Hardcore Doofus...

So, I like running. A lot. I'm beginning to think that I need to run, even. It balances me, keeps me in decent shape and makes me feel good. I think I feel most alive when I'm running. Interestingly enough, I also sometimes feel mostly-dead while running, but that's another post.

Yesterday when I checked weather.com, it said that it would be 47 degrees around mid-morning today, and I thought "Hey, that's decent jogging weather. Definitely doable with the kids." So this morning I threw a sweatshirt on His Highness (a light-up, blinking sweatshirt; this pleased him greatly) and a blanket over the Littler One (who was already wearing a t-shirt & thick-ish sleeper), and we fired up the double jogger for our 2.5 mile loop. His Highness usually doesn't mind the ride because we almost always end up at the playground, where we almost always stop to play before walking the last quarter-mile home. It's a win-win as far as we're concerned.

We hit the first glitch when we exited the garage and found that it was windy and chilly. I should've known. I've lived here a year, and windy and chilly are to be expected on any given day, except when one is making a hearty wintertime meal, such as stew or roast beast & taters, in which case there will be a freak warm streak. Just for spite. Anyway, I ran back in the house, pulled some pants on over my shorts, & grabbed gloves for His Highness and myself. The Littler One looked pretty toasty, tucked in beneath his blanket, so we set off into the chilly wind.

It got really interesting about a half mile in, when The Littler One abruptly decided that he was unhappy. He made this known by trying to fling himself from the stroller and onto the pavement, which he was unable to do because he was buckled in, which made him very, very unhappy indeed.

I weighed the options. Long story short, we kept going. I cursed weather.com, thinking "There's no way it's 47 degrees out here." Then we passed the temperature display at the credit union, which read 37 degrees (probably below freezing with the windchill). Then I cursed myself for not checking weather.com this morning.

In my own defense, I was running a diagnostic on my work 'puter, which seems to have a possessed touchpad at the moment. Diagnostic = no checking anything. Yes, I could've checked using one of our other computers. There are a million reasons why I didn't. Most of them involved not wanting to walk all the way downstairs and wait for a computer to boot up. Of course I also could've walked outside and determined that everyone needed another layer or two (or ten) before we even left the house, but...well, I just didn't. What was I talking about again??

Right--avoiding hypothermia. We stopped at a bench along the greenway (our really nice, city-wide system of walking/running/biking paths), where I could assess the situation more fully. No poop, thank goodness. We moved on to the feeding (it is in moments like these where I love the nursing. I had enough layers & whatnot to remain modest & warm, and the Littler One could eat right then, and then we'd be on our way). The only problem was that he really didn't want to eat. He was cold, and he was angry that he was cold, and he was angry that I wasn't getting him into a warmer situation RIGHT NOW.

Well, we were right around the halfway point, so it made just as much sense to keep going as it did to turn back. We powered on. We had a short reprieve from the wind, in that it slowed down a little and was at our sides instead of head-on, and eventually we made it to the park. The Littler One has a lot of feelings, and they're very persistent, so he was still loudly mad. His Highness was visibly shivering, but he really, really loves the playground, so he was bent on toughing it out until he got his turn on the blue swing. We had a heart-to-heart:

"Look Your Highness, it's really cold out. Do you want to skip the playground and go straight home?"

"Boo-oo fing, Momm-mmy!" (blue swing)

"Well, that's the thing. If we stop, I need to try to calm the Littler One down and I won't be able to push you on the swing. You'll have to climb or go on the slides or something. You still want to stop?"

"Y-y-ess-ss M-m0mm-y."

So we stopped for about 5 minutes. We chatted with the homeschool brothers for a bit, and I sent them all off to play while I convinced the Littler One that nursing would in fact warm him up. His Highness got his playground fix, the Littler One calmed down to a whimper, and I carried him the rest of the way home to make up for trying to freeze him solid.

Our street forms a nice wind-corridor, so the last little bit before home is the worst in the wind. But finally, we made our way into the house, safe & sound. His Highness and I made some hot chocolate stat, and then had quesadillas & tomato soup for lunch. The Littler One got carried around in the sling for pretty much the rest of the day, snuggled right up against me. And everyone's digits warmed up, and soon all was well again. So it turned out well for all of us.

In the afternoon we went to the commissary. In the car. Dressed in many layers...