Confession of a Love Affair

I have a confession to make: I've been having a love affair.

With running.

It started rather casually, we'd been on-again, off-again for decades. There were years we really weren't close at all, though certain nostalgic moments, such as crisp fall days, would remind me of a fondness we'd once shared. Then, three(ish) years ago, I decided I kind of liked running...a lot. So I gave it some attention and it seemed to really like me back. And gradually, we've gotten closer, running and I.

But recently, running swept me off my feet! I've been in LOVE! Running has taken over my thoughts and monopolized my book selection. I've mooned over training plans, race goals, and new pink Mizuno Wave Creation 14s. I've chosen to spend time with running over anything else. Just thinking about running makes me giddy!

My husband, thankfully, has been supportive of this relationship. Had he tried to intervene...well, I wouldn't have left him for running, but it would definitely have put a rift between us.

It's been fun, this love affair. But I'm sort of ready for the honeymoon period to end. I've concluded I'm in it for the long haul, that we'll be together for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. I'd like to grow old with running. I trust that running also wants to be with me and will love me back as long as I continue to nurture it.

This isn't to say I don't feel just as strongly about meeting the goals we've set or that I plan to spend any less time on training. Only that perhaps I can stop obsessing, that infatuation can give way to something deeper, more grounded, more balanced.

I'm not sure I'll be able to achieve this balance. I suspect, like most great loves, running and I will experience ebb and flow. I imagine running will let me down sometimes, and sometimes it will be me who is doing the letting down. We are likely never to be regarded as a "power couple", but perhaps our quiet commitment to one another will be an inspiration to others who struggle to stay together through thick and thin.

The foundation is there. And I know we will be tested. We've yet to experience a major injury or illness. If we can keep our head about us and learn from others who have been where we want to go, we may just have a chance.

Well, that was short lived! Take two.

I've been itching to write lately and I thought to myself "I should start a blog"! So, I googled "blogging websites" and blogger.com came up on top. Great, I'll start there! Google asked me to sign in to all things google, so I did...and low and behold, I already have a blog.

Lest I appear a complete idiot, allow me to explain.

Some time ago (nearly three years now, it appears from the date of my last post) I decided it would be fun to start a blog. I like to write, I had some thoughts swimming around in my head that needed a place to go....so, I put some thought into what it should be called and what I would write about and came up with "Mothering and Other Things". Apparently then I started this site and wrote my first post.

And then...in my usual manner, I quickly decided (it's coming back to me now) that a free website wasn't good enough, that I must have my own domain name (more legitimate!) and advertisements (new career?!!) and....and....well, I didn't know what else, but regardless, this site wasn't enough. So, I acquired a domain name, signed up for a year (maybe two) of hosting, wrote perhaps five posts, and dropped it entirely. GoDaddy didn't want to let me go. They pestered me for a long time to renew my domain name before it was too late. Once or twice I attempted to log on to my account to see what was required of me...but eh, I couldn't remember my login credentials...and that's all she wrote (ha).

But here it is again, this desire to write. I've changed alot in the past three years, and while I'm still very much a mother, I don't know if I'll feel like writing about mothering all that much. At the moment, I'm all about running. So perhaps my blog title isn't a perfect fit with what I intend to create, but I think I'll let that go for the moment and just try to write, see if it serves me, and go from there.

Take two.