I was greedy. I admit it and am unapologetic. When we showed up at Grandma Lou’s house in Moultrie to pick blueberries, the site of all the ripe fruit hanging from those trees made me salivate. It was a hot, hot day and sweat was literally pouring from us as we picked and picked and picked some more, but I just couldn’t seem to stop.
I really like blueberries, but it was more than that. Firstly, there is just something special about engaging in a ritual like this – picking fruit with your own family from the same vines/bushes/trees/orchards year after year. Lee grew up picking these berries every summer, and while I didn’t grow up on that farm I have similar memories of picking blackberries at my grandparents’ home. Great memories.
Secondly, I didn’t want to stop picking because I really enjoyed watching Camille making memories of her own. She ate more blueberries and huckleberries than she put in her bag, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be. There were so many connections being made – between herself and her familial roots, between herself and the source of a favorite food, between herself and the great outdoors.
So we picked until we just couldn’t pick anymore, and we were well rewarded for our efforts. We picked 12 pounds of blueberries along with a quart or so of huckleberries. We’ve eaten a ton, we’ve shared some with friends, we’ve frozen some for later.
And we’ve made some fantastic recipes: blueberry pie (thanks Mom!), blueberry pancakes, huckleberry orange bread and huckleberry margaritas to name a few.
Very satisfying, in so many ways.
Two more posts from the running journal archive:
April 13, 2011– My friend is signing us up today for a
half-marathon relay at Disney in October (I will run 4.8 miles, she’ll
run 8.3). I think this is a better short-term goal for me and much less
intimidating than a half-marathon. I am EXCITED (and a wee bit nervous)!
We had to choose a team name, and ended up with “Running ‘Ritas.” We
were talking about the reasons we run, and high on the list was running so we could have calorie-laden food
guilt-free. We initially came up with the name Running for ‘Ritas, as in
margaritas. It was too long, so we shortened it to Running ‘Ritas. Go
team!
April 14, 2011 – Did my walk/run training this
morning and ran through the neighborhood instead of the park. I really
enjoyed looking at the houses and the changing scenery, but not far into
my run my right shin started hurting. I kept going, which may have been
a mistake because it’s been achy all day. I thought about asking my
running partner or my brother if they experienced this and how to handle
it, but quite frankly I am embarrassed. I still feel like my workouts
are “baby workouts,” and the idea of injuring a muscle at this level of
the game only makes me feel weaker.
So I googled it, and it seems two
things may have caused it. Sometimes switching to a harder surface will
cause additional strain, and when I jog in the park I jog on the dirt as
much as I can. Today’s run was all asphalt. Also, not having proper
footwear can cause strain. I feel like I should invest in good running
shoes (all the runners I know say I should), but I’ve never been
comfortable spending top dollar on any clothing for myself. I’m a bargain hunter and buying expensive shoes feels
very selfish, especially for a hobby. But I don’t want to injure myself either, so I have some
decisions to make between now and my next run on Sunday.
When we first joined the boat club I had grand visions of exploring some of the undeveloped barrier islands around Tybee, spending our afternoons playing in the water or discovering marine life on the uncrowded shore.
Last year we tried this once, and it did not go well. We quickly realized there was more to properly anchoring at the beach than we realized and we were (pun intended) “in over our heads.” After that frustrating experience, we vowed we would not try it again unless we had someone with us who had more boating know-how.
Finally, today we had that opportunity and were part of a group of three boats heading to Wassaw Island. And I’m happy to say it was everything I had envisioned.
Camille immediately began discovering sea stars all along the shore and made it her mission to find them all and put them back in the water.
She’d bring each one to me to look at before sending it back to sea, and would occasionally squeal, “He really likes me!” I’m not sure how she knew what the sea star was feeling, but she was certain they were fast friends.
There was a tidal creek on the back side of the beach which provided another great exploration area, with lots of crabs and fish. Oh, and this sea star, who was probably lunch for the crab living in that hole.
I’m so pleased that we had a good boat-to-beach experience this time, and I’m already looking forward to many return trips!
I first fell in love with the books of Mo Willems before I even had a child. Nia introduced me to the book, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” and I thought it was both hilarious and adorable. I knew that if I had a child, these Pigeon books would be frequent reads.
Sure enough, Camille is a fan of the Pigeon books, as well as the Knufflebunny and the Elephant and Piggy series. Now, she is also a fan of the author himself.
Mo Willems came to E. Shaver Bookseller to promote the release of 2 new books. I asked Camille if she wanted to go see him at the bookstore, and I honestly wasn’t sure how she’d answer. As it turns out, she was super excited to go see Mo. She even told me she needed to wear a cute dress because, as she said, “I want to look my best.”
At the store, we bought a copy of “Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator,” and waited for Mo to arrive. He breezed into the store and made his way through the jumble of kids and parents to a small reading room in the back. The kids crowded in with him and listened with rapt attention as he read, “Should I Share My Ice Cream?,” the latest Elephant and Piggy book. The reading was energetic and fun, and Camille was ecstatic when Mo signed her book and even drew an alligator beneath his signature.
The room was tight and crowded so I didn’t get the best picture, but that’s ok. The memory is good enough. We love Mo!
A week ago, I ran a race. A 5K. Not a long race; not a fast race. But it was a big race for me. It was my first race.
It was the Sand Gnats Homerun 5K. The race wound through Daffin Park, then took us down Police Memorial Trail – a quiet, wooded running path in my neighborhood that I didn’t even know existed. The finish line was across home plate in the Sand Gnats stadium, and running through that chute felt so good. My goal was to run the entire 5K without walking, and although it was a challenge, I met my goal.
Six months ago, if you had told me I’d would run in a race, I would’ve laughed. If you’d have told me that by July, I’d not only have one race under my belt, but at least four more on my racing calendar for the next year, I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet all these things are true, although not because I’m particularly good at running. I’m not fast and running has not come easily for me. But in spite of all that, I find myself enjoying the sport.
I began running in March, and at the time I wasn’t sure if the new hobby would last more than a run or two. I felt the urge to write about running so I did, but I wasn’t ready to publish the posts. If I decided to quit running, I didn’t want to have to explain myself. But if I kept running, I thought it would be fun to look back on my training from day 1.
Who knows if I’ll be a life-long runner or not? But at this point I can at least say this: I am running. And I’m having fun.
I’m going to begin periodically publishing my earlier posts starting with the first one, which I wrote about 3 months ago.
This Running Thing
(Written in March 2011)
I have always hated running because I’ve always been a horrible runner. I
felt that when it came to running, you were either a natural-born runner, or not a runner at all. I couldn’t do more than sprint across the street without
gasping for air and clutching at some random pain in my side. I was
pretty sure “runners” didn’t feel this way. Therefore I was firmly in the non-runner category.
And I was ok with this. I had other outlets. I worked out on the elliptical machine. And I got bored.
Then
two things happened. People I know, people who had never run before, began running. And they enjoyed it. And then a friend presented
a tantalizing offer. She wanted to run a relay marathon but needed a
running partner. And she was going to run this relay marathon at Disney.
And did I want to come to Disney and run with her?
A lot of things went through my head when I heard
this offer, like, “Are you nuts?” I was also flattered that she even
thought of me as someone capable of such a crazy thing as a half-marathon. And fresh off a
great family trip to Disney, I was drawn to the idea of going back
there.
I asked for a few days to consider the proposition. The next morning I started the Couch to 5K
training app, just as an experiment to see if I could hack a 5K some
day, much less a half-marathon.
Couch to 5K Training: First 2 Weeks
The
first workout was an eye opener in two ways. At first, I was surprised
by how hard it was to jog 60 seconds without stopping. And I was also
horrified by this. But I plugged along and was surprised to find that I
was able to complete the workout without needing medical intervention.
That
night I spent a good deal of time trying to fall asleep but thinking
about running instead. Maybe the reason I’ve always hated running is
that I expected it to come more easily and more quickly. But maybe there
aren’t just two categories – natural-born runners and non-runners. Maybe any able-bodied person can learn to run if he or she is willing to take baby steps toward
that goal.
So far, one workout into week 2, I’m feeling mostly
the same. Each workout is difficult, and I remain embarrassed about
that. My feet, knees, back, etc. seem to be holding up, but my lungs
just scream at me. But I think my biggest obstacle right now
is self doubt. When I struggle through a 90 second jog, I can’t stop the
voice in my head that says, “What are you thinking? You can
barely jog for 90 seconds! Do you have any idea how long a
half-marathon is? You’re going to embarrass yourself. You’re going to embarrass your
running partner.”
But then I finish the workout. And I don’t die
doing it. Today, although I struggled during the run, I was so
exhilarated to have finished all the intervals that I ended up jogging a few victory
blocks during my cool down. Just because I could. Because I still had a
little bit of energy left inside of me.
Just in time for the Fourth of July, our favorite petite chef brings us two patriotic-themed recipes. She also shows off some mad Latin skills. Love her!
We’d both graduated from college; Lee was living and teaching in Gainesville, Georgia and I was living/working about 30 minutes away in the neighboring county. We’d been dating about six years by then and saw each other almost every day.
He lived in a basement apartment, and the surrounding yard was often full of beautiful flowers. One afternoon I came over to his home and there was a bowl on the table with a gorgeous white flower floating inside. Lee had cut it from a plant in the yard that morning and said it was for me.
“What’s the special occasion?” I asked.
“Every time you come over it’s a special occasion,” he said.
And I remember thinking that if a lazy afternoon together is special, even after six years of dating, then I should marry this man.
I think every day with him is special too. But 10 years ago today was particularly special – the day we said “I do.”
And we still do.
June 16, 2011
When Lee and I decided to return to Tensing Pen in Negril, Jamaica for our 10th anniversary trip, I wondered if the resort would really be as great as I remembered. When we arrived here two years ago, I was shocked. The setting was more beautiful than I had imagined, the cottages rustic in appearance yet well-appointed, the atmosphere just right for doing absolutely nothing. The pictures I’d seen online had not done it justice.
But having already been here once before, would it really seem so sweet a second time?
Thankfully, my memories were not flawed.
We booked the same cottage we had on our first trip – Rock Cottage I, but there was a mix-up with the reservation and that cottage was occupied when we arrived. It turned out to be a happy mistake. We got to see inside some of the other available cottages and ended up choosing the Pine Pillar Suite.
It’s like a tree house by the ocean, and because of the height, all you can see from the the room is the sea. At times, sitting on the bed looking out the french doors, I feel like I’m on a boat because I seem to be surrounded by water.
I won’t post this for several days, not until I’m back home and can get the photos off my camera. But as I write this I’m sitting on our expansive balcony staring at a sea so blue it’s hard to look away. When the mid-day sun shines down on the coves around our resort, the water simultaneously shimmers in every shade of blue from a light aqua to a deep navy, depending on what’s below – whether white sand, reef or just more depth.
The sounds I hear are of the water lapping the sides of the cliffs and Lee playing his ukulele beside me. My skin is salty from when I went snorkeling this morning, with white salt crystals still visibly clinging to my arms. I had a stare-down with a fish this morning, a garfish I think. He wasn’t afraid of me, which made me afraid of him. I finally decided to climb out of his water, but there were so many yellow and black striped angel fish around the ladder and I didn’t want to disturb them.
These are the decisions we make here. To disturb the fish or keep swimming? To play the ukulele or paint? The lounge chairs or the hammock hut? To read or, as I’m doing now, to write?
I’ll be so glad to see Camille tomorrow, although it’s always hard to leave this place. But it helps that I know we can come back some day, God willing, and it will be as wonderful as I remembered.
A few favorite pictures:
Lee painting on our balcony
A pic of me snorkeling and a pic of me on a float – I look like such a small, lonesome speck in the sea!
Razor the bartender left for a few minutes and asked me to cover the bar for him. Thankfully no one needed any drinks, because I intended to charge triple.
Fabulous sunsets over the hammock hut.
And more of that crystal blue water
Hi sweet bear! Happy 59 months to my almost-five-year-old almost-in-kindergarten girl. You are fresh off of your first week of summer break, and I just hope you don’t start thinking every week will be like last one. Your Daddy and I took a trip for our 10th anniversary and left you in the care of Nana and Granddaddy, who took you to Dollywood, the zoo, on a fossil dig, a children’s museum, the hair salon, a movie, a tour of nearby caverns and the list goes on. And since Nana and Granddaddy can’t make it to Savannah for your birthday, they even squeezed an early birthday celebration into the schedule. Now that was a busy week!
Not only did they keep you too busy to miss us, but they kept you too busy to miss Pre-K, too. One day I’m sure you’ll welcome the end of the school year and embrace summer break like I did as a child. Even though I liked school, there was something delicious about knowing I had two months to just play. You are excited about the prospect of summer break, but also apprehensive about leaving your pre-k class behind. I don’t blame you – it was a great year and I’m going to miss that class, too.
The last week of school, your teacher sent home a bag full of classroom work, including two self-portraits. One of them you did in September just as the school year was beginning.
The other you completed just four months later. What a difference those months made in your drawing!
You continued to receive accolades this month for the collage you made back in the beginning of the year – the collage that won in a district-level competition. We were invited to an end-of-year awards ceremony where you received your very first trophy for that accomplishment. You were so excited! Your name was the first to be called in your division, and you practically ran down the aisle of the big auditorium to claim your prize.
As you climbed the stairs of the stage there was an audible murmur from the crowd, delighted to see someone so young (and so darn cute) grabbing hold of her shiny trophy. You had to stand on that stage for quite a while as the other names were called, and I was only a tiny bit nervous watching you up there. I think you grew tired of holding the trophy and kept trying to balance it on your arm when you weren’t using its shiny surface as a mirror.
Between that and some general fidgeting I had my fingers crossed that neither you nor the trophy would come tumbling to the ground. But I needn’t have worried. You triumphantly marched off the stage with your trophy at the appropriate time with all dignity and pride intact.
I’m very proud of all you accomplished this year – we couldn’t have asked for more from you. I’m already excited to see what you will learn next year in kindergarten, and I think you are too.
When I picked you up after the last day of school, we celebrated the same way we did on the first day – with ice cream and buddies at a neighborhood restaurant. We followed that with a Sand Gnats baseball game – the perfect way to officially kick off summer break.
And while I imagine most people wait until summer break begins to do most of their traveling, we took a trip last month before school was out because we just couldn’t wait a minute longer. Your cousin Eli was born in early May and we needed to get our hands on him!
When you found out several months ago that Auntie E was having a baby, you began playing more with your own baby dolls. “I’m practicing,” you told me, “so when we go to Boston I can hold Eli.”
When the day of our trip finally arrived, throughout all the driving and flying and changing planes and flying and driving some more, you repeated, “I can’t believe I get to hold Eli today!” Finally, your moment arrived, and it was a very sweet one.
The cuddling was brief though, because unlike your baby dolls, real babies tend to wiggle and maybe even cry. So before long, another set of eager hands (mine!) had snagged Eli from you and your focus turned to Jones. I love this picture – you are being so silly and wild, clearly amusing your cousin with those crazy eyes. Happiness.
We took the two of you to a farm in a nearby town with more animals to pet than we had time to pet them – utopia for animal-lovers like you and Jones. Here you two are in the “cuddle corner” where a few sleepy calves didn’t seem to mind your affection.
You had a chance to brush a baby goat that was only a day old, play on construction equipment, ride ponies and more. It was a great day.
My love, I can hardly believe the next time I write to you, you will be another year older. But I’ll wait one more month before I get too sentimental about all that… Instead, I’ll close with something you already know, but something I don’t get tired of repeating.
I love you so much sweet girl. So much.
Camille had the chance to participate in another childhood rite of passage recently – the school Field Day competitions. She had a blast, and we had fun watching her compete and cheer her head off for her classmates. As it turns out, she’s pretty good at sack races! Here’s a short bit of video proof, featuring Camille and a few of her buddies:
Last week we also finally made it to our first Sand Gnats game of the season. We enjoyed the company of good friends, painted faces, overindulged in unhealthy ballpark food, saw fireworks, and even got to take home a game ball. Score!
