Snow

Tuesday morning Mathews County awoke to gray skies, a layer of snow on the ground, lingering snow flurries, no school for Daughter and no work for me.  (This was one of the rarest of rare occasions my place of employment shut down for the day.  I think they need to try it more often, they might like it. I know I would.)

By the afternoon, clouds gave way to sunshine, but the temperatures were still brutally cold.

So much has happened since I last posted I hardly know where to start.

Saturday morning, Baby Sis and I traveled to New Kent Winery and stood in the freezing cold along with about 1,600 others for what felt like hours waiting on the start of a race. If that wasn't a test of endurance I don't know what is.  Naturally neither of us had trained for it, but even so we placed in the middle of the pack for the 10K.  (There was also a 5K.)  Afterwards we sampled some of the wine, which helped make the pain and agony of gasping for breath in frigid weather somewhat worthwhile.

Later she talked me into going back with her to Richmond. Her friend Dino made us a delicious Valentines supper of perfectly cooked baked salmon, and the three of us headed out to see a band at the Broadberry Theater.  I confess that the very last thing I wanted to do after running a 10K early on a Saturday morning an hour from home in brutal temperatures was stay up late and see a band, but in hindsight I'm glad I did.  We had a really good time.

Sunday night I joined my friend Alda, her husband, and a new friend with one of the most unusual names I've ever heard--Myrtchas--for dinner in Deltaville, also a good time and not something I'd ordinarily do on a Sunday night.

Monday Daughter and I waited eagerly for details about the impending snow storm. I started cooking, because that's what I tend to do when it snows.  Vegetarian chili, lasagna and cornbread for starters.  An odd combination but somehow it worked.

Tuesday morning we awoke to the winter wonderland above. Later in the day I started sweating--very unusual in a house I keep at a steady 67 degrees even in this frigid weather--and realized I'm getting sick.  Thankfully, because work was cancelled, I could spend the day in bed without feeling guilty. I still found time to make more food, including a chocolate peanut butter pudding cake in the crock pot.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Not sure where the punctuation goes, but all of those words belong.

That same day, in between bouts of sweating, I still had to walk the dog six times in the snow.  Six times.  Six. In calf-deep snow. My aging dog has kidney disease and when he's not drinking water he's expelling it.  It's great fun in 20-degree weather when you're simultaneously sweating and coughing.  Good times.

That's OK.  Except for the dog and running 6.2 miles on a hilly course in New Kent County in frigid temperatures my minor aches and pains, the past several days have been wonderful.

Practically perfect.

Hope all is well where you are.

-CBW

Nonstop

This heron was presiding over some East River crab pots near Williams Wharf on Thursday morning.

He was not far from where I parked my car to run four slow miles.  During that run, I chastised myself repeatedly for accomplishing only one or two of a mile-long list of things that were to have been done on my days off this week.

My son graduates high school in two weeks. There are lots of emotions swirling about that major milestone alone. Next week Busy Season begins at work, and I'll be putting in more hours. The doctor says my blood pressure is high, and I am also Vitamin B-12 deficient (among other things, one of which requires a nerve test at the end of June. Joy!).

Daughter is still in the throes of sports and has a soccer game tonight in West Point, which I'll attend after work.  Wearily. Cow bell dragging behind me, kicking up dust.

And, I just got the first email regarding the upcoming fall cross country season, which Daughter eagerly anticipates. There is a meeting Monday night in the high school cafeteria for runners and very exhausted parents.

After spending most of the week "off" from work--doing yard work and other not-so-small feats of hard, physical labor--I'm still wondering if things will ever slow down or get caught up.

More importantly I wonder why I thought they ever would.

Yet I did.

For now, I am just trying to keep everything in perspective and be grateful for all the good.  Because there is a lot of good.  I'm just tired.

This weekend won't necessarily be restful, but it most definitely should be enjoyable.  My friend Glenda turns 50, and her celebration takes place Saturday on New Point island.  Hopefully there will be pictures and, no doubt, a story or two.

Have a great weekend.