Hello, Summer? I think we got disconnected...

Someone told me the other day that it is now August. Actually, that was in reference to the fact that it's almost September. September is just the month before October. October is when the Chicago Marathon happens. I'm running in that marathon. I've been training for it all summer. At least, what I think was summer.

A few days ago (OK, in June) I left for Ragnar, and when I returned I said, "I can't wait to write up my summary of this weekend!". I still can't wait to do so. This race reset my running brain, and proved that my body can accomplish so much more than I convinced myself I was capable of earlier this year.

Then I took the kids to their first day of summer camp. Each night after that, we scrambled to have clean, dry bathing suits and towels, lunches that would withstand field trips and bus rides, and oh ya, dinner. And getting to bed.

Then Fred started Rookie Ball two nights a week. Of course, Rookie Ball was the same two nights I run. Then Hot Dad's softball started on one of the same nights as Rookie Ball and my running. Let's not forget the softball league Hot Dad plays on with me on another night. At one point this summer, I wondered why we pay a mortgage and not rent a suite in a hotel for as little time as we seemed to spend at home.

Weekends have been additionally fun. I get my long runs in on Saturday mornings, usually before the rooster sends out the morning call. Still, as my running distance grew, my Saturday mornings were more and more consumed with my absence. Being home was then consumed with removing the grime of the miles from my body and resetting my mind back into Mommy-mode.

Hold on, 'just the other day' wasn't June. It was the 4th of July. Yes, that's it. The sun was up early, the birds were waking me for work and early long runs, and we could play softball casually without fear of darkness before the 5th inning. That was just last week, right?

That's about when Hot Dad got the running bug. He did the local 4th of July 5K for the third time and got a huge PR! Amidst all the ball games and my running, we squeezed in some time for him to get out and put in some miles.

The kids have watched a LOT of Animal Planet. I have run a lot of miles. Hot Dad has put up with a LOT of whining from all of us, and has made sure the kids are where they need to be each night. I have enjoyed plenty of wine. I drink a LOT of coffee.

I'm wrong, it was just June. We just got the field trip schedule from camp. We just put away the school back packs and got the new camp ones. Right?

I'll be honest, I feel cheated of a summer. I'm not sure how to justify that because I was outside so much pounding out the miles on the road or playing ball. Still, I feel like we were so crazed this summer that we, OK I, didn't get to enjoy it. There was no deep breath, no sitting by the pool, no time in the God forsaken tundra of weeds yard.

In my desperate attempt to keep some sort of social life, I tried to schedule times to see friends. This has been much harder than it sounds. Grocery shop? Do laundry? Clean the sticky spot on the floor? What's that thing in the corner with the hose that plugs into the wall? Vacuum? What language is that? Where's my wine?

I grew more and more tired as the weeks drew on. All of this, and we have only ONE kid doing any kind of activity!

Let's not forget the joy of weekday mornings with tired kids. Camp is enough to wipe you out, but when you have to get up at 6AM every day to go, there's a whole new layer of fun. I never could keep up with blogging our lovely mornings before camp with the daily pictures I take of the kids. There's been no time! Is there more coffee around here?

I am super thrilled (nobody says 'super' any more, why?) to be doing the marathon this year. My training is going well, I have been pain free except for the normal spongy legs and brain that go along with running through three towns, two counties, and then grocery shopping with two kids and then making dinners and trying to keep some semblance of order in the house.

Imagine my surprise when someone asked me if the kids were excited to start school "this month"! "This month"? You must be mistaken, summer hasn't yet begun.

In a mad attempt to find summer, we took our annual trip up north to a home away from home that I have come to treasure for its sunsets, indoor/outdoor pools, and its distance from home. I hadn't accounted for early morning wakings, though, to get in a run before the rest of the family was geared up for the pool. Still looking for that one relaxing morning on vacation.

I find myself, now, in the midst of school backpacks, homework, and making sure books go back to school. And lunches. But it's still only June, right?

Last day of camp