Morning SMile Mates

I missed my run this morning.  And I seriously needed it.  I have not blogged in several weeks.  And let me tell you why.  The Funk.  Just ONE living, breathing, SPREADING reason why winter has quickly become my least favorite season.  It seems that the "funk" has hit our house and taken us all out like dominoes, one by one.  It may be better if we were all out at once and then the funk just moved on to the next poor, unsuspecting family.  But after 3 weeks of battling sleepless nights and grumpy kiddos, the funk finally crawled under my skin and rendered me speechless and lethargic overnight.  My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning and I could barely move my legs.  I finally realized why my morning run on Tuesday had been so difficult....ever since my injury, my leg muscles seem to know when the funk is coming and start tearing me down, one stride at a time a few days before I know what is going to hit me.  I thought I had survived this one....it had been hanging around our house for 3 weeks for crying out loud...but I'm learning that that no amount of hand washing, hand sanitizing, clorox wipes and lysol can save you when you are being coughed on, sneezed on and slept with. 

And so it goes.  I begrudgingly messaged my fellow morning mile mates to tell them I would not be in attendance and fell back into a hard and achy sleep for the next 2 hours. 

The rest of my day progressed as you would expect.  The healthy kids went off to school.  The snotty ones stayed home with me, grumpy and pitiful, with a grumpy and pitiful mom to guide them through a movie- and liquid-filled day.

But, do you know what?  Every one of my morning mile mates called/emailed and checked on me...to see how I was feeling, how were my legs, did I need anything.  Even one who runs with us "virtually" on DailyMile, noticed that I was out this morning and checked on me. 

Some days, my morning mile mates push me further, faster.  Some mornings, I'm tired, only the moon provides any form of light and I don't even know where I have ran, but I come home with a lighter heart after good conversation has brought me clarity to a situation.  And some mornings, I don't run at all, but I'm reminded that these girls not only help me get through morning runs, but also through the normal, every day challenges of being a mom. 

And that puts a sMile on my face.