Violators Will Be Prosecuted

I had THE best workout tonight. Daddy was in the shower with the baby and someone needed to be there to get the baby out and dried off. Dinner was in the oven and someone needed to be there to watch it so it didn’t burn. I thought this would be the perfect time to go for a run jog.

It’s been 4 years since I’ve done any serious running jogging. A thoughtful neighbor of mine once informed me, after she quizzed me about how fast I ran, that I wasn’t really running then was I? I was JOGGING. Thanks for clearing that up for me V*&#$)! Of course that wasn’t a swear word! I’m just trying to conceal my sweet neighbor’s identity. I love that woman!

My 6 year old thought her heart would break if she had to be separated from me for 10 whole minutes (the length of time I thought it would take for my lungs to explode from this new activity) and demanded to go with me. I finally said fine but you will not be able to keep up with me and you have to promise not bawl your head off when I leave you. You also have to promise to turn around and walk home instead of throwing your little body into the canal to try to get back at me for abandoning you. She agreed and skipped off to put on her “running” shoes.

We were quickly on our way. It was a beautiful evening and I was deliriously happy to be running, for the first time, down a dirt road sandwiched between our property and the canal. The “No Trespassors”, “Government Property”, “Violators Will Be Prosecuted” signs didn’t deter me in the least. We had to fight off an attacking dog but that didn’t stop us either. Note to self: take a baseball bat next time you go running on a country road. We went further and further and my little darling didn’t seem the slightest bit ready to quit. Five minutes passed and then ten and she was not giving up.

We turned around to come home at this point because we were curious to see what level of burned dinner would be. When we were 5 minutes from home Kate started telling me, “I’m going to walk the rest of the way. You go ahead and keep running.” She said this several times but every time, she started running again. She just couldn’t keep herself from taking off after me to catch up. When we got home I realized that her little legs had run for 20 minutes straight. That was just too unbelievable to me! I know I couldn’t run 7 minutes in a row when I was 16, let alone when I was 6! She is not a quitter when it comes to anything physically challenging. She’s going to be some kind of extreme athlete when she grows up.

I’m really hoping she will go out with me again. I love having adorable little workout partners along to keep me company.