Observations from a morning waddle

I woke up this morning to find my hips and lower back more sore than normal. I debated calling in the Beached Whale Rescue Team to roll me out of bed. As I lumbered down the stairs, the house got colder and colder. The thermostat declared it to be a balmy 58 degrees in the house. Instant bliss for me, not so much for the kids. As they shivered over their cereal bowls, bare feet tucked under them, I took pity on them and shut a few windows. I kept my bare feet firmly on the tile, soaking up as much of the cool as I could.

Knowing I'd be in the car most of the day (I am so tired of running somewhere every day, but I have no choice but to go again today.), I decided to take advantage of the cool morning and attempt to go for a waddle...aka walk. I took an easy loop, one without too many hills. My paunch doesn't seem to appreciate hills anymore.

• I left the house feeling very much like an over-ripe, over-stuffed, over-sized eggplant. Next time I won't wear a purple shirt.
• I tried to concentrate on not waddling too much. (Thighs and hips as still as possible)
• The first person I met said, "Almost time, huh?" Sigh. So much for that thinking.
• I passed a dad playing with his screeching son on the trampoline. He said, "See what you have to look forward to!" I smiled politely and waddled on. Little did he realize...
• I admired all the varieties of purple flowers in peoples' yards. Purple flowers would match our grey house. Love it.
• I passed some kids tenting out in their yard. I breathed a sigh of relief to hear them fighting like territorial cats under a full moon. Guess my kids aren't the only "equal opportunity fighters", not giving a thought to where, why or how they fight.
• I was 20 minutes into my walk before I felt my first twinge of discomfort. Not bad for 11 days before D-Day.
• I wandered by a beautiful bush covered with bright pink flowers. I found myself waffling (shocking, huh?)...purple flowers or pink flowers or a mixture of the two? Who knew some of life's meaningless decisions could be so hard? ;)
• As I continued on, I felt my brain clearing. Not once did I think about housework, laundry or the overwhelming tasks of raising kids. I was feeling last night like I was sinking faster than I could swim, unable to keep up with every day life. It was awesome to let it all go and feel rejuvenated again.
• I managed to sneak back in the house, unnoticed and stretched for a good long while.
• Most of my physical kinks are worked out but I did take a few moments to growl at my puffy fingers. (What's up with that anyway? How come fingers get so puffy when walking? I know I'm suppose to have my hands above my heart to avoid that but it's hard. I can just see the headlines now, "Neighbors Pause in Wonderment at Giant Purple Eggplant Wandering Down Street, Arms Raised High in Surrender!" They'd really wonder then.)

Now to tackle those errands. Ugh.