Today after lunch the temperature hit 40 degrees F. Instead of driving to the gym, I laced up my hiking boots, dropped 3-week-old Simon lightly dressed and behatted into my new front carrier (a Boba, astutely recommended by ChristyP), put a coat over all, and tromped out into the snowy streets.
After a stop in the library to return some books that were already overdue while I was still pregnant, I pulled on gloves and came out briskly walking. The trees dripped softly in the sun, and running water burbled in the gutters, carving tiny canyons down into the layer of ice. I went west, counting city blocks; there are sixteen to the mile. At the end of each I had to clamber over a berm of snow left by the plow, unless some kind resident had shoveled a cut in it.
It feels good to get outside, especially in the sunshine. Soon we are going to get another blast of arctic air, and spend a week well below zero; today I could almost pretend it was the start of a spring melt, something I never appreciated until I moved to Minnesota. I remember last March we had a few days’ thaw, and I went for a run around the still-frozen lake on a path that was completely clean and dry, and watched paraboarders taking off with their giant rainbow kites from the frozen, snowy lake surface. That time it got cold again later, too, but I remember the delicious sensation of wearing a light jacket, and mesh running shoes instead of boots, and thinking of green grass and flowering trees.
Simon slept soundly with his face up against my neck. I swung my arms, glad that I had chosen a two-shouldered carrier; I am not as young as I once was, and the soft asymmetrical slings hurt my upper back after a while. I passed from the residential area, crossed the highway, and entered the business district. Stopped to take a shop-window selfie on the way:
Then I headed south for two blocks before walking back east to home. I thought about stopping to buy a cup of coffee and nurse the baby , but the thought of lying down for a nap with him in my own bed drew me more strongly.
I am trying not to get too worked up about the extra 30 lbs I am now carrying around, and am starting with the most basic of habits: taking a long walk three times a week, drinking lots of water, and eating frequent small meals (from PLATES, yo) to keep my blood sugar from yawing wildly while I attempt to nourish another human being at random intervals.
Something about getting out in the sunshine makes all the things I have to do seem much more achievable. Even paying down those library fines.
Posted with Blogsy
bearing blog 