An Explosion in the Kitchen

Danielle's good attitude lasted about a day.

By yesterday afternoon, she was back to her usual tricks.  If we asked her to do something, she'd tell us, "NO!" but then she'd end up going ahead and doing it anyway.

She came home from school in a bad mood, and ended up in a worse mood when we told her we'd received a call from her homeroom teacher about her class schedule.  It worked out that the best schedule for Danielle ended up excluding her from PE with her special group at school.  We had the choice of placing her in a mainstreamed PE class (which meant uniforms, dressing out and showering in a locker room full of girls) or dealing with physical activity at home.  Since I figured the locker room scenario would end up being an epic fail, we decided she'll take PE at school next semester, and this term she'll just get some exercise at home.

Exercise at home means going running with me three or four times a week.

She didn't like that much and carried on about how her doctor told her she's anorexic and shouldn't exercise (not true), she complained, griped and bitched about how it was unfair she had to exercise with me, but I ignored her.  As soon as I was done with work for the day, I put on my running shoes and off we went, Danielle griping and complaining all the way.

We made it about 2.75 miles before she pooped out and we had to call FosterEema for a ride home.  Danielle was grumpy and threatened to refuse dinner.  We told her that was fine, but she still had to sit at the table with us.

She ate two large helpings of food.

After dinner, she helped clean up, complaining all the while, and then went to bed.

It was shortly after she went to bed, that the explosion occurred.

FosterEema and I were sitting on the sofa watching a movie (well, truthfully FosterEema was watching, and I was mostly falling asleep) when we heard a big BANG in the kitchen.  FosterEema went to to investigate, and apparently our microwave, which had not been in use, had died a sudden death.  Blue smoke wafted through the kitchen, and FosterEema could hear electronic sizzling sounds as the device coughed out its death throes.

I'm glad we were home when this happened, as this very well might have caused a house fire.  FosterEema unplugged the microwave, and we went to bed.

For once, we had an explosion in the house that didn't involve Danielle.

Today I'm Thinking About Corey

Long-time readers of the foster care and adoption blogosphere will probably be well-acquainted with Corey, the nice lady that has put together a retreat for Moms caring for traumatized kids that takes place in Orlando each year.

Today I'm thinking of her.

You see, last January, she invited everyone to participate in a 5K walk/run.  She promised everyone who participated (whether they attended the Orlando event or not) a cute little keychain with a foot on it.

I signed up for the run, even though I wasn't going to Orlando.  The run was scheduled during the March retreat, and I figured I'd be able to complete it pretty easily.  At the time I'd finished the Couch to 5K running program, and was part of the way through the Bridge to 10K program.

But then, I got sick with a very bad cold, and started having some health problems.  I had to stop running for a while, and by the time came to run Corey's 5K, I was in no shape to run the entire thing.

I did finish by walking and jogging, but it wasn't the glorious finish I had anticipated for myself.

Despite my lackluster finish, Corey kept her promise and sent me a keychain with not one foot attached, but an entire rainbow of them!  I was delighted, and the keychain has been hanging from a peg on my desk ever since.

I didn't run again for several months after that, as some health challenges kept me down, but eventually I got back to running.  I once again started the Couch to 5K program, and when I finished that, I moved on to Bridge to 10K.  This morning, I started my last week of the Bridge to 10K program.  Today's workout consisted of 5 minutes of walking, followed by 60 minutes of jogging, and concluding with another 5 minutes of walking.

So this morning, I jogged for an entire hour.

When I got back, I took a shower and eventually made my way back to my desk.  Corey's key chain was hanging in its usual place, and I couldn't help but thinking of her this morning.  I finally felt like I deserved the key chain, which I felt I hadn't truly earned before, because I hadn't run the entire 5K like I had planned.

Today's run was more than a 5K (though considerably less than 10K because I am old, fat and slow) but it felt like I had accomplished something.  I had finally reached a goal I tried (and failed) to reach earlier this year.

So Corey's feet made me smile this morning, but they also made me cry.  I wept out of gratitude, because they reminded that me that someone, who I didn't even really know in person, cared enough to let me know that I'm not alone.

Thanks, Corey.

And yes, I still miss your blog, though I completely understand and respect your reasons for quitting.