Because My Daughter is Home

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Coco

Because my daugther is home, I need to keep the pantry stocked with her favorites.
(Ginger Ale, Multigrain Cheerios, Bagel Bites)
Because my daughter is home, I need to run the dishwasher every day.
(Don’t you already have a glass somewhere?)
Because my daughter is home, our laundry hamper is always overflowing.
(Do you think this is a fancy hotel with towel service?)

Because my daughter is home, we can bake our favorite recipes together.
(Snickerdoodles,  brownies, peanut butter kiss cookies)
Because my daughter is home, I have someone who’s always up for a Starbucks run.
(White Chocolate Mocha for her, Peppermint Mocha for me)
Because my daughter is home, her beautiful smile brightens my day.
(and I will miss her so much when she’s gone)

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Stress-Reducing Resolutions for Work

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Coco

I’m not so keen on diet or fitness resolutions this year–I am doing pretty well on those fronts–but I am been thinking about resolutions that could make my life at work less stressful and more productive.

  • Stop multi-tasking.  With my dual monitors, it can be hard to ignore new emails while I am working on something else. I knows those “three second” distractions add up, sap my efficiency, and make me feel fragmented. If I have both monitors showing screens relevant to what I am working on, I will finish my project more quickly and then can give my email my full attention. If my project will take more than a few hours, I can take designated email breaks.
  • Complete one project before starting the next one. My days can be full of interruptions, and I am tempted to handle new requests right away if I think I can complete them quickly (reviewing a draft, signing a letter, etc.). This often means that I will have several files open and in-progress at once, and several interrupted projects that I will have to re-orient myself to when I return to them later. If I take a few minutes to assess the relevant urgency of projects and decide if a new item can wait one more hour while I finish the one at hand, I will feel less scattered and may even get more done.
  • Deal with emails right away. Recently I realized that I spend too much time every day scrolling through my emails to find the one(s) that I need to read again or respond to. Since then, I have been trying to deal with emails right away. If I don’t need to respond, I read and delete. If I need to respond later, I set a reminder/flag which moves the email out of my regular in-box stream. If I will need to refer to the email later, I will move it to a folder. At the end of the day/week/month, I review the emails that remain in my in-box, and see if they can be deleted, flagged, moved, etc. This is saving me time every day and reducing the chances that an important email will be buried in my in-box.
  • Take notes. I need to get into a habit of taking notes during all telephone calls. When I am on a conference call, I process the information and understand the next steps, but if the matter isn’t urgent or if I get interrupted before I take care of it, I can lose track of details. If I take notes–even if I don’t think I need to (and this is key)–then I won’t have to spend time wracking my brain to remember those details.
  • Heed biological needs. This may sound ridiculous, but I have days when I am thirsty and feel like I am “too busy” to refill my water bottle, and often test the limits of my bladder because of the time it takes to walk to the restroom. We all have days when we eat lunch late or skip it, but with my mild hypoglycemia waiting even an extra hour for a meal or snack can wreak havoc. I won’t say that I’ve never been under such a tight deadline that these 5 minute breaks would have made a difference, but it certainly doesn’t happen very often. Unless its one of those days, I need to get water when I’m thirsty, eat when I’m hungry and go when I need to go!
Posted in Work | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Bedtime Prayers

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Coco

As a child, I said my prayers as I went to sleep. Not on my knees by my bedside, but lying comfortably in my bed. I’m sure my parents said the prayers to me at first, and then listened to me say them as I got older, sealing the “Amen” with a good night kiss on the forehead.

 

There have been times in my adult life that I was in a habit of saying bedtime prayers. When I was pregnant and worrying over the health of my babies. When my children were worrying me with their teenage antics. But usually I collapse into bed exhausted and am asleep without even the thought of a prayer.

But this prayer is so beautiful. When I remember to say it, it perfectly captures everything I want to remind myself of, pray for, and give thanks for. 

Nighttime Prayer from the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer

Lord, it is night.

The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.

The night is dark;
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and our own lives rest in you.

The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Wrestlemania!

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Coco

Yesterday I spent 9 hours in a highschool gym. Voluntarily. And I wasn’t taking a CPR class.

This is my son’s third year on the varsity wrestling team, and yesterday was his school’s big annual Holiday Classic tournament. There were 10 schools competing, and with only 2 mats (some schools with bigger gyms have room for 4 or even 6 mats) and 14 weight classes, we all knew it was going to be a long day.

wrestlers

 

My son’s day got off to a rough start, but it ended well. He lost his first match, getting pinned after being slightly ahead points-wise. He won his next two “consolation” rounds, which put him back into the semi-final rounds. He won again, and qualified to compete for third place. The boy who beat him in the first match lost at some point during the day, so the final match ended up being a re-match of the first. I know my son was surprised to have been beaten in the morning, but there is no question that the other boy was a good wrestler. It was a very close match and came down to the last points and the last seconds. The whole team was on their feet cheering and I was doing my best to twist and grapple to help my son from the sidelines. When the final buzzer went off and my son was ahead, I jumped for joy.

 

The win was awesome, but even more special was seeing the big grin on my son’s face. He was so thrilled and proud of himself. He got a big congratulatory hug from his coach, many back-pats from his teammates, and congratulations from the other parents. And, he got to celebrate with a big steak dinner with his teammates, who don’t have to weigh-in for a full week. (Thank goodness my son is wrestling “up” so he doesn’t have to worry about making weight.)

The first year my son wrestled, I wasn’t into it at all. I didn’t really enjoy watching the boys, and felt so barbaric cheering them on. As the season wore on, I understood the sport more, could follow the scoring, and figured out why you need to “lift his head!” when you have your competitor on his back (to force the shoulders on the ground to earn a pin).

By last year, I was totally into it. Well, I still don’t like it when the boys seem to bend their necks more than they should be able to go, or when arms and shoulders get twisted back too far, but for the most part the boys wrestle “clean” without hurting each other.

What I have really come to appreciate is how demanding wrestling is as a sport. Sure, a round may only last for 2 minutes, but you try keeping your shoulders off the ground for even 30 seconds using only your core strength while someone your weight is on top of you using all of his weight to try to push you down.  I’m not even sure that I can hold a plank for 30 seconds with only gravity working against me!

Wrestling offers so many lessons:

  • It ain’t over until it’s over. You can be way ahead in points, but if you get careless, or tired, or the other guy gets lucky, you can find yourself on your back with the referee counting out a 3-second pin. The good news is that this holds true when you are behind. There is always a chance that you can pin your opponent and win as long as you stay in the match and keep trying.
  • Every second counts. A match can change direction so quickly. The wrestler who initiates a take down may quickly find himself flat on the mat. The wrestler on the bottom may be able to flip around if his opponent is too high up on his back. Once the referee starts counting a pin, you have 3 whole seconds to escape and it can be done. Sometimes it seems that sheer determination earns a win.

 

  • The number on the scale doesn’t tell you everything. Each weight class is separated by 5-17 pounds (at the higher weights) and most boys try to be at or near the high end of their weight class. That means that boys in the same weight class should weigh about the same, but they often look very different. There are boys with tall and lanky builds, boys with short and stocky builds, and every build in between. It’s not clear that either build necessarily has an advantage. More often it is skill (and maybe a bit of luck) that determines the winner–I’ve seen boys with different builds dominate their matches.
  • You need to work with what you have. If you are tall and lanky, you need to use that height (and leverage) to your advantage. If you are short and stocky, you need to make that strength and stability work for you. No matter what your size, you can hone your skills and agility so you will be able to respond to your opponent’s strengths.

Another thing I really enjoy about following my son’s wrestling team is the team “family.” Parents (and grandparents!) make an effort to come to the matches and everyone cheers on each wrestler. It is fun to watch the boys grow and mature as the season goes on, and it is great to get to know the other parents as we pass the time between matches during the day-long tournaments.

Tonight, we are putting that “family” to the test. Our boys are going to one wrestler’s house for a New Year’s Eve party. We have used our bleacher-born connections to make phone calls, verify itineraries, and do what we can to make sure that everyone makes it to practice on Monday.

Have you experienced Wrestlemania?

Posted in Fitness, Life | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Running Out Of 2010

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Coco

Today I went for my last run of 2010. I know there is one more day left in the year, but I am planning to start the new year with a long run on Saturday and I prefer to keep my runs to alternate days. Plus, I needed a good hit of cardio to balance out the rest of my day sitting in the bleachers at my son’s wrestling tournament.

The day didn’t start the way I planned. First, I woke up at 4:44. That’s too early on a work day and WAY too early on a day off when my first “appointment” is to check out BJs with my husband when they open at 9:00. I had set my alarm for 6:00 and still thought that was a good plan, so I stayed in bed and luckily fell back asleep.

When I woke up again and checked the time it was 6:30. Ack! Well, I still had plenty of time for my run, but I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a bottomless cup of coffee afterwards. (It turns out I’d turned on my 6:00 am “weekend” alarm, and of course it’s not the weekend yet, even though it feels like it. Sometimes a smart phone can be too smart!)

It was a “balmy” 30F, so I put on my lighter running tights, new fuzzy top (with thumb holes), windbreaker, hat and gloves.

Getting a head start on my Runner’s Resolutions, I walked for about 1/3 mile before starting my run. I chose my “Xmas Run” playlist and started on my “usual” 4.5 mile route. Everything felt good (my ITB just whispered) and I could tell that my pace was good.

Somewhere along the way I decided that I should end the year with a 5 mile run. I could have added a lap or two on the high school track, but I didn’t want to risk embarrassing my son in case any teammates were running laps to make weight. So, I had to add another segment on my neighborhood streets, which meant another hill.

I hit mile 5 a bit sooner than I expected, but I stopped running to leave myself a decent distance to walk for my cool down. (Maybe there is something to this notion of writing down your goals!)

As soon as I got in the house, I started the coffee pot and headed to my basement gym to stretch. I even threw in some time on the foam roller. I am willing to do what it takes to stay healthy, even if it means waiting 10 more minutes for that cup of coffee!

My Garmin tells me that I covered 5.06 miles at an average pace of 9:36. That includes my usually slower first mile (9:45) and several slightly faster miles (9:25). It seems that my pace is getting faster, and I’m sure the fact that my ITB doesn’t feel like a cable wound too tight is making a difference. I also have to give credit to finally losing those “last 5 pounds” and my three-days-per-week weight training routine.

Running is just plain awesome when all the pieces come together.

I’m so glad to be ending 2010 on a “runner’s high” note. What are you doing to finish the year strong? How are you going to start 2011 on the right foot?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments