Summer and the Blogging is Slow

Hello readers out there. Summer is truly here in the Northland and the living is busy. And the computer is very uncooperative. It does not like any kind of heat and may take 10-15 tries to get started. Then it may quit at any moment. Needless to say I don't always get to try number 15 before I give up. Especially since timing and time management are not my specialties and I am usually cranking up the computer on a whim. I will get more focused soon, but not until I get to Wausau and have an awesome on water time. This little trip of mine is taking all my extra mental energy, after taking care of my little bug and getting myself to work when required. Blog, home, and all other issues (like good cooking, regular gym time, finances, and anything cleaning) have taken a big back seat for now. Alex is doing good, and we actually turned a corner on home life by investing in "Floortime". More on this after next weeks adventure. Kevin is my hero, as ever, for stepping up to let me go for five days. Not sure why I deserve him but will just be happy about the whole situation. I will get to see my sister, my niece and nephew, my mom, and my dear friend Shereen on my trip too so there will be lots to tell. Hopefully the shoulder will hold out and the boat wont sink. I have actually been training so maybe I wont embarrass myself too much. Or that could just be wishful thinking!

Maybe it's not ALL good : Alex Report #3

Uuufff-da mackie, as we say up north, it's been quite a month. Not long after Alex Report #2, where I stated, "It's all good.", the worm turned. Progress seemed to stop and we even maybe went a little backwards. Alex began to increase his repetitive phrases, his frustration tolerance got shorter and finally became non-existent, his repetitive behaviors increased, compliance decreased, and everything became a fight. Everything. School ended. Summer began. Routine evaporated. Parental tempers became increasingly frayed and finally broke a few times. Alex began to spend a lot of time in time out. It was looking to be a long, long summer. To add insult to injury, there was insurance trouble, things not being covered that should be, and annoying difficulty scheduling his horseback riding, which kept the rest of the summer schedule on hold. Plus the school cancelled one summer school day (down to two from three), and dared to take a one week break. Yikes, what a mess. Meanwhile the weather was going nuts in the rest of the country and world, with floods, fires, and earthquakes, and other friends are having huge upheavals in their lives. At least our problems are minuscule compared to true tragedy.

But they are still ours, and fortunately the worm turned again and we may all survive this period. The big break was a new parent group at the Scottish Language Clinic with my hero Tahirih. She gave us all a primer in the Floortime Method. It is a way of teaching and playing with kids with communication difficulties, and it is awesome. I have more to say but my boys are back from an overnight and it's time for some "floortime" with Alex. Apologies for a short, incomplete post but summer isn't looking so bad after all.

Partly Cloudy with a chance of Rhubarb

Once again, the skies are grey and the air is cold, but summer is definitely coming. The lilies and peonies are up and budding, the lilacs are just about to pop, and my rhubarb is monstrous. I planted it two years ago from a grower at the farmers market. It was about 6 inches across. I was good and did not cut it the first year. I only took about half last year when it was a foot and a half across. And this year I just might be able to feed a small nation with it's five foot spread. I have never seen a rhubarb this big. The leaves are much larger than dinner plates. They make great floppy hats, and could be used for roofing material. Maybe it is time to get going on that dream tree house with Alex. And in the mean time, I get to harvest it all. Most of the stalks are destined to be rhubarb crisps. Bubbly, tart, and hot, with crunchy, buttery, sugary tops. MMMmmmm. Summer in the Northland.

Firsts

There have been many firsts, lately. The first lawn mowing. The first day with the windows open and the heat off. The first sunburn. The first day that Hawk Ridge is green, not brown. And Kevin and Alex had a big first too.

It was up on Hawk Ridge. This is the ridge at the back of our neighborhood. We live in between Lake Superior and Hawk Ridge, about one mile of little houses. Hawk Ridge is so named because of an autumn phenomenon. The hawks and eagles of the north migrate south, but they will not cross large bodies of water. Lake Superior slants to the north east, and all the raptors heading south from north eastern Minnesota and up into Canada funnel along the shore. As they hit Duluth the ridge is the perfect place for viewing them, and the winds at times are perfect for making giant kettles of birds. They number into the hundreds at times, and even into the thousands when conditions are right. The whole ridge is wooded, with trails winding throughout and wonderful overlooks for the lake and our 'hood.

So, the boys were up on Hawk Ridge last week, hiking among the newly green trees with the dog. A beautiful day to be out in the sun... and so it is not surprising they were not alone. When Kevin saw the big black dog he was not surprised. When he saw it's bigger mother, and she stood up, he stopped all forward motion. Fortunately they were just a little far off, and Lucky could not see over the old, brown grass. She probably would have hid anyways, bears not being her favorites. Being a good daddy, Kevin picked up Alex like a suitcase, and began to quietly back away. The bears could have cared less. Once the mama bear concluded the Kinney boys were not a threat she continued quietly munching. Black bears generally are very mellow, unless you trap them in your garage. Kevin swears this was the Lakeside Bear, who has a cub or twins every year and often raids local bird feeders. I am not so sure, but whoever she was she gave Alex something to talk about. His first wild bear sighting at age four, I'm so proud!

(And if you like birding, check out www.hawkridge.org, it's all about the raptors and the ridge.)

Going to Wausau

It is Spring (at least for another week) and my thoughts have turned to KAYAKING. I held off on the early season paddling this year because I did not trust my shoulder. Early season is high water, remote locations, cold temps, and the need to be spot on. No way I could get my head around that. So no "Steep Creeking" for me, instead I am all Slalom. It is way more controlled and for some strange reason I just love it. LOVE IT. I was out tuning up the flat water race site last week and finally got in my boat yesterday. It felt good. Kevin and Alex went out hiking with Lucky while I indulged my passion. We have our races here in July, but before that I get an extra adventure. I am off to Wausau to help with a race clinic and race myself, at the end of June. I am so excited I am bouncing!

Spring at Last

As of the 15th of May, Spring finally arrived. The sun is shining, the grass is growing, and the trees have leafed out. AMAZING. I thought it would never come. It has been all grey, rain, and cold until this week. Oh, happiness!

Pacing and Consistency

A little bit more about the Mother's Day Race for Breast Cancer, and how I survived it. As per my earlier posts, I was able to race with my friend Sara. She saved my hiney in the Solstice run and did the same for this run too. She is an inspiration to me. I met her back in 1988, worked for her kayaking husband for many years, was a dweller in her attic one summer, and she tipped me off to my job on the unit. Sara is as solid a citizen as they come. She works her butt off as a Mental Health RN, she has two fantastic boys in grade school and junior high, her house is to die for (they built it), and she is always going on wild adventures. Drive down with a friend and the boys to Florida for a week? Sure. Go to New Zealand on her honeymoon and climb mountains and leap off tall hills with a parachute. Yep. Squeeze in a ski week out in Montana with the whole family. Of course. She runs, mountain bikes, skis, kayaks, camps, and was a rugby player. She can also antique and garage sale with the pros. She was the best RN I ever worked with in Mental Health (she has since moved jobs, but not far). She could set a limit, find contraband, confront naughty behavior, and take down an out of control kid like nobody's business. Tough, funny, straight talking, and kind. She told me throughout my pregnancy that I was going to be fine and my child would not suffer too much from having such an inexperienced mama. She even passed on that most important piece of equipment for travel, the porta-prison. And a few wet suits for Alex to grow into.

So, back to the race. I was determined to follow my heart rate monitor and not blow out, but instead I followed Sara. And still did not blow out. We ran and talked the whole race. We were way in back, but we did not walk and we "got 'er done". I discovered my heart rate can go a lot higher than I thought (and the charts predict), and I have not been crazy sore or sick in these few days past. Creaky, yes. Tired, yes. A wee bit unmotivated. Yep. And HUNGRY. But not sick or super sore. And we were not the LAST racers on the course, so that is saying something. We ran the whole race at a faster pace than I have been training at, but I still had a little juice left for a sprint at the finish. Much better to place that at the finish than the start! I will probably resume training soon, with my new heart rate limits, and the discovery that I can go a bit faster than I thought I could.

In my life I have started at least 10 half-assed running programs that I quit within a month. I would be all gung-ho, then get overworked and quit. I never paced myself or was consistent. And I never set decent goals. With pacing and consistency in mind this last year, and Sara and the Mother's Day race on the calendar, I finally broke the half-assed habit. It feels good. And yes, it's really true, slow and steady wins the race.