October | 2011 | Change Is Hard

October 4, 2011
by dawnkinster 9 Comments

Stary anniversary

Some of you know that when I’m out with the dog and the stars are hanging bright I look to the sky for my Mom and Dad. For me Dad is the big dipper, Mom is Orion’s belt. Sometimes during the year they are both there in the sky together, Dad to the north, Mom to the south. But during the summer months Orion’s constellation swings too far south for me to see, and sometimes I can’t see the big dipper either.

I smiled this morning when Katie and I went out in the predawn hours and I saw both constellations shining down on us. I was glad to see them together again; it was totally appropriate. Today is their fifty-ninth wedding anniversary.

Happy anniversary. I miss you.

October 2, 2011
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

One mile in

So my training for next year’s ten mile road race starts this week, with me running/walking 1 mile 3x a week. My first mile was scheduled for this weekend.

I finished mowing the grass about 4:30 today and thought, ‘it’s a beautiful day, sunshine, cool, a nice breeze. It’s never going to get any better than this. So get yourself out there.’ I think I have been worried about how it would go, so have been avoiding the run all weekend.

I changed my clothes and got ready to leave. But Katie had other ideas. She figures, if Mama goes, Katie goes. And she has really big eyes when she’s begging. I figured I was going to walk most of it anyway, so I hooked her leash up and off we went.

We ran most of the first quarter – she thought I was chasing her and it was all a game – till she saw her first chipmunk. Then she was all business. We ran and walked the rest of the way to the 1/2 way turn around point. I was pretty proud of her. But on the way back she refused to run at all. Every time I started jogging she just stopped cold. Silly girl. So we pretty much walked back. With 1/4 mile left to go she asked to be picked up. I told her she was a woose. And I carried her a little bit, cause I’m a pushover. I told her that she should realize that I was going to have to go back out when we got home and do this all over again. She said she didn’t care.

So when we got home I made her supper and then headed back out. Ran the 1/2 mile to the turn around, walked a bit and pretty much ran the rest of the way back home. It felt good to be running. It felt really good when I got back back home and could stop running. I haven’t been this sweaty in a very long time.

Guess Katie’s walk was a good warm up. She’s sound asleep now.

Come on Mom!

October 1, 2011
by dawnkinster 7 Comments

You want me to look WHERE Mama?

I'll pose but I won't look at you

It’s cold and really windy, but this afternoon the sun came out so Katie and I took advantage of the perception of warmth and went for a drive. Mama took the camera. Katie sighed.

We went to a park that has a children’s play area. There’s a big sign filled with all the rules; one says ‘no pets.’

Not looking at you.

But since there wasn’t anyone around and since Katie can’t read we wandered in anyway.

Are you sure we can be here Mama?It smells like children! You know I don’t especially like children. They’re noisy. Noisier than me. And that’s saying something.