On a recent morning, we woke up to a nice surprise…Snow! Immediately I thought, “my kind of running!”
We live in Charlotte, NC, where it rarely snows. At least not usually more than a few times a year. The city shuts down when there is more than 6 inches on the ground…and this is where the day was headed to be sure.
About 4 inches already lay on the ground and it was coming down hard! I saw a text message from my running buddy, Susan, who said her husband was going to try to catch a plane and so she had to postpone running until a neighbor could come over and watch her kids. This was fine with me. I happily went back to sleep for 30 minutes.
The dilemma which I faced when I woke up, however, had to do with pancakes.
A snow day meant kids home and hungry.
By the time I dressed for a cold weather run, and dragged myself downstairs, it was obvious by the strewn jackets, hats and mittens covering the front hall, that some of my children had already escaped in puffy coats and gloves ready to face the glorious white stuff.
Looking at my phone, I saw another text from Susan, telling me her neighbor was coming over in a half hour to watch her three little ones so that she could meet me for a run.
I had to act fast!
I grabbed the Costco pancake mix and made enough for at least 20 pancakes…
I Got the skillet hot and began to pour and flip. In between batches, I made some strong coffee.
But it wasn’t for me. My dear husband was just getting up and little did he know that I would soon be out the door and of no help when all the screaming for warm socks and second matches to boots and mittens would really take on a crescendo.
The coffee had to be good!
As I put a tall stack of steaming hot pancakes on a plate, and put the jug of real maple syrup and tub of butter on the table, I eyed the kitchen clock. I had to be out of there in 3 minutes.
James came in just as I announced to everyone that I was going for a run and would be back in an hour. I handed him a mug of dark roasted coffee and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you!” I yelled as I pulled my hat over my ears and headed out the door. I’m sure I heard someone yell, “where are my snow pants?!”… but I was already running up the street breathing in the cold winter air. The snow was falling in big flakes and the roads were empty. White-coated trees made everything look like a winter wonderland, and I heard only the snow crunching under my shoes. When my running began to take on a rhythm to match my breathing, I saw Susan approaching in the distance. Knowing that a day of laundry, and hot chocolate clean-ups awaited me on the other side of this run, I decided to think only of the moment.
It was a chilly, snowy, magical day… and I had 60 “moments” of running to look forward to!
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