Sunday morning was lovely. My husband was out of town and my older daughter had slept at a friend's house, so it was just my little one and me. I woke up before her, did some laundry, made our lunches and then sat and enjoyed not one, but two cups of coffee. When she got up, we chatted a bit, got dressed for skiing, ate some breakfast and then Grace did some bracelet making while I cleaned up. Basically, both of us were just putzing around, wasting time and enjoying ourselves. It was downright peaceful, which doesn't happen often, especially when it's all four of us and we're hustling to get ready. I remember taking a minute to just pause and enjoy the moment, which I rarely do. Eventually, we got motivated, packed up the car, and headed over to Cannon to meet up with my nine year old and then get Grace off to ski school. When we pulled up to the lodge the sun was shining, there was no wind to speak of, and the music was blasting. Too good to be true. Added bonus, we were able to park right in front the lodge, which NEVER happens. Grace was thrilled. Her boot bag and skis weigh more than she does, so the hike from the car to the lodge is brutal for her. If she could have, she would have skipped (but that doesn't really work when you're carrying skis and poles). We headed into the lodge, which is typically filled to brim with people, painfully loud and so crowded that you start to sweat instantly. Instead we heard....nothing. Literally. Crickets. Grace looked at me, puzzled. Are you putting two and two together yet? Yep, I'd forgotten to re-set the clocks for daylight savings. Classic blunder. The week before, I had received several reminders from various sources (school, coaches, etc.) but, despite all of those, I went to bed on Saturday with nothing on my mind except the last song in the Cinderella movie that I had just watched with my daughter (cute, but slightly painful). "Grace, I said, I completely forgot that today is daylight savings so it's not 8:30, it's 9:30. We have to hustle if we are going to get you to class on time." So much for our peaceful morning. Grace continued to look confused while I rushed around trying to get it together, and yes, within minutes I was sweating. Awesome. We finally made it out and onto the chairlift. I calmed down and took a breath. Mom, Grace said, who changed the clocks? Great question. Mother Nature, I replied. So, is it her fault that we're late, she asked? It would have been so easy to blame this one on the little old lady who manages time (yes, that is how I picture Mother Nature). But, instead, I took the shot. Nope, I laughed. Totally mom's fault. Grace laughed, too, happy to have a reason to make fun of me for messing up. Ah, kids. Gotta love 'em. There are times in life, and more specifically in running, when the above situation would be really bad. It stresses me out to even think about arriving to run a marathon and realizing I was an hour late. That would suck. But then, just last November I arrived at Martha's Vineyard High School to race a 5K only to realize that I had the date wrong and had missed it completely. I won't pretend I wasn't bummed, but even still, I had to chuckle as I headed off to get a coffee instead. This past Sunday with Grace, all was okay. Yes, we were late for class, but no one was going to yell at us. We weren't holding anyone up or ruining someone else's day because of my mistake. We were able to find Grace's group and slide her in as though nothing had happened. She didn't get upset (thank goodness). I skied off, smiling and shaking my head while also tapping myself on the shoulder for pulling it all together. Throughout the day, I made fun of myself multiple times as I told my friends the story. It was a good one. Two lessons from this short but sweet experience. First, life is unpredictable. Roll with it. And two, life is short, laugh at yourself. This is the case in running, work, school...anything, really. Grace's advice? Apply liberally.
Listen to this:
Compliment Your Soul - Dan Croll
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