Out of the Mouths of Babes

My 6 year old said the cutest thing ever last night…

“Mommy, will Barack Obama race taxis?”

I doubt it. But wouldn’t THAT be cool?

Admiration Nation

I have a philosophical problem.  I cannot definitively name the person I most admire.  Every child at any age can answer this question in a moment.  That is why it is such a great essay question. “Who do you most admire and why?” Depending on the age of the child you will get a 100 to 3,000 word essay on anyone from Batman to Martin Luther King, Jr. You are sure to get several, “My Mother”s as well.

So I started to think about it. Who do I most admire?  Martin Luther King, Jr. was certainly a great man, but I didn’t know him. Most of us only remember and study the best of him, and it is very easy to admire someone who has been deified based on his best qualities. I’m sure he had some unadmirable qualities too.  We all do.  My mother of course would be a great answer (especially since she reads this blog). And while I do admire her for making something of her life against all odds, I also don’t admire things about her; her temper in traffic for example.  Batman is just a silly answer for an adult, although he is totally hot!

Who do I most admire? It should be a woman. She should be a mother. She should be someone who is truthful and funny.  She should be someone who is organized; someone who sets goals and accomplishes them.  Someone who is well liked. Someone who is compassionate. She should be a good friend and a good listener. Did I just describe myself?

It should be noted that my first and immediate answer to the question was, “Myself.”  Embarrassed at my ego, I repressed the thought immediately. But after I reflected on it a little bit, I think that maybe it’s not so bad to admire oneself.  After all, I know myself better than I know anyone and I’m proud of the woman I’ve become.  Still, I scoured the hidden corners of my brain to come up with a name.  Oprah? Hillary? Abigail Adams? Madonna? Gloria Steinem? Angelina Jolie? Sarah Palin? OK, definitely NOT Sarah Palin, but what about Tina Fey?

Eventually, I came back to myself. I want every person who reads this to get a piece of paper. In the middle of this piece of paper, list your best qualites, anything about yourself that you love. At the top of that piece of paper write the words, “The person I most admire is myself because I…” then tape that piece of paper to your wall, desk or computer monitor and take a moment to celebrate yourself! You Rock. Revel in it!

Try-Try-Triathalon!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can……I knew I could, I knew I could, I knew I could.

This weekend I competed in my first ever Triathalon. The Spirit of Akron, Womens-Only Triathalon is billed as, “A perfect venue for those ladies wanting to take on their first triathlon in a very non-competitive environment.”  And it was.  In fact, it was annoyningly non-competitive. At every turn, some stranger was telling me, “You’re doing great!” or “Keep it up!” Is it wrong that I wanted to smack them? I don’t do well with empty support from strangers. This is especailly true when said strangers are passing me on a hill while I’m sweating and vigorously pedaling my husband’s bike which I have literally rode three times prior to this moment.

In retrospect, of course I appreciate the encouragement and think it is truly a great event where women, most of which are competing in thier first ever triathalon, are supportive of each other. But in the moment, I admit that under my breath, I may have said, “Bite me!” a couple of times. I know I said, “You have got to be Freakin’ kidding me!” twice.  (Once when as I was just finishing up the bike portion of the race and they announced the overall winner crossing the finish line…I still had 2 miles to run! And once when the woman who pulled her baby on the back of her bike and then switched the carraige around and ran with the baby for the running portion passed me in the last leg of the race.) Anyway, congrats to super fast Triathalon girl and congrats to SUPER Stroller mom.  It is an accomplishment to just compete and complete. So, with fake trophy in hand, I will make my winner’s remarks.

I would first like to thank Dr. Leila Blake, who when I went to see her about hip pain, told me to take an Advil and quit my bitching and maybe try a triathalon. I’d like to thank Patti, my office mate who dared me to sign up for the event after I laughingly told her what my doctor had suggested. I would like to thank my son Jacob, who let me compete on his 6th birthday, thereby stealing some of his thunder. I would like to thank the fine makers of Advil (see above).  I would like to thank Dane, for inspiring me. I would like to thank my girlfriends who think (and ocassioanally mention) I’m awesome. You are all so much more awesome than I. I’d like to thank Vivian, for letting Jake spend the night so he wouldn’t be subjected to all the pre-race business. I’d like to thank my in-laws for the flowers and well-wishes. I would like to thank parents for raising me to believe I’m awesome (see above). And finally, I would like to thank my husband, Jeff, who not only forced me to get my butt out of bed on the mornings I didn’t want to work out, but who also reconfigured his bike so I could use it in the race, helped me set up my transition area, cheered for me at every turn, supported me all summer long and bursted with pride when I had finished the race.

I completed the triathalon ( 250 m swim, 7 mi bike, and 2 mi. run) in 1 hour and 8 mins. I had some trouble with my MP3 player and actaully got off my bike at one point to fix it. I had some trouble with the transitions becasue I had no idea what I was doing. So next year, barring any life-changing issues, I will compete again, if only to prove I can do it in under an hour. Maybe I can beat SUPER Stroller Mom in 2009.