The Sun Will Rise Again
Deep in my heart, I truly didn’t believe this outcome was possible. I’m not even thinking about what the next four year will be like- my brain hasn’t gotten that far: I’m just trying to understand how this happened. Trump is a mean, crude, sexist, racist, bully, and I’m deeply, deeply saddened that so many people voted for him. It makes me feel like an outsider in my own country. Maybe I’m the one who’s not seeing things correctly? I’m confused. Remember what Barack Obama said on election day 2016: “No matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning.” On this sad day, look for the sunrise, my friends.
The Cool Bloggers Election Support Group
For Day 5 of NABLOPOMO I thought we should start a Cool Bloggers Election Support Group (inspired by poor Engie’s post yesterday.) You don’t have to be a blogger to join, but if you join, you’re automatically cool. The agenda for our first meeting is: Are you planning to follow the election coverage tonight??? I kind of feel like I can’t bear to watch. But how can I NOT watch? I can’t just go to bed like nothing is happening! My first idea was that I could hide in bed, preferably with a book and a cat, and my sister could text me updates. But she would only be allowed to text me good news, and eventually she would just vaguely assure me that everything would be fine, and I should go to sleep. Strangely, my sister wasn’t really down with this. So my next thought was to watch the coverage from start to finish, with a six pack of beer. If I wake up Wednesday feeling like crap, that’s okay! It’s my day off, so after I take my daughter to school I could just go back to bed. This option is temping, and definitely a valid plan, but I probably won’t do it. My husband came up with a third option, which is to ignore the election coverage entirely and spend the evening watching Seinfeld reruns. Hmm. Maybe we’ll do a combination. We’ll make pizzas and I’ll have ONE beer. We’ll start watching the coverage and go from there. Depending on how things are going, I can keep watching, have another beer, turn on Seinfeld, or go to bed. What will you be doing tonight? Do you think we’ll have a result by Wednesday? By the end of the week? Are you freaking out, or glad the election is finally here so we can get it over with?
Days of the Week
On last week’s Happier podcast, Gretchen and Elizabeth talked about finding a “delight” for each day. In other words, identifying something little that you always enjoy on a Monday, a Tuesday, etc. I love this idea, but had a little trouble applying it to my own week. There are a couple things that always happen, but there are also a lot of variables. Does my daughter have school? Am I doing a long run? Is there a high school football game, or concert? So this list won’t apply to every week, but here are my “delights” for each day this week: Monday– I’ll go to the gym before work. Full disclosure- this is NOT a delight. I would much rather run, but I go to the gym to lift weights because I know I have to. The delight is, on gym days I go to Starbucks before work. I sit there with my Earl Grey tea, happily reading blogs for a while. This is my reward for getting myself to the gym! Tuesday- My daughter has no school! This means I can sleep a little later, woohoo. Wednesday- This is an “always” delight- I don’t work on Wednesdays. Last Wednesday I had the dentist, the week before I had a doctor’s appointment, and the week before that I had to have blood drawn. This Wednesday I have NOTHING! How will I spend my day? The possibilities are (almost) endless! Thursday- Typically my least favorite day of the week. This Thursday, there’s a high school football game. It’s our last game of the regular season, and so far we’re undefeated. I’m looking forward to it. Friday- Another “always.” We have takeout for dinner on Fridays! After the week of dinner battles, this is a tremendous relief. Saturday- My favorite day of the week! I work, but only from 9-1. On the way home from work, I stop at Starbucks- I get my daughter some sort of fancy drink and I get myself an Earl Grey tea. When I get home I sip my tea while reading Modern Mrs. Darcy. I don’t read her posts during the week- I save them all up for Saturdays after work. This is a routine that rarely varies… EXCEPT FOR THIS SATURDAY! Instead of going to work I’ll be running a race! It’s a trail race in a park about an hour away from me. Because of an annoying injury over the summer, I’m not as prepared for this race as I would like, but it’s a timed event- you run a 4.3 mile loop as many times as you can/want for 12 hours. I’ll just run as many loops as I’m able to and call it a day. It’s not exactly how I wanted to run this race, but I’m still looking forward to it. Sunday- This Sunday I’ll be sleeping in, for sure. I expect to be sore and tired after my race, so this will feel extra good. I think the occasion will also call for waffles. Obviously! Do you have any specific “delights” for certain days of the week? Top photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- No-Sleep October
OOF. This was a rough week, due to some epic sleep issues. But it was also the start of NABLOPOMO! And of course there were still workouts. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Here are the gritty details… Monday Hmm. I didn’t sleep great on Sunday night, due to a weird, achy right hip. It doesn’t bother me at any other time, but I cannot find a comfortable position for sleeping. Well, I’m sure it will go away soon. (Ahem.) Anyway, I started the day with a 3 mile run… …followed by this MadFit standing core workout.. Tuesday Another poor night of sleep. I’m wakeful because of my hip, which is then leading to anxious thoughts (the middle of the night is not a great time to be awake ruminating!) Knowing that I had a big workout the next day, I kept this day simple. I did my favorite core workout, Caroline Girvan’s deadbugs,, followed by my hip stability exercises. After work I got a massage! I should sleep GREAT tonight! Wednesday Hahahahaha. I’m not kidding when I say I think I got about one hour of sleep. My hip was terrible! But the minute I got out of bed, it was fine. Today was my last planned long run before my race next weekend, and I decided to go ahead with it. 15 mile trail run!!! Against all odds, this run actually went really well. The weather was nice and I felt strong for the most part. Who needs sleep, anyway? Just kidding- I DO. I don’t usually do this, but before I went to bed I took two Advils. I just HAD TO SLEEP. Had to. Thursday Hooray! I slept! 7 and 1/2 hours straight- I did get up to use the bathroom once, but fell right back asleep. Phew. I felt so, so, so much better. 2 mile run… I followed this run with a Madfit Standing Arms and Abs workout. At night, Halloween! I stayed home to give out candy to the few trick-or-treaters who came by, and my daughter went to a party. I had to pick her up later than I would have liked, but oh well. It’s a holiday. Friday In the absence of my magic Advil, I had another rough night (can I take Advil every night? No? Darn.) My sleeping injury, the incredible aching hip, seems to be cured, but I still couldn’t sleep. In the morning when I got up I was so exhausted I felt dizzy. It was supposed to be a gym day, but I finally listened to that nagging voice telling me “this is not a good idea.” Instead I stayed home and did Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout, hip stability exercises, and some squats with lighter dumbbells. Nothing TOO strenuous, but just enough to keep my body from falling apart. At night there was a high school football game. Did I want to go? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But I also didn’t want to miss it. I took a nap after work and got to the game in time for halftime, which, if your kid is in the band, is obviously the most important part. I’m so glad I went. Our team won, and we’re now one game away from having a perfect season. So exciting! Saturday I don’t even want to talk about sleep anymore. I got in a 4 mile run before work… …and after work I had a lovely nap. I had to rest up for the Baylor game at night, and it’s a good thing I did- we FINALLY beat TCU!!! Baylor is on a three-game winning streak now and looking great. Sunday On tap for today: SLEEPING IN. We turn the clocks back, OH YES, and nothing can stop me from sleeping late. Well, except for my hip, anxious thoughts, and the cats. Other than THAT, nothing can stop me. I’ll also be watching the NYC Marathon (go Darlene!) Good thing we turn the clocks back, because I can sleep till “feels like” 9:00 and still see the beginning of the race. How was your week? Do you have trouble sleeping? Any suggestions for a natural sleep aid?