A Parenting/Running First

My 2nd grader started his Christmas break on Thursday. He wanted to play with his LEGOs all day. I was spending the day grading final projects because finals were 2 days before on that Tuesday. (Related: I started a twitter thread with professor updates throughout the 48 hours before and after finals.)

I also wanted to go for a run. So I prepped the house for him (drinking cup out, sharp things put away, stuff off the floor so he doesn't trip, etc), and told him I'd be running for a while. It was the first I'd left him home alone. (And it was good that 4-year-old Charlie wasn't home, because HE'S the trouble-maker.) I locked the door and was out for 45 minutes before swinging back to check on him (at which point he asked if I could help him find a specific LEGO), and then I stepped back out for a 10 minute cool down.

I ended up running 8.6 miles in about an hour (7:08 average pace). Nothing fancy, I just ran.

Then Henry and I toured a new school for him, and he shadowed there for 3.5 hours. (His current school is going through a transition, and the quality of education is suffering. So we hope to be starting at a new school in the new year.) Luckily, he loved the new school! We grabbed ice cream at "Cold Front" afterwards before heading home:

Happy weekend everyone!