The World According to Mommy

Do you ever have one of those days where you surprise even yourself? Yesterday (before Nate crawled head first into the dining room table leg, resulting in a scary looking bump, which required a right-before-bedtime trip to the urgent care clinic) was one of those days.

We needed a few things from the grocery store, especially milk, and the weather was so nice yesterday, that I thought we should walk down to the store instead of driving. I wondered how I would keep the milk cold while I walked the two miles back home, so I decided once I got to the store I would buy one of those insulated bags they sell in the freezer section.

The last time I did this it was just Nate and me, but this time I decided to take Merchant with us. Again, as with the milk, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with him, but I thought I would figure something out.

So we headed out, and as we turned from our street onto the main street to the store, I decided I could probably jog for a bit. So I jogged. And I jogged, and I jogged. The whole two miles to the store I jogged. I did stop twice to offer Nate a cracker and some water, but then I started right back up. I couldn't believe it. I was in shock. It’s like that time I was on the treadmill and I jogged one mile without stopping, except this time it was two miles, outside, with a stroller and a dog. It was pretty cool.

So we get to the store, where I tie Merchant up to the bike rack. I’m a little nervous, as he is a little crazy, but I figured I would be quick, so hopefully he would be fine. We did our shopping, got the milk, the insulated bag, some canned vegetables, and a few other small things. (By the way, milk and canned vegetables may not seem that heavy, but add them to the bottom of your stroller and they add a considerable amount of weight that you must now push home.)

We got outside and saw that Merchant was doing great. Well, I can only assume he was great, considering he hadn’t chewed through his leash and run wildly through the parking lot. So we all packed up and headed back home. And I thought, “Hey, I could probably run some more,” so I started jogging again. And I JOGGED THE WHOLE WAY HOME. Yes people. The whole way. Even pushing that now heavy stroller. The whole time my inner voice, the one I shall now refer to as The Doubter, was saying “I can’t believe you’re doing this. Wow, you’re really doing this.”

I know this might not seem like a big deal, but trust me, it’s a big deal. In the mornings when I jog, I can usually go just under one mile before I have to stop. Granted, the way I run in the mornings is up and down these little hills, so it’s more work. Maybe I should just run to the grocery store and back every morning instead.

So yesterday I ran about four and a half miles (including what I ran in the morning), taking into account the walking I did from my house to the main road and then back. Wow. That’s a really big deal for me. The coolest part was that at the end, as we turned onto our street and started walking home, I felt like I could have kept running. That was a pretty great feeling.

And no worries…the milk was just as cold as when we left the store. Thank goodness for insulated bags and for the perfect storm of circumstances which led to me surprising myself and believing that I could do it, whatever “it” may be.