emmett digs self-care, too.

So the last two days have essentially been spent on the couch with my knitting and Netflix. Sarge and I took a pretty amazing multiple-hour nap yesterday and I managed to unload the dishwasher this morning while the coffee was brewing…progress.

I know you’re reading this wondering if I’m sick, because this level of sloth can maybe only be justified by some sort of illness. And the answer is no, I’m perfectly healthy. This is just my way of recovering from what was (to me) a very busy week. This, dear readers, is my kind of self-care.

I hosted Thanksgiving at my house for the first time since being single, which meant that, starting Sunday, the entire house had to be cleaned (except for under the beds. And of course, the first thing Jax had to do was pull the bed out to plug his phone charger in. SIGH) There was shopping to do and  I’d never roasted a turkey myself, or hosted a holiday gathering on my own. So I attacked it with planning and organization. I had to make a spreadsheet of all of the dishes and their cook times so I knew when to start each thing and what needed to be prepared in advance. I assembled a portfolio of the recipes and thankfully everything turned out pretty well, I think. My SIL made the gravy and oversaw the potatoes and brought the desserts, which helped tremendously, as gravy is not my thing. Of course I didn’t get any pictures. But it was really meaningful to me to be able to have Miss L and her beloved cousin, my brother and sister-in-law, and Jax & Izzy at my house, and have us eat and share the holiday together.

Then, bright and early on Black Friday, Miss L went to her dad’s house, and my childhood bestie Kat arrived as – wait for it – we’d signed up for a HALF MARATHON. And not just any half marathon – a TRAIL half marathon. Now ask me how much training I did for aforementioned half marathon. Goose egg, that’s right.

It was Kat’s first half and she was really excited about it, and although I knew that I was not prepared in any way, shape, or form for a half, I couldn’t bring myself to drop back to a shorter distance or bail on her. The weather was cold, but not frigid, and the trail surface was exceptionally wet and treacherous. Friends, running a trail is different than road running. You are constantly confronted with slippery spots, switchbacks, elevation changes, and terrain issues. There’s no putting in your headphones and going on autopilot. There were slick bridge spots and boulders, and huge mud pits that just had to be run through. The distance ended up being longer than a traditional half, as the course had to re-route past bridges that were out.

I got through the first half on track for a slow but decent finish time, and had a brief but fierce internal debate with myself. My body felt beat to shreds, and I couldn’t imagine how Kat was doing, somewhere behind me. There were aid stations every few miles, but if she got into trouble, I wasn’t sure if there would be anyone around to help her. So I reasoned that time was unimportant for this race, and, somewhat hoping that she would decide to finish early and let us head back to the finish, I  waited at the halfway point for her. I perched at the top of a wooded hill, out of the wind but feeling my warm muscles cooling and clenching in the cold, and chatted with two of the course marshals. They were blown away that someone would choose to do their first half on a trail! When her little winter hat came bobbing up the rise, I knew she was struggling. I told her that we could always cut it short and head the mile back to the finish line, but the marshal told her that she was killing it and her face was determined. NO, she said. Let’s finish it.

So we set out on the second loop. It was a rough six miles, and although we weren’t last to finish, I think we were pretty close. There was a lot of walking. But Kat showed true grit and endurance and honestly, I was really proud of both of us.

Nothing ever looked as good as that finish line.

So that’s why I’ve spent the last two days on the sofa. I finished watching The Crown on Netflix and, cowls all finished, am Log Cabin-ing until my next project comes to me.

If you celebrated, I hope your Thanksgivings were happy and filled with family. If not, I hope you had a greater-than-usual Thursday and are practicing self-care wherever you are, too.