Stir Crazy

Saturday, J.P. and I were both a little stir crazy.  After his nap, I strolled him down to Bongo Java.  It was windy and a little cold, so we stayed inside after we arrived.  He enjoyed walking around and looking at people seated at tables, as they worked on their laptops, drank coffee and talked.  As always, he was enthralled with the barristas making lattes, mochas, etc. 

It was good to get out of the house, for sure.  I think with spring seemingly just around the corner, it makes it even harder to stay inside now, even if it's still cold outside.

I took the photo above while he was outside Saturday morning, playing with Jude and her parents, who were in town for the weekend. 

Race Judicata 2010

Saturday morning, I ran in the Race Judicata, a 10k road race in Percy Warner Park.  It's sponsored by the Young Lawyers' Division of the Nashville Bar Association.  This year, Renewal House (where Jude works) was the primary beneficiary of the funds generated through sponsors' donations and registration fees.  As I understand it, there was a record number of sponsors and a record number of runners, which is awesome! 

It's been several years since I've run in the Race Judicata.  As a result, I had forgotten how hilly the course is.  Fortunately, there were downhill portions that kind of offset the uphill portions of the course.  It was a beautiful morning, albeit a little chilly.  Percy Warner Park is a fantastic place to run, though.  I had hoped to finish the race in under 52 minutes, so I was pleased to clock a 49:29, which included about 30 extra seconds when I stopped to talk to Jude at a water stop around mile 2. 

Really, I've not run any races in quite a while, concentrating more on reaching annual mileage goals.  It was nice to run in a race again. 

"Let's see, I guess we'll need a piece of wood just about this long . . . "

Tool Time

Living in an older home, like we do, it's helpful to have a son who is good with his hands and tools.  You know, just like his old man. 

Rock Star

"It's just so hard, really, to not even be able to eat breakfast without being recognized, then asked to sign autographs."

"Uh, excuse me?"

More Salad Days

Today might have been a perfect Sunday. 

This morning, I got up with John Patrick, with plans to take him out for breakfast.  Jude got up, too, and she accompanied us to the Sweet Tea Diner, less than a mile from our house.  It was early - a little after 8 a.m. - and the restaurant had just opened, so we had the run of the place.  That worked out well, actually, because John Patrick was able to do laps through the restaurant, around the booths, while we waited on our breakfast.  The wait staff got a kick out of watching him, running and laughing.

Next, it was back to the house, then off to 11 a.m. church at St. Patrick's.  At the end of the service, as he usually does, Father David Perkin asked if anyone would be celebrating a birthday or anniversay this week.  Of course, Jude and I raised our hands, since our wedding anniversary is tomorrow, February 22.  He asked us what number and I smiled and announced, quite proudly, "number 8!"  Jude looked at me strangely, then looked back and Father Perkin, and said, "number 7."  My face turned red as a beet as everyone laughed.  Okay, 7 it is.

After church, I went to Shelby Park and ran 7 miles on the trails in Shelby Bottoms.  There were a lot of cyclists, walkers, hikers and runners out, because it was such a beautiful day, especially for late February.  Temperature in the mid-60s and sunny!  I returned home to find Jude pulling John Patrick around the front yard on a sled.  Very funny.  When she stopped, he would stand up, step out of the sled, step back in, and sit down again, ready for her to start pulling him again.  It's hard to believe we were pulling him on the same sled, in the snow, a couple of weeks ago.

Next, nap time for all three of us.  When he woke up about 5 p.m., Jude, John Patrick and I strolled down to Bongo Java for coffee.  Just a gorgeous evening.  He played on the soccer field at Belmont University on the way home.  As we strolled up Caldwell, in sight of the fire station, he could see a fire engine in the garage and he made a siren sound as we walked.

Tonight, we had takeout cheeseburgers from Bricktops and watched the Winter Olympics.  Team USA upset Canada in what was a fantastic hockey game.  Very exciting. 

A full day, indeed.