days 12, 13, 14: the sane makers

here's to the grand triumvirate of things that keep me sane*,

somewhat balanced**,

and keep me hovering in that ambiguous area of having taken off SOME but mos def not ALL of the "Baby Weight"***



*it's a relative term, i know. in this case used to describe the state of being wherein i can, at the end of the day, count the number of behaviors exhibited by myself i wish i'd exhibited differently- ON ONE HAND.

**also relative. an example befitting this usage of the word balanced here: some stuff gets done, some fun gets had, some sleep is slept.

*"Baby Weight": the gaining of which was perpetrated less by the biological manufacturing of The Baby, and more by The Stress-Eating (read:drinking) that came with my first several years of parenthood.


12: thank you running. thank you early morning runs and mid morning runs and sloppy rainy catch as catch can runs. thank you running partners who both distract and punctuate. thank you town lake trail. thank you folks who saunter three-abreast, creating annoying obstacles that serve as a reminder to never take running- or myself- too seriously. thank you UT track team in your wes anderson knee socks and headbands and dolphin shorts. thank you all the people who tell me running isn't very good for my knees but who understand that my mental health is more important than stiff joints. thank you.

13: thank you yoga. thank you yoga classes in yoga studios that feel like a true respite from everything grinding. thank you yoga classes on line that service my need for squeezing in a class in a teensy eensy time, or because i have no childcare options, or because my wallet is light. thank you yoga done off the top of my head when i have been sitting for two hours stitching and all of my muscles are beginning to atrophy. thank you for that indescribable, unbelievable feeling that comes when i get a few sun salutations under my belt. thank you for being the yin to my yang of running. i could go on but i will start to sound douchy. thank you.

14: thank you swimming. thank you town lake YMCA pool where there is no highly competitive triathlete swimmer swimming up my arse because the pool is full and I am so. very. slow. thank you water for your ability to both terrify and sedate me into breathing rhythmically and fully. one, two, three, breathe. one, two, three, breathe. thank you, swimming, for being there for me when it's too hot to run. thank you for not holding it agin' me when i leave you for months on end because the weather is so amazingly beautiful and the trail is littered with gold and rusty colored leaves and you can see things that are normally hidden by foliage. thank you.