMas/New Years skiing in France.
  • 2014 Resolutions: Conserve vacation days so I can carry over the maximum of 1 week (I have grand ambitions of taking an entire month off from work in summer 2015).

Little Boy

  • What a big year for Little Boy! He started 2013 in preschool and ended the year in Kindergarten, where he has matured exponentially. He has a really good handle on letter sounds and is beginning to blend them together on his own… yes, he is on the cusp of reading. He is quite the artist, and can spend long periods of time coloring (he has an eye for detail and color). But he spends most of his indoor time assembling Lego kits. We are so proud of how far he’s come intellectually, physically, and socially (forgot to mention that he’s now “married” to a little girl in his after care program).
  • 2014 will be more of the same. As much as I want to, nothing can stop this Little Boy from getting older.
  • 2014 Resolutions: Teach Little Boy to play chess. Do more art together. Do more museums. In the spring and summer, take Little Boy to excellent outdoor places (we already do this, but we should do more).

Xmas, 2013

Grad School

  • I took two classes in 2013 –one per Spring/Fall semester — and they were both hellish ordeals involving 10-20 hours of work per week. What happened to the brochure image of the happy adult learner, effortlessly managing their full-time job and family commitments alongside their grad work? Instead, I was furiously reading research articles about metacognition at 3:30am (after my “full night” of sleep) while drinking the coffee and nibbling the chocolate that would fuel my early morning 8-mile run, which had to be finished at 6:30am so Mr. P could do his morning run and I could shower, dress, and feed the Little Boy (and myself) and be at work by 8am so I could put in my 9 hours… huh? What was the question?
  • I expect 2014 to be exactly the same.
  • 2014 Resolution: Stop killing myself to get perfect As. It’s not worth it.

Cat

  • We started 2013 without a cat. We ended 2013 with a cat.
  • He’ll probably make it through 2014 (if he stays this cute 😉
  • 2014 Resolution: Seriously, what resolution could I possibly make about my cat?

Running

  • I started 2013 with a lingering quad injury that I was convinced would never go away. Rest didn’t seem to help, so I started running again anyway in February — which cured me. In April I set road PRs for 5K, 10K, and 5 miles. In June I ran the inaugural TARC 50 miler, which was a total mud fest. I completed Vermont 100K (thanks to my pacer Mr. P, and my family crew). I took a break, scaling back the mileage until running a killer marathon in the Grand Tetons in August. I took another break and then ran an assortment of half marathons and shorter distances in the Fall. Although I’ve had bodily niggles here and there, I managed to avoid any major injuries. Overall, a good year.
  • I’m currently in off-season mode, but I’m about to ramp up quickly for the Miwok 100K in San Francisco in May (I “won” entry in the highly competitive lottery). It’s a hilly race, so I’ll be focused on hills (duh). I have a few ultra races in March/April for training. After Miwok, who knows? I’ll probably need a break over the summer and may spend the rest of the year trying to win short road races (5Ks and 10Ks).
  • 2014 Resolutions: Do a snowshoe race. Do a XC ski race. Keep a training log. More squats. More hills. More speed work. Become fat-adapted through low-carb training (to avoid the ultra nausea).

Work

  • In 2013, the small reading software company I work for was bought by a very well-known company. This has brought added job security and better perks (more tuition assistance, more vacation, the prospect of a raise for the first time in 3 years). I’m in a pretty good place right now.
  • No plans to move, but who knows what will happen in 2014?
  • 2014 Resolutions: Maintain productivity in the office so I can work at home more often on days I don’t have meetings.

Random 2014 Resolutions

  • More date nights with Mr. P.
  • More home improvement projects (painting, moulding, lighting, new dishwasher).
  • More blogging (even if it’s boring blogging).

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By Meredith – January 1, 2014

“Santa is Magic”

“Santa is magic.” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve uttered those exact words or otherwise expressed this sentiment, I could pay for all of Little Boy’s Christmas presents (which will be quite the haul this year).

Little Boy’s Christmas list originated right after Halloween, with frequent additions. I encouraged the list because, despite the materialistic “gimme gimme” underpinnings, it’s an excellent at-home reading/writing activity — he’d name a toy and I’d either verbally dictate the letters for him or help him sound it out. But now he wants to add everything he could ever want to the list — from toys to animals to food.

Like, earlier this week we saw an Erector set toy sitting on a Toys for Tots donation table. “Mama, what do the letters say? I need to add it to my list!”

“Space Chaos,” I told him. And the whole way home, he made me repeat it so he wouldn’t forget the name. I finally scribbled it down on a piece of paper, to relieve him of the fear that we would forget it, because it was driving me crazy: “Space Chaos, Space Chaos…” These words are etched on my very soul.

Anyway, he got the notion that all he has to do is write something on the list and Santa will bring it. The list is quite long, and has everything from Dreamlites to baby cats. “Hon, Santa can’t bring everything,” I have told him. This makes him worry, as certain things on the list are much more important than others. Like Space Chaos — so important.

Lots of really good and tricky questions about Santa, like this one: If Santa’s elves make the toys he brings on Christmas morning, do they also make the toys we see in stores, because the toys are the same? This lead to a discussion about factories and factory workers (who are “sort of like elves”), the living conditions of factory workers (who may or may not live communally “sort of like elves”) but definitely do not dress like elves or have pointy ears. The eventual end of the discussion could really not be anything except the whole “Santa is magic” declaration. Done!

However, though a lot of things about Santa are still plausible to a 5 year-old boy who is smart enough to understand that there are lots of things he doesn’t understand, he finally has realized that every Santa he sees is not the “real” Santa. Which, I think, has made going to visit Santa a little less special (but still an exciting event).

Santa 2013

Pretty good picture (Little Boy’s smile! Awww!) though the Santa 2011 photo is still one of my all-time favorite. The “You People are Completely Nuts” look in his eyes combined with his “I’ll Do Whatever They Tell Me To” smile just kills me.

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By Meredith – December 15, 2013

Beaujolais and Blogging

Last night, my grad school class effectively ended in a blaze of PowerPoint glory! when I and my project team member (on behalf of our two distance-learning team members) presented the culmination of our semester-long labor to our Fortune 500 stakeholders, assembled in a 130-degree university classroom… to much accolades!

And what a labor it was: near-daily team meetings, hours of work, and more hours of fret… it’s funny. Ha. You sign up for grad school and think, “Oh, I’m only taking one class. I can easily fit it in somewhere ‘tween family life, work life, life life…”

But no. It takes over. This semester’s class was one long group project. I spent more time with my group than I did my husband. Absurd.

Yet… it’s over. So 3 classes down, 7 to go until I am a Master of a fashionable Science. I celebrated tonight with Beaujolais. And blogging.

To catch up: Thanksgiving was nice. We went skiing in Maine (’cause in late November, Maine usually has a pretty decent man-made snow pack). It was cold and windy, but we solaced ourselves at night in the outdoor heated pool. The steam was thick and the sangria sweet. I forgot about grad school, and work, and running — yeh off-season! — and everything except my two boys:

On the Sunday River gondola

Warming & fueling up in the lodge

At home -- kitty-cat is comfy!

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By Meredith – December 11, 2013

Ooops

Oh, I think this is the longest I’ve gone not updating my blog without the excuse of being overseas and bereft of internet. Bad, bad! What happened to that daily compulsion to write? It was sublimated by attending to near-insurmountable day job demands as well as an annoying amount of grad school busywork, plus traveling, running, domesticating, and hanging out with my boys. Or, as Little Boy would winsomely put it… “my bros.”

He’s doing great in Kindergarten. Or, as his teacher put it during the parent-teacher conference… “I don’t think he has a learning disability.” Excellent!

Honestly, he’s doing great. Even if he’s not reading yet (and really, two decades ago the idea of a 5 year-old not reading was normal — not a situation to monitor, anxiously) the teacher reports he comes to school ready to learn, works tasks to completion, is very popular (with both boys and girls), and has a decidedly “engineer” mentality. Her words: “engineer!” Every parent goes to the Kindergarten parent-teacher conference hoping to find out what their child will be when they grow up, and I swear, while looking at a picture he constructed of a castle (which he spelled “ksl”, but whateva) she pointed to his intricate rendering of the curtain walls and said “Look, that’s an engineer!” We’re holding you to that, Mrs. R. If he doesn’t grow up and build bridges in Africa, we’re going to have another little conference.

Playing at dock construction, Habitat

Halloween -- Red Ninja!

Cool October Day at Boston Harbor!

Our pumpkins, courtesy of Grandpa's Pumpkin Patch

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By Meredith – November 20, 2013

Great Kid

Lately there have been too many pictures of sweaty runners on this website. And not enough Little Boy.

I have good intentions of sitting down and writing a lengthy post about how Little Boy is adjusting to Kindergarten life, but work, grad school, domesticity, and my own pursuits (see sweaty running pictures) have been all-consuming. When I’m not engaged in those things, I’m usually hanging out with Little Boy and Mr. P, because that is my greatest joy.

When Little Boy came home 2 and 1/2 years ago, I took him to an International Adoption doctor in Boston. She gave him a thorough physical as well as a battery of developmental tests. This was about one week after we came home (I wanted tests for parasites, pronto) and though I loved him dearly, it was an abstract love — Little Boy and I were still strangers, I was a new mom, and the language barrier often made simple things a struggle. Essentially, I was uncertain and a little scared about suddenly being in charge of Little Boy’s life. I think the doctor could sense my uncertainty, because at the end of the visit she looked me straight in the eye and said, “This is a great kid.”

“Yeah, he is,” I agreed.

She repeated, “This is a great kid,” sounding 100% more certain than I did.

Maybe the doctor says that to all the new adoptive parents, to bolster spirits, rally confidence, and foster acceptance. But these days, when people ask me about my son, that is exactly what I say: “He is a great kid.”

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By Meredith – October 31, 2013

TARC Fall Classic 2013

Exactly one week ago, last Friday, a co-worker asked me what I had on tap for the weekend.

“Oh, just a race tomorrow morning,” I said.

“Uh-oh! I’m afraid to ask how long!” she said.

“It’s only a half-marathon,” I said. I said “only,” only because earlier this year she would ask me how long my races were and I’d say horrific things like “50 miles” and “100K.”

But of course she started laughing. “Only a half-marathon!”

Ha ha, but really. A half-marathon doesn’t seem like much to me any more. For the TARC Fall Classic, I was originally signed up to do the marathon, but the fact that I’m kinda sort maybe trying to qualify for Boston by running the Philadelphia Marathon next month gave me pause, because this TARC Fall Classic is the very race that effectively ended my season last year, when I pulled my quad running the 50K (a week after running the Chicago marathon). I’ve learned. I emailed the race director the week before and asked to switch to the half, because, if I’m going to qualify for Boston, I need more running fast, not more running long.

I’m not that fast, though. Faster than last year, for sure. I’ve used some of Mr. P’s road-running techniques — tempo runs, sprints. I even went to the local high school track one morning but then the football team showed up and I freaked out and left… the next day, I had a knot in my hamstring and I vowed to Mr. P “No more running fast.” But the allure of finishing higher in the race results is undeniable. I’ve evolved past wanting to do a race to prove I could do the distance; I now aspire to be faster in the shorter distances, to be a little more competitive in the popular local races, and dare I say, I aspire to qualify for Boston (which involves running 26 miles for about 8:20/mile, so yeah, it’s insane, but why not try)?

Among the local trail running community, the TARC events are beloved and always very competitive. There are always a good number of newcomers who show up, not realizing that a trail race means roots, rocks, and hills — very different from the treadmill! But it’s a good time and costs $20 and they let us download the photos for free. Gotta love the TARC. I finished in 2 hours 10 minutes — 10th girl out of 41.

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By Meredith – October 25, 2013

October Randomness

The nights are chilly, the leaves are dropping, and we can no longer take an apres-diner romp on the funground. Hells yeah, it’s October!

We’ve been busy. Little Boy is a full-fledged youth soccer player, which requires commitment beyond my wildest expectations. Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings — gone, poof, to soccer. Which is fine, because he’s getting markedly better and enjoying it. At the beginning, he was wasting that precious lightening left-foot kick by anointing himself as the sole defensive player on his team. Apparently young children don’t play positions in soccer — they are all supposed to chase the ball en masse, all 10 of them attacking the ball at once, a throng of kicky little legs. It’s encouraged to develop their dribbling skills but it makes for a chaotic (not to mention exhausting) soccer experience for the kids.

Which is why, when Little Boy realized how nonsensical it was for everyone on the team to chase after the ball and he decided to buck against the norm by playing defense, I was a little proud of him. Of course logically, strategically — they shouldn’t all run after the ball. But if Little Boy stood on the other side of the field, guarding his team’s goal, not only did the other parents look at me with pity (that my son’s not a joiner), he was losing valuable soccer skills — not to mention he’d never score a goal! We had to force him to defy the logic and join the herd.

And last week, he scored his first in-game goal!

Half-time Snack

Both Little Boy and Primus the kitten have been growing exponentially. They have a hate-love-hate relationship. Now that we aren’t always rushing off to the funground in the evening, they’ve made a brotherly peace.

We went to Gillette Stadium to take in a football game. I’d love to say we saw the Patriots, but we aren’t committed to taking Little Boy to an NFL football game before he understands really basic fundamentals of the game. So we paid $10 each to see my Alma Mater UMass take on Miami… Miami, Ohio, that is.

Are you ready for some football?

UMass won, apparently (we left after the stellar half-time show! The bandies will inherit the earth!)

Grandpa and Grandma came to visit a few weekends ago, which mean that Mr. P and I could go on a date — and when I saw “date,” I mean “arriving and departing an early Sunday morning running race together.” Oh, but we enjoy it! I gave Mr. P a carte blanche on the event and he choose the Nahant 30K, a road race. “Sure, fine,” I said. It turned out this is a key event in the USA Track and Field Grand Prix, meaning that amateur runners across Massachusetts flock to the Nahant 30K, and everyone was in a running club, and despite the fact that I ran 8:30 min/mile for 18.6 miles, I still finished in the bottom half of the girls. Super competitive. The pre-race ladies’ room line reminded me why I prefer the camaraderie of trail races. Trail runners would be avidly discussing hydration gear, watches, and sports bras while debating whether to just go in the woods; road runners examine their competition’s shoes, legs, and waists with steely glares. Nahant was a tough race, for sure.

Mr. P finishing Nahant 30K

Me finishing Nahant 30K (18.6 hilly miles)

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By Meredith – October 15, 2013

Flat Mountain Pond (First Backpacking)

We took our first backpacking trip with Little Boy more than two weeks ago. We headed north about 2.5 hours to the Sandwich Range in New Hampshire, remembering the Flat Mountain Pond Shelter as an accessible and exciting hike, suitable for a 5-year old boy. Unfortunately, we got a late 3pm start; 2 miles into the flat 4.5-mile hike, when it became apparent that we would not reach the Shelter by sundown (because SOMEONE was not even TRYING to walk), I sent Mr. P ahead to set up the tent while I coaxed Little Boy along the trail.

That was BEFORE I remembered the four not-easy brook crossings on the way to the Shelter. So, the thing about crossing brooks with a 5-year olds: They have little legs. They cannot always use the entrenched rocks to cross, so you may have to carry them. And you may, by virtue of their unstable weight and the rush of the currents and the whole goshdarn stress of the situation… you may fall into the brook, clutching your 5-year old furiously to your chest, crying out in pain as your calf muscle inexplicably spasms in some running-induced side-effect as it hits the frigid brook in a strange, abrupt angle… causing your 5-year old to, in turn, shout “Mommy! Mommy!” as his feet dip into the water… and it’s a horrible moment but one that, ultimately, brings you closer together, because you make it across the brook and you’re both a little wet, but you’re out in the woods in the middle of nowhere, alone, together, and the man who convinced you this trip would be a good idea is miles away, and since you can’t punch him, you must hug each other.

Of course, when we were about 1 mile away from the shelter, and the light was fading, Mr. P showed up to help us the rest of the way to the Shelter in the dimming light. What a satisfying yet disgusting dinner that was! As was the sleep! At least when we woke up, we could see everything.

Our tent at Flat Mountain Pond

Flat Mountain Pond

Breakfast -- huddling in the shelter

happy camper

Fishing

World's Smallest Trout!

Worm

Hiking back

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By Meredith – October 3, 2013

5 Years Down (and a lifetime to go)

Today is our five year wedding anniversary! EEEK!

If I really think about it, I can’t believe it. It’s gone by so fast. But it seems like we’ve been together forever, so it’s gone by so slow.

We haven’t really changed that much in five years. But, we’ve changed so much. We’ve gotten crazier about some things. And saner about the things that matter.

I feel like I should fear getting older, but honestly, I don’t. Not with Mr. P to keep life exciting.

Vt 100K: 42 miles down, ready to spend the next 20 miles with my pacer in life

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By Meredith – September 20, 2013

Days 8-12: Grand Tetons

Days 1 & 2: Getting there via Billings and the Beartooth Highway

Day 3: visiting the Norris Basin and the Artist Paintpots; hiking the Beaver Ponds Trail

Day 4: Exploring Mammoth Hot Springs; visiting Lamar Valley and hiking to Slough Creek

Day 5: Conquering Mount Washburn; visiting the Mud Volcano; leaving Mammoth for Yellowstone Lake

Day 6: hiking the lower rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Day 7: visiting Old Faithful and the other geysers; leaving Yellowstone Lake for the Grand Tetons

Day 8: hiking to Two Ocean Lake; visiting Signal Mountain

Day 9: hiking to Taggart and Bradley Lake; leaving Colter Bay Village for Grand Targhee

Day 10: running the Grand Tetons trail marathon

Day 11: Leaving Grand Targhee for Bozeman, MT

Day 12: returning to Boston

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Let’s finish (end! over!) this vacation round-up with the Grand Tetons excursion, just past the southern edge of Yellowstone National Park. (Did you know “Grand Tetons” translates to “big breasts” in French? No wonder Mr. P’s parents were excited to go there… not to mention the many French tourists we encountered. I mean, if there was a mountain range called “Big Breasts”… wouldn’t you be curious?)

Big Breasts, indeed!

We hiked. Of course we hiked. Since the trails are less populated than Yellowstone, we made sure to have our trusty bear spray on hand.

Ready with the bear spray

Our cabin was awesome, except there was only one bathroom. Word of advice: never share a bathroom with your elderly in-laws for three days.

Grand Tetons cabin

Little Boy was really getting into the rhythm of the trip: wake up, small breakfast, hike, picnic lunch, hike, relax, dinner. We sure enjoyed the family time!

We did two six-mile hikes over two days.

Then, we ventured briefly into Idaho and then back into Wyoming for the Grand Tetons Trail marathon that Mr. P and I were taking on. Yes, a marathon in the mountains, starting at 9000 feet elevation. What was I thinking? I live at sea level. I felt like I ran the entire thing while being gagged with a towel. Given I’m a flatlander, it’s a wonder that I finished 6th girl out of 15, and 19/37 overall (Mr. P finished 8th overall, rah rah).

The first climb up the mountain

No, I didn't finish the marathon in 1 hour 40 minutes... not quite (that was for another race)

The marathon pretty much killed us for the day. As well as the next day, when we left for Bozeman, MT. Cool town. The populace seemed to pride themselves on being active outdoor enthusiasts with the same fervor that Bostonians prides themselves on being surly sports nuts. During our picnic (the last picnic!), we watched scores of people tubing serenely down the Madison River.

Last Picnic by Madison River

The next day, we drove back to Billings to catch our plane to Boston. Time to return home, to work, and to the start of Kindergarten. I can’t say that Little Boy really enjoyed the vacation, but I know it was formative and maybe something he’ll remember when he’s older? And hopefully, not as a repressed memory during therapy.

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By Meredith – September 19, 2013