Monday, February 8, 2010

do it again tomorrow!

some mondays are great.  some mondays are slow starting.  some mondays begin in a frenzy.  today, my monday was just the way i like it to be. kind of.

this morning began with kids going off to school, on their buses as usual.......unusual this year.  we had alot of  mornings this year where we practically had to pull our kids out of their beds.  grace had so many false starts, that we had to ask her what day it was or what school she goes to.  the first question she once answered, "fluffy" and to the second , she answered the wrong school, in the wrong town.  t.j. woke up but seemed to be stuck in peanut butter as he maneuvered his mornings.

we have probably driven our kids to school more this year than all of their school years combined.  grace wiwth mono and t.j. with the flu has had uw hopping or in the kids' case, flopping.

having grace with mono zapped a monday or two.  t.j. has had a few sick days this year as well.  considering this family made it until about 7th grade with no absences, we're doing o.k.  we have been most fortunate.

i had some "stuff" to take care of this morning....no big deal...just "stuff" on a list.  i had some things in the house to take care of. and of course, the fun part of the morning...walking daisy and fitzy.  no matter what, they get me up and atom.....in any weather.  i actually like that.

one phone call came in from grace....not a text, since her phone is off limits for awhile!  she actually had to speak when she called to ask me to bring her bag with gym clothes.  it's surprising how the sweet and sugary politeness is magnified when a cell phone is removed/pryed from her hands.

i was happy to make the delivery since i was on my way out to walk the dogs.  i walked with them around the green in town and up and down a few streets.

my main goal on this bright and sunny, cold monday was to go ice skating on a nearby pond.  late yesterday, biff and i went skating alone....and we were practically alone on the ice at the end of the day.  superbowl sunday is on of our favorite skating days.  so many people are out at parties or home preparing to watch the game, it's great to get the ice to ourselves. as we used to say at the rink where we met, "no rink rats".

we do love the little kids skating, we've always had our own kids out on the ice since they could walk.....but, there's something magical about having a pond just for us.

today was a monday of lists and organization....which i'm still learning.  some mondays feel so full of potential, i feel like a school kid with new notebooks and pens on the first day of school.  nevermind starting out fresh for the new year or labor day, monday is my chance every week to get things started right.

all of those lofty goals.....i'm ready for them on monday.  i've got plans, big plans.  i've got out the datebook and the calendar and i'm ready to roll.  if i can make it here, i'll make it anywhere, it's up to you monday, monday!  now we're talkin'!  oh yeah!  it's a new day.  i'm off!  i'm alone and i'm ready!

sometimes it just works. i get it all together.  i just get started and everything goes my way....at least it seems that way. it helps my momentum. sometimes a phone call comes in and changes my plans.  sometimes a sick kid changes my plans.

i had e-mails, e-bay biz, facebook for a couple of fun minutes with coffee, i had "stuff" like dishwasher, laundry and kitchen cleanup after the whirlwind of family coming and going all weekend....just the usual "stuff" to do.  i was ticking things off my list.....house, dogs, speed shop at the grocery store, auto body to fix a light....it was a big day for me just because i remembered the list!

i called a friend who usually meets me to walk our dogs.  her cell phone wasn't on.....i stopped by her house.  just as i knocked on her door, she was calling me on my cell phone!
i told her i was there to make her an offer.

when i ask a friend this question, i usually have to skate around the issue.....the question,"do you want to go ice skating with me?"  usually, friends rattle off a list of excuses why they can't, why the won't, why they couldn't, why they wouldn't.

this friend had possibilities.  she likes doing things outdoors.  she likes getting exercise.  she has great get up and go when others sometime make excuses about their get up and go.....they explain that it already got up and went. so, i was hopeful. it sounded like a yes as we sat together having a cup of tea.

nope.  not today.  it wasn't happening. maybe tomorrow.  the only trick with making plans to skate...ice melts.  i had to go today. we never know if the ice is good tomorrow.

that's what kept me moving today...ice. i got everything done just to have that little bit of skating time for myself.  i knew i'd probably go alone....i like that anyway.  still, i wanted to try to get someone else to share the sunny day on the ice. 

after our cup of tea, i drove off to the pond. i had the dogs with me.  i parked the car alongside the pond and parked so that they could stay warm in the sun. i took my ice cold skates out of the car, crossed over the ice and mud mixture and let the sunshine warm me up as i sat on the makeshift bench....lacing my well worn skates, still white as snow.....after all of these years.

i was no longer cold as i tredded carefully across the edge of the pond, frozen and ruddy....and made it out to the ice that had been shoveled and free of snow.  ahhhhh.  i was skating in the cold air and sunshine.  i couldn't ask for a better monday. no matter what, i need my exercise....just to stay happy and fit.

skating. gliding on the ice makes me feel so free. "push, push, glide," as i say to the kids that i teach.  i'm not a professional skater and i'm not a skating teacher....i just love it and i love to teach kids to love it too. it's almost the same feeling as riding my bike.....it's freedom!  "pedal, pedal, glide," i shout out to the kids that i teach to ride a bike.  swimming gives me that same sense of freedom. it's just another place to feel free. i love teaching kids to swim too! "blow bubbles and kick, kick, kick!  i repeat over and over...enthusiasm never lacking.

i think i love those teaching times because it's sharing the joy of something that i love....it's something that i take for granted....until i see what a struggle it is for a child just starting out.  it's so great to make it fun! and safe! it's great to see how proud they are.....proud of accomplishing something new that seemed so daunting.

i was feeling proud today too.  i had the whole pond to myself.  i had accomplished so much this morning just for this moment.  skating. skating.skating.  i was feeling the wind blowing across the pond, the warmth of the sun reflecting on the snow and ice and the muscles in my legs relaxing.  i was taking it all in.  i was loving everything......the peace, the solitude, the endorphins, the sun, the wind, the warmth.......


then, *BOOM* i slipped backwards and i slammed down on the ice...bottom first....then, *WHACK* my head went *BANG*! i had hit a patch of grass frozen into the ice....the pond was shallow.  i was shaken to my core.  i sobbed.  i sobbed more as i carefully plodded back to the bench....i unlaced my skates.  i slipped on my warm, soft boots and trudged back to the car.

i cried on my way home.  i called biff to tell him how i hurt.  i just needed someone to know.  someone who would care.  there was nothing he could do, but it was comforting just to have him know how shaken up i was.

i wiped my tears. i told the dogs all about my woes.  at home,i walked in the door. grace had just gotten in the door.  t.j. arrived home in moments.  we were back to our routine.  the weekday routine.

i had a great day. my head is still aching.  it was great to start a new week.  it was great to have ice in winter.  it was great to have a day to myself.  it was great to take the time to skate. it was great to have freedom.

i'll to do it again tomorrow!