May 5

So far so good.   Last week's "training"report:

Weds- 2.5 miles, speed intervals.  
Thursday- walking day!  Three block walk to enjoy the flowering trees on Somerton, waked ivy to ballet, and walked the track with Melinda.
Friday-  my first 5 miler!  Boring, but doable. I have to tell you, I didn't even look at the time, though based on my speed it should have taken around 50 minutes.
 For the first two miles I thought of nothing but stopping, but after mile three I kind of forgot I was running and just got intomthemold episode of Greys anatomy I was watching.  I didn't feel tired until about 2 pm...
Saturday-- got my exercise loading and unloading bins from the van for the baby bargain bonanza in the morning. And  rehearsing for a few hours.  And, my mom and I walked a mile at Lakewood Park. Had designs on a walk through the cultural gardens, too, but tired children meant time close to home instead.
Today-- let's just call it an active rest day, ok?  Concert tonight, wandering the beach today.  A fair amounts of sitting and standing and soaking up the sun.  Back to business at the gym tomorrow.

27 days!

May 1

I could launch into a litany of excuses.

I was tired/busy/not inspired to write because [insert standard excuses here].

Ok.

Moving on.

It's May and the sun has come out and the flowers are blooming and the evenings linger, sumptuous and brimming with the green of new life.

I'm inspired again.

Perhaps overly so.  I've bought paint in 5 colors over the past week.  I've signed up for a 5K. I've got this little girl who is turning 3 in a matter of days.  Jack's soccer schedule adds two more events per week to schedule in.  I have both a concert and a resale this weekend.  The school year is hurtling towards a close, crowded with meetings and much to fit in 4 short weeks.

Life is full indeed and a part of me thinks that just making it through these next 30 days in one piece may be challenge enough.

So for this month I will acknowledge that an every-single-day goal just might not be feasible.

And that to get everything done I will probably need to multi-task.  In a serious way.

With that in mind my challenge this month will be to train, purposely, towards the goal of not embarrassing myself too badly in the 5K Becca and I are running on June 2nd.

This probably won't entail running every day but it might include exercise of some sort every day, and at the very least following a structured workout schedule and plan of increasing distances and speed drills.

It's worth a shot, right?

I'm off to a decent start, with 2.5 miles of speed intervals under my belt this morning.  Friday may be a challenge as my distance days in May are supposed to be at least 5 miles...

Here's to minimal embarassment!  And surviving May!

I promise to take time to smell the flowers....

April!

Well.

Let's just pretend that March only had 19 days, ok?

Between that nasty cold, traveling to Wyoming, and a period of ennui in between, there wasn't a lot of poetry in my heart the last few weeks of the month.

I lie.  There was plenty of poetry in my heart in Wyoming.  I do love it there.  But being on single mom duty, with a time change, and the altitude... Excuses excuses....

A part of me wants to try again this month, as apparently it is National Poetry Month.

A part of me also wants to get my arse back on the exercise bandwagon (illness plus travel is also bad for one's gym routine....) with something ambitious like exercising every day...

A part of me is waiting for inspiration to strike, for a good, meaningful focus to appear before me... Something that will keep me going for a full, life-shifting Thirty Days...

I'm going to blame the time change again, and beg for a few more days to decide...

More later....

March 18

little girl
you
with the eyes that gleam
the knowing smile
Eyebrows that tell a story

little face
Pink lips
Hair in your eyes
Brushed back with your wrist

you
With the funny voice
The sweetest kiss
The indomitable spirit

I could not love you more
If I tried

March 19

In chorus

For this moment
We are all
Like minded
Like voiced
Blending and unified
On one open-mouthed ahh

Eyes raised
Hearts raised
We work together to create

A note
A tone
A chord
A dream

When we walk out
Of this space
At 9:30
We will go back to our
Own lives
Own ideas
Politics
Jobs
Our own colored lenses on the world

But right now
For this moment

We are working
In chorus.

March 17

So.   A brief hiatus to deal with a nasty spring cold that knocked me right on my derriere for a few days.  I did have some momentary inspiration for verses about my aching bones on Thursday, but not the energy to type.   Tonight- feeling better, thank you.  Not particularly inspired, but better...

I did promise to try, though, so here is me, getting back on track...

Fever

there is something
out of body
about
a fever

acutely aware
of each of my bones

from a distance

trapped and dizzy
shuffling
hot

aching ankles
burning skin

focused on each step
each move
the promise of sleep
or ibuprofen
 
it will not consume me

I am only watching!

but first,
I think,
a nap
 

March 13

Snuffly nose today and tired.   Not the best time for poetic inspiration. 
I wrote a kind of crappy poem about the new pope and then I deleted it.

I promise to try harder tomorrow.