Today I ran four miles. It was hardly blog-worthy, but since I committed to blogging my training up through race day, it must be said. It was just an easy run without a watch. The best part was definitely when a crazy guy waiting at the bus stop looked me right in the eye and cheerfully called out, “You rock!” It’s not every day that a strange man shows interest in me. Of course Dan is kind of strange and he’s interested in me, but he’s strange as in he loves anything to do with worms, he is really into science fiction, and he updates Wikipedia just to make sure it’s as accurate as possible, not strange as in strange, you know?Here’s what was blog-worthy: I enjoyed seven baby-free hours during which I was neither working nor paying a babysitter… Yes, let that sink in… Mm hmm. It was just as good as it sounds. To what do I owe my good fortunte, you ask? Just that I have a husband with flexible work hours who decided to take Sweet Pea all afternoon. What I did with my bad child-free self for all that time is actually moot. Just the sensation of just. getting. in. the. car without having to insert the car seat, without first having to double check there are ample diapers in the diaper bag, and without having to time things just so, in order to protect naptime… was delicious. I got my hair cut, did a few errands, ran, showered, and had dinner. Totally mundane, yet so luxurious. All of it was so fast and efficient. Well, except the hair cut, My hairdresser takes like an hour for just a wash and a cut and I think that’s kind of too long. I am not sure how much longer till I break up with her…
Meanwhile, Sweet Pea took a marathon nap in her crib. This morning she was running on fumes, having spent yet another night awakening multiple times. But every time I put her down for a nap, she did her damndest to stay awake. I guess I ought to give her credit for her tenacity. She slept for 30 minutes all morning, though everything about her behavior and the look on her face screamed “I’m exhausted!!!” When I left the house in the afternoon, she was asleep. Two hours later I got a text from Dan stating “She’s still sleeping.”
With Dan and with babysitters she takes much longer naps than she does when she’s with me. This frustrates me to no end, but today I had an epiphany- She just thinks I am so awesome that she can’t bear to sleep while I’m around. So my new mantra is “I’m just that awesome,” whereas it was previously, “Just shoot me, I can’t stand the crying anymore, what am I doing wrong!?!.” Don’t get me wrong, Sweet Pea is generally a happy, laid back, easy baby. She smiles a lot and gets excited about pretty much everything (which my friend pointed out is a quality she got from her mama). It’s just the sleep thing is driving me nuts, and while I realize this is not a unique problem, that does nothing to alleviate it.
Anyway, reframing the challenging issue of naps and night waking is refreshing… The reason Sweet Pea cries when she’s supposed to be sleeping is not that I’m a crappy mom, it’s that I am seriously awesome. Either that or she really wants a drink of my milk.