So much to tell you, where to start?  First of all the wedding we attended last weekend in Illinois was very nice.  Great to see friends and watch their daughter get married.  All that young hope and excitement!

Second the puppy did well with her personal puppy-sitter.  But I think she missed us even with all the special attention she received.

Back to real life, I was scheduled for five hours in the library’s youth department yesterday.  Five hours is a very long time to be in the middle of a very energetic group of youngsters.  Most of them ranged in age from newborns to 9 or 10 years old.  All of them appeared to be noisy and demanding.  Some of them were cute.  Most of their behavior reminded me of recent puppy episodes.  I guess this makes me a dog lover rather than a child lover! 

This morning I went to my favorite park, Kensington, and ran/walked four miles.  Ran a quarter of a mile, walked a quarter of a mile.  That worked as the beginning of getting myself back into shape to run the Crim race in Flint which is the end of August and is 10 miles, and maybe, just maybe the Detroit Free Press marathon (or half?) which is the beginning of October.  Not much time to get it together.  Here it is July and I can sort of run 4 miles!  Friday I will try to do 6.  This is way too fast to add miles, but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do to get ready.  And really I’m only running 1/2 the distance; even that is more like a loping shuffle than an actual run.

On my last running quarter mile, up a hill I have dubed “heartbreak hill” a young couple came running up behind me.  With no heavy breathing they passed me on the hill discussing taking a two minute walk break at mile 15.  Right.  I remember those days.  Vaguely.

But it was very good..very very good, to be back out there, remembering the comradery between runners, listening to the bits of stories from people that passed me or I passed.  Yes I passed some people!  Watching the lake turn colors, feeling the sweat drip, even the aching in my left foot.  It was all good.