My shoe is on the left. The shoe on the right is Eleanor's.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Boxerwood
With corona virus ravaging the globe, the girls and I have been bored. Yesterday, we got outside and went to Boxerwood, just outside of Lexington. Boxerwood will always be part of the family lexicon because it was the site of a tree-climbing accident that led to Alice getting 19 stitches on her inner thigh. That accident happened in the summer of 2018.
Alice and I spent a lot of time inspecting salamanders and turtles. You can see turtles basking on the little islands to Alice's right and at the center left of the picture.
We all climbed trees.
Eleanor was so charming on the hike. I mean that without any sarcasm. Eleanor spent so much time complaining about the heat and the bugs and the mud. I was getting annoyed until I realized that she was having a great time. At one point I told her that I knew that her complaining was part of the way she enjoyed herself. I did not explain that well. It is like, when she was complaining, she was present. She was being mindful.
The three of us are planning on doing some hiking in the coming weeks. I cannot wait.
The three of us are planning on doing some hiking in the coming weeks. I cannot wait.
God, I Love Suffering
I recently watched two documentaries, which I found very powerful. They reminded me how much I love suffering. I am talking about the kind of suffering that a person can choose to experience.
For example, I remember racing in a 35-minute criterium in 2006 or 2007. My mom was there to watch me race. At the end of the race, I rolled up to my mom and checked my heart rate monitor data. I remember saying matter of factly, "Huh. I averaged 181 beats per minute for 35 minutes." I know that I placed in the top ten, maybe like 6th, but I will never forget that I pushed my heart to beat more than 3 times per second for over a half an hour.
The first documentary is called The Barkley Marathons. It is about this crazy trail-running race held in Tennessee every year. I think that the race has been around almost 30 years and only 15 people have ever finished it. At the end of the movie, I thought of all the times I chose to suffer on a bike. I also remember one of my favorite bird-hunting days ever: the day I went on a vision quest. Only two other people in the world know the story. What a day.
The second documentary is called Figure It Out on the Hayduke Trail. It is about a 2-month hike in Utah and Arizona. The movie made me miss the West so much. It also made me realize that there is a lot to be done outdoors with my girls.
Figure It Out reminded me of how beautiful it is to choose to put one's self into situations that could turn out badly and then get one's self out of those situations. If you get banged up along the way, so be it.
I do not know what I feel right now. I am supposed to meet with the girls' mother to discuss financial stuff. I also need to finish up a draft of a paper (it is the only thing standing between me and a law degree). I also start online school tomorrow. None of those things seem to bug me like they did 24 hours ago.
For example, I remember racing in a 35-minute criterium in 2006 or 2007. My mom was there to watch me race. At the end of the race, I rolled up to my mom and checked my heart rate monitor data. I remember saying matter of factly, "Huh. I averaged 181 beats per minute for 35 minutes." I know that I placed in the top ten, maybe like 6th, but I will never forget that I pushed my heart to beat more than 3 times per second for over a half an hour.
The first documentary is called The Barkley Marathons. It is about this crazy trail-running race held in Tennessee every year. I think that the race has been around almost 30 years and only 15 people have ever finished it. At the end of the movie, I thought of all the times I chose to suffer on a bike. I also remember one of my favorite bird-hunting days ever: the day I went on a vision quest. Only two other people in the world know the story. What a day.
The second documentary is called Figure It Out on the Hayduke Trail. It is about a 2-month hike in Utah and Arizona. The movie made me miss the West so much. It also made me realize that there is a lot to be done outdoors with my girls.
Figure It Out reminded me of how beautiful it is to choose to put one's self into situations that could turn out badly and then get one's self out of those situations. If you get banged up along the way, so be it.
I do not know what I feel right now. I am supposed to meet with the girls' mother to discuss financial stuff. I also need to finish up a draft of a paper (it is the only thing standing between me and a law degree). I also start online school tomorrow. None of those things seem to bug me like they did 24 hours ago.
Friday, March 27, 2020
How Life Changes
I just filed my income tax returns. I believe that this is the first time since 2003 that I am not part of a married-filing-jointly return.
I had another new experience today. My therapist transitioned to video conference for appointments. I have been feeling good enough about life that I decided to pass on the video conference appointment. I do not think that I need it (at least not this week).
I had another new experience today. My therapist transitioned to video conference for appointments. I have been feeling good enough about life that I decided to pass on the video conference appointment. I do not think that I need it (at least not this week).
Thursday, March 26, 2020
It's a corporate trademark and a family crest
I discovered the artist, Jesse Bellavance, when I was in Charlottesville last summer. I reached out to him to design a corporate logo for Cow Lion Industries. Jesse ran with the idea and designed a family crest.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Trying a New Start
Two days ago Eleanor showed me a couple videos from the old family blog. The videos reminded me of how great blogging can be for preserving important memories.
Right now we are living through a crazy time: coronavirus has shut everything down. In fact, all public schools in Virginia are shut down for the rest of the school year! That means Eleanor completed her freshman year in high school and Alice is no longer in elementary school!
I have so much to say about how our lives have changed in the last 18 months but I am hesitant to use the blog as a forum for doing so. So much of what transpired was sad, even terrible. However, it is finally clear to me that I survived. And the girls survived as well. Maybe I can use the blog as a way of documenting who we are now? A year ago, I had no idea who I was. Other than a kick-ass dad, I still do not know a lot about myself.
But I had no idea how to be a parent when I started blogging 13 years ago. So perhaps I should document my search as part of documenting my life as a parent.
Right now we are living through a crazy time: coronavirus has shut everything down. In fact, all public schools in Virginia are shut down for the rest of the school year! That means Eleanor completed her freshman year in high school and Alice is no longer in elementary school!
I have so much to say about how our lives have changed in the last 18 months but I am hesitant to use the blog as a forum for doing so. So much of what transpired was sad, even terrible. However, it is finally clear to me that I survived. And the girls survived as well. Maybe I can use the blog as a way of documenting who we are now? A year ago, I had no idea who I was. Other than a kick-ass dad, I still do not know a lot about myself.
But I had no idea how to be a parent when I started blogging 13 years ago. So perhaps I should document my search as part of documenting my life as a parent.
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