"The Strangest Things That Have Ever Happened To Me"

Creativity abounds in the mind of my six year old. He really is so clever and smart. He never watches a movie without pen and paper in hand. He'll draw out the story as he sees it and add captions of what is going on. I love watching him do this because this is not something I do well. Art is not my thing.

A few days ago, Hayden had another stroke of genius, but I have to admit...it was partly my fault.

After Family Home Evening, I asked Hayden and Maya to go and brush their teeth. Hayden responded with moans and groans and "I don't want to go to bed!". I finally responded with, "Go brush your teeth, or you'll end up like your older brother!" (please don't think I'm the meanest mom ever! We are big teasers at this houses.)

Hayden stopped, looked at me, and then went and brushed his teeth. Eric and I looked at each other and started laughing. I thought Hayden must not have heard me, since he didn't respond with any questions.

10 seconds later, he poked his head out of the bathroom and asked, "Wait, what big brother?"

"The one that lives in the attic."

Hayden totally accepted this as truth, and started saying things like, "Oh, so that's what all that noise is up there at night."

It took me until the rest of bed time to convince Hayden that I was just joking. He made Eric promise that he could see the attic the next day, just to be sure.

The next day, as promised, Eric lifted Hayden up into the attic. Hayden had a wierded-out look on his face. "It's different than I imagined." he said.

Nothing else was said about it. Later that night, Eric and I took the kids to the gym's day care so that we could exercise for an hour. While Hayden was in there, he started his newest art project.

I give you: "The Strangest Things That Have Ever Happened to Me" art exhibit

First, we have "The Attic".
Here is Hayden with the flashlight looking around the attic. The black balls, are dust, and the brown lines are the wooden planks.

This one is called "The Strange Blue Light".
One time when Hayden was taking a diaper out to the garbage in the dark, the street light that is normally yellow, was blue. That is strange!

This one is called "Black Out".
While Hayden was watching a movie with his cousin and some friends, the power suddenly went out and left them in complete darkness.

I think its a pretty great exhibit, myself!
I think Hayden works through a lot of his emotions while coloring. After he drew these pictures, he hasn't said a word, or asked about the attic.
(Thank goodness I only scarred the child for a day or two, and not for life!)

"...You get out of it what you put into it"

For the second time in my life, I've taken up running. I really tried hard to start running again after I had Crew, but I started way too early after having a C-section and the pain set me back. (and by set me back, I mean I didn't try again for 10 months.) The joy wasn't in it for me anymore. I had forgotten why I liked it; why I had gotten up some Saturdays at 5 AM just to run.

On my quest to enjoy running again, I signed up for the Ragnar relay race in June. Nothing like FORCING yourself to run because others are counting on you, right? And I'll tell you, after 2 months of consistent running: I am getting back to loving it again. After I decided a couple of things about running, the "fun" factor clicked again.

1st, I decided that while I AM running to lose weight and get healthier, it is not the PRIMARY reason I'm running. I am running because it makes me feel good. I feel like, "Hey, if I can run this distance, I can tackle those other hard things in my life." It feels good to accomplish a goal. It helps my self-esteem and self-image. It's one of those things where I can see my efforts and realize I am improving. To quote Oprah,

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."

2nd, I decided that it really doesn't matter how fast I run. A couple of months ago, I would dread my running days because I felt so slow. Then I realized, "Who CARES?!" Isn't the point of a race, to finish the race? It's not always the goal to be the fastest. It's not like I'm an olympian. (YET! ;)) My mantra has been "Progress...not perfection." And with that mantra in mind, I've shaved 1 minute + off my miles in only 2 weeks, not to mention that I also doubled my miles from last month. It's amazing how much we psych ourselves out. Or at least I do. (did.)

What keeps you motivated to run? I would love to hear!


And, as a side note, I updated my sidebar to include the races I'm doing this year. Wanna join me for any of them? I would love some company!