Who's a Maniac? I'm a Maniac!

So school's been out for about five or six weeks now.  It's actually gone by pretty quickly as we've been busy little bees!  Between the kids' swim practices and meets, my workouts and training for the Rugged Maniac 5K, vacations to Disney and day trips hither and yon, there hasn't been much down time; and when there is, it's usually spent vegetating on the couch or in front of the computer too tired (read lazy) to write.  But it's a rainy day here in the Garden State and the kids are watching The Spy Next Door, so I'm stealing a couple of minutes for myself (because Facebook and Bubble Witch Saga and Words with Friends totally doesn't count!!)

Last weekend I ran with many of the girls from Team Alpha and completed the Rugged Maniac 5K race in Englishtown, NJ.  I am very proud of myself and although I finished one minute and 15 seconds after my goal of one hour, at least I finished!  I have bruises and scrapes for battle scars and photos to document (to prove) my participation.  I wouldn't describe it as fun but I did have a good time.  Even when I was by myself on the course (well, not by myself but not with my fellow Alpha girls), I was feeling pretty full of myself.  Even when the cretin beside me decided to combat crawl through the muddy water under the barbed wire while simultaneously kicking his feet splashing said water in my face, I was happy to be a part of the event.

I definitely think, when you do something like this, whether it's a 5K, a marathon, or a triathlon, however big or small the competition, when you finish you feel part of something.  This is only my second competition ever, so the novelty may wear off, but for now, I'm enjoying the ride.  Even got me a Rugged Maniac sticker for my car! That's right! I'm rugged!  Just don't make me change a tire on Route 295, thank you!

Looking at my dirty bib or feeling guilty when I miss a workout or a training run, I realize how far I've come in the past year or so.  When I say I never competed in anything athletic before, I mean NEVER.  I did play softball for an office team when I was 21 but that was just to hang out afterward at the bar! 

I don't think I look that much different...my clothes fit a bit better but I expected to look like a fashion model by now...and don't, if you were wondering!  But I do feel better.  I feel great, actually.  Not only do I breathe better and run farther and lift more and push more, I'm not beating myself up about talking and not acting.  At least not on this point.  There are still plenty of things I plan on doing....and plan and plan and plan...but that's another story!  No, with regard to fitness and health, I really think I've done myself and my family a real justice.  I went from the couch to the track and never looked back.  I almost cried more than a few times and was embarrassed at my lack of ability or stamina, but thanks to a wonderful trainer and a fabulous team of girls, it never ever stopped me from going or made me consider quitting.  I started with two days a week, moved to that plus the gym a couple of times a week, to that plus running the streets or trails on the other days.  I went from wheezing at the 50 meter mark to running 5K's once every couple of weeks trying go farther and faster.  

I have friends who want to work out with my group and my trainer but are too afraid they won't keep up.  These are women (mostly) who are in far better shape than I was when I started but I completely understand where they're coming from.  At my first session, I very seriously told my friend that if anything were to happen, I'm not allergic to any medications and I'm an organ donor!  It was a Sunday morning and I couldn't walk normally until Thursday.  It was TOUGH!  But I went on that next Saturday and woke up a few more dormant muscles and whimpered through the next week and the next until finally, when I'd wake up without pain, I'd think I must not have pushed myself enough at the workout!  

So what I'm saying, other than how great I think I am apparently, is that it wasn't hard to do once I started.  I can't quit now because I feel like exercise now defines part of who I am.  Even when I'm a slug for a couple of days in a row, I still feel like part of the club.  I may not pay as high a dues as many of my fellow members (and they know who they are; the ones that don't miss a day, no matter what, to do some sort of workout), but that's okay.  Maybe someday I will.  Maybe when school starts up again in the Fall.  Maybe. Maybe not.  For right now, though, I'm cool with my three to five days a week (usually), working and laughing with my Alpha girls, and planning my next accomplishment!

~Eileen Cassidy Bishop

Batter Up!

Congratulate me (or pity me, I haven't decided) --- I have officially made the transition from Unisex T-Ball to Boys Minor League Baseball and Girls Softball T-Ball!  Wow.  It's very different, isn't it?  Wow.  Who knew?  Well, anyone with a kid in Little League, I guess!  I'm embarrassed at my naivete!  The politics and melodrama is staggering!!  I don't see it much (yet) in the Softball League but Little League?! Oh my!

See, I always thought of politics at the government and corporate office level (sometimes they intertwine, don't they...but that's another lesson for another day!)  I knew, too, that there were those parents who took the sport way too seriously.  My friends or family would complain about the coach or the other players or the other players' parents and I'd think, "Really? You're getting this upset over Little League?!"  But now I see all too clearly!  I have found myself complaining about the coach and some of the rules; sniping at some of the other parents and even at some of the players (behind their backs, of course, to actually snipe at them would be rude...ahem.)  I've lamented about Leo only playing half the game while others his age play the whole game (yeah, so they're better, what about it?!)  I've sounded like Vince Lombardi in the locker room before the big game giving Leo a pep talk about bending his knees in his batter's stance, staying in ready position in the field, no dancing in right field, no blowing bubbles that impede his ability to see past said bubble, to keep his glove on his hand not on his head, etc.  You know, the stuff the MLB moms stress about with their boys (I wonder if we could get Mrs. Jeter or Halliday to confirm).  Gene's and my pillow talk is usually a recap of the game or practice.  I know, steamy, right?!

The parents complain about the coaches, the coaches complain about the League higher-ups, the League higher-ups complain about the coaches AND the parents and everyone is sweet and lovely and chatty when face to face at the fields.  Peyton Place, I'm telling you!  Whoever out there thinks men are not as bad if not WORSE than women when it comes to gossip and hurt feelings is saaaaadly mistaken!  Whoa Nellie!

Yes, it's a whole new world for this girl.  I will say I've met some of the nicest people (and of course not-so nice)!  People I would most likely never have met otherwise.  I've gotten to sit out in the fresh air and enjoy watching an evening of baseball (well, of boys running around on a diamond-shaped field, anyway) or watching an evening or morning of practice while simultaneously sharing in adult conversation.  You can always tell a parent that's got a kid in a sport; they can have a complete conversation without making eye contact with you once!  I think I'll actually miss it when it's over.  We're in the play-offs stage at the moment; double elimination...very exciting!  By this time next week I'll be missing those parents (no, not all of them) and the conversation, and watching Leo get more and more into the sport (he actually got a killer hit last night).  I'm not too worried though.....

Swim Team meets start next week.

~Eileen Cassidy Bishop

THE ANTICIPATION OF SUMMER

So we're coming to the close of yet another school year; the temporary shutting off of 6:30 alarm clocks and 7 a.m. breakfasts consisting of Cheerios and threats.  Another Summer awaits.  Pools, beaches, backyard sprinklers, PB&J at the picnic table, and the slathering of #50 sunblock.  I can't wait!  I have a feeling I will be using those same three words come mid August regarding the start of the new school year, but for now, bring on the lazy Summer days!

Actually, I'm not sure how lazy they'll be initially.  Both Leo and Cathy are on our pool club's swim team (GO TARNSFIELD TORPEDOES!) and Leo is trying out for both travel soccer and tournament little league baseball.  I don't think he'll do both, I think he just wants to secure a backup plan!  I won't be devastated if he doesn't do either one, but I think he's really hoping to get on the soccer team as "Baseball's boring.  That's why I dance and jump around out in left-center; I have to entertain myself 'til the ball comes!"  Aaaaanyway...

So with lots of vacations planned (both mini and maxi), sports to play (both organized and not-so organized), sunblock to apply, and water to be swum in, I'm thinking the Summer will go by pretty quickly.  I know it will go by more quickly than last year as I've noticed the older and more independent the kids get, the faster the Summer goes.  Probably because I don't have to have every moment filled with some sort of entertainment.  Both my kids love to read and pretend play and color and draw and swing on the swing and splash in the sprinkler and play wiffle ball together that most times, if they permit me, I can sit on the patio and read and call it "watching the kids".  As long as I don't mind the occasional interruption for a drink or a Band-Aid or a quick tattle, they usually grant me the time.  And now that we've joined a swim club, though I can't read while they're swimming (sorry life guard, it's not that I don't trust you I just don't trust you!) I can chat with fellow moms and enjoy watching them play in the pool.  Sweet.

I wish there were a way, without costing anyone anything (always have to add that just in case someone tries to come up with a way), at least one parent could stay home all Summer with their kids.  I mean, only if they wanted to, of course!  I know a few parents who like daycare just fine!  But for those who would like to be home, I wish it were possible.  Back in my working days, when Gene and I were planning a family, the thought of not working never entered my mind.  I just figured I'd find a home daycare provider and that would be that.  And had I not been lucky enough to stay home as I have since before Leo was born, that's exactly what I would have done; like it or not.  

And I feel I am lucky too.  I watched a talk show years ago where stay-at-home moms and working moms were debating (or screaming at one another) over who worked harder and who had the shorter end of the stick.  I honestly can't remember which role I had at the time but I remember thinking number one, how ridiculous they sounded shouting at one another but more importantly that neither one really understood what the other was trying to say.  I get it; you spend a lot of time and hard work getting an education, breaking into and cultivating a career that to give it up, even for a few years, can't be part of the plan.  It doesn't mean you love your children less.  I get too, that once you had that child in your arms, you realized there was no way anyone was going to raise that child or see his first steps or hear his first words before you.  It doesn't mean you've lost your desire to be successful at your chosen career or that you're using motherhood as an excuse to stop working.  I think if a woman could leave her career for a long period of time to find it waiting there when she returned, lots more mothers would absolutely stay home with their family.  My sister-in-law, a lawyer, was lucky enough (and good enough a lawyer) to take off almost a whole year when her daughter was born.  Then, to further their good fortune, my brother was willing and able to reverse the traditional role of care-giver and become a stay-at-home dad.  I know that both my niece and her parents are eternally grateful for their time spent together.

But that doesn't happen very often at all.  So I am going to take whatever time Good Fortune allows me and spend it as a Domestic Goddess fretting over dinner menus and laundry piles; paying bills and nursing boo-boos and hurt feelings and enjoy every second!

.....'til mid August anyway!

Happy Summer everyone!!

~Eileen Cassidy Bishop