Today after church we had brunch with friends and their kids and grandkids. There were four games of Settlers, and lots of conversation, and time spent poking around on the banks of the creek that runs through their back yard.
This afternoon my Petely invited himself along on my run. "It's a recovery run," I told him. "I ran four miles yesterday and so I'm just doing two really slow miles today. It might feel funny for you to run as slowly as I'm going to be running." In the beginning he was running rings around me, literally, and trying out some parkour moves and taking intermittent walk breaks for me to catch up. And then he said, "This is like the story about the tortoise and the hare." He said, "You're an awesome runner, Mom," as he panted and slowed down, which is not true but thanks anyway. Afterward I asked him how he found it. "Tiring," he said. Me, I thought it was delightful. I'll see if I can coax him into doing it again next Sunday.
One of my students invited me to a banquet this evening. It's an annual event to honor academically successful student-athletes. I've been once before and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I came to this job with some lurking negative stereotypes about student-athletes, fueled by small-town high school experiences. I have completely revised my opinion based on my encounters with the athletes in my department, who work like stevedores to fit all the pieces into place. It's a pleasure to meet their families and their teammates, and I came home to a clean kitchen and a quiet house. It was a good day.
Recent Comments