Around the same time that my running streak ended, I
modified my pre-run regimen, too. And while I still meditate most mornings, I’ve
eliminated daily push-ups, sit-ups, and dumbbells and replaced them with a yoga/stretch
regimen. Happy to report that my body has never felt better, and certainly much
more flexible. One of the ill effects of running every day for almost 20 years,
my hamstrings became dangerously tight, like banjo strings. I pulled a hamstring
several times along the way. It took almost two years for them to loosen up
some, but they’ll never be as spry as they were 10+ years ago.
And since it’s been a few years, I want to give a special call
out to my newest grandchild, Nixon. Nixon came into the world Oct 25, 2017. He’s
an amazing little boy and we love him to pieces. Hard to believe that he’s 2.5
yrs. old already.
It’s early May and we’re deep into the throws of COVID-19. Most
of us are in some form of a lock-down. Fun-fun! And as a result, I now share my
work from home space with Mindy and the kids. We are all home working and
schooling. Outside of my bike, run, walk, I can count on one hand how many times
I’ve left the house. I’ve driven my car maybe 30 miles dating back to the 2nd
week of March.
Making it a bit more painful has been the chilly, wet, gray
weather we’ve had to slog through since mid-March. We’ve had maybe 10 really nice
days out of the last 50. At one point I became so discouraged with the weather
that I went on a fact-finding mission charting the April weather for the last 5
years. Facts are, that most April’s are a mixed bag of crappy weather with some
nice days sprinkled in. This April’s pattern looks eerily similar to April 2018,
but with only 4 days over 70 degrees, none reach 80 degrees, and a whole bunch in
the low to mid 50s. And most of those included rain and a stiff, chilly breeze.
On a positive note, we’re well ahead of schedule on spring/summer
yard prep. But even that has taken a bit of a hit due to the recent rash of extremely
wet, chilly weather. After all, I can’t move dirt and mulch freely about the yard
for fear of creating ruts in the overly saturated lawn.
Probably not much different than most folks, I have watched
more TV in the last 50 days that I have over the last 20 years. And Mindy &
I have watched 5 or 6 movies together over that same span, probably equal to
the number of movies we’ve watched together in our entire relationship. Add to
that my insatiable appetite for everything Corona virus, I have watched CNN
& Fox News ad
nauseum. Lots of spin on both networks, albeit 180 degrees apart.
“Yesterday I was
clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing
myself.”
- Rumi