The Empty Streets of Philadelphia

The title of this was going to be Wednesday is Weird except today is Tuesday. I am in my office today in the city for the first time in 103 days because I have a dentist appointment. It is super convenient to have all of your doctors within walking distance of your office until you are abruptly not in your office anymore for a long period of time.

Coming in today felt a little like coming in for my first day here in August 2008. Ahead of that day I thought what will the commute be like? How will it be going into the building? Will I know which elevator to go to? What if I get there and no one is in the office yet? 

I thought all of those things last night and today, but fast forward nearly 12 years. 

I have realized what is missing at my home office is a third monitor and an office chair, which I'm perusing on SunPan. 

I have missed walking around the city, but it's very weird to be in a city that is very empty of people and cars and movement compared to what it usually is, with lots of construction and what looks like temporary steel bridges, tables set up to service unhoused people, tent cities self-declared as autonomous zones, very few corner newspaper vendors or food carts, and just a lack of things I am used to seeing. Lots of things have changed in 103 days. Comfortable is not how I'd describe coming in today. I wouldn't use uncomfortable either. Bizarre? That might fit. 

The intro photo was taken at 11:30 when people are busting out of offices to take a walk, get lunch, run errands, etc. It is wild to see most things closed, stores that were boarded up that have not reopened still boarded up, and nearly everything empty of people. 

I misplaced my mind and looked into grad programs that I am not even interested in and now I am getting things from everywhere including medical (https://allsaintsuniversity.org/admissions/transfer-students/) which is not in my wheelhouse. 

I have not misplaced my fear of the dentist. That's still here, and it's amping up as my appointment at 1 pm to have the filling that partially fell out in the third week of quarantine approaches. 

How are you?

I think I've gotten comfortable being uncomfortable

I finished up work and put my computer away at 9:44 last night and sat down on the couch. MFD was actually home, which is rare in itself, and not on the phone, which is a fucking unicorn sighting.

We had a conversation, person to person, that wasn't about money or the business of living or work or the campaign but about life in general and feelings. We haven't spent time this year ruminating on our individual or joint dreams or our future or places we'd like to go. We've spent nine months in the trenches digging - digging deeper holes for ourselves, digging ourselves out of holes, tunneling forward, digging through walls to find other people working towards what we're working towards, digging out of avalanches others have caused, trying to avoid hitting each other with the debris. Just fucking digging.

Last night I asked if he thought I'd wake up the day after the election and feel comfortable. I have not felt comfortable anywhere at any point in the past nine months. I've experienced minutes, hours, or days where I've felt safe with my best people, but inside? Never comfortable.

He said he did think that I'd wake up on November 7 and feel comfortable.

Laura said the other day she's not sure how I'm doing this. At the beginning of February, I was a fucking mess. At various points through the year I answered how are you holding up with I’m not/this is hard/I hate this etc. By the end of October? I feel forged of steel. This is tiring and too much but it no longer feels consistently difficult. 

No matter who you are or what’s going on, life is simply a series of stages where you’re  trapped in a cocoon until you fight your way out as a butterfly. You’re stuck until you un-stick from what’s keeping you from flying.

Perhaps I've gotten very comfortable being uncomfortable.* I suspect the comfortable I knew before February will feel like clothes that have gotten too tight on November 7. We don't grow out of comfortable spaces. We grow in discomfort. We grow in the trenches. Nine months in the trenches is a lot of growth. I have a new comfort zone. I'm looking forward to testing out its edges.

Two more Tuesdays. What are you doing to help a local candidate you believe in get elected? If you're not sure what to do, let me know. I can help you. And Philly friends, if you're around Thursday night, come to the last fundraiser for MFD before Election Day - Thursday, 10/25 from 5:30 - 7:30 at Fergie's pub. Tickets are $35, get them here.

 By the way...I will never get comfortable being uncomfortable in shoes. This applies to internal growth only. 

How to teach your child to love a new sport

via

Tuesday. Let us acknowledge its benign terribleness and move on.

As you know, I accept articles on things I don't write about. Such as kids. I don't have them and I don't really write about them. This one is from Adrian, a lifelong thrill seeker and adrenaline junkie. A freelance sports writer, Adrian is passionate about health and fitness and pushing his body to limits. Whether he's rambling in the beautiful Cotswolds or bunjy jumping in New Zealand, Adrian is a fervent believer in making the most of the great outdoors. 

I, too like The Great Outdoors - the movie as well as rambling around in nature, albeit with a little less adventure to my outings. Nevertheless, sports. Kids. Teaching. Go.

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Sports are important for all children. Sports can help your child develop their social skills, self-esteem and their self-confidence. Sports can help them make new friends, it can help them stay healthy, and it can help them focus better in all other areas of their lives. Sports, and the exercise playing sports requires, are imperative for your child’s health, happiness, and their development. Getting them to love a new sport, however, can be tricky. Follow this guide to find the perfect sport for your child:

1. Let Them Try Out New Things

There are many local activities, sports, and courses to choose from. Sit down with your child and register them to the activities and sports that they show interest in. Register for taster events, so that your child can try out the sport without a huge commitment. This will allow them to try out new things and see what works for them.

2. Combine Activities

Sometimes, all it takes to get your child interested in a new sport is to show them the possibilities. For instance, showing them that they can have fun while going to school, or going over to a friend’s house with a scooter, is a great way to introduce them to greater sporting possibilities. To start, buy them a JD Bug scooter. JD Bug are one of the founding companies of the fold-up scooter, and specialise in children’s scooters. This means that you can get a scooter that can adjust to your child’s growing height, meaning there are many years of memories to be had. Through such a scooter they can not only get from A to B safely, but they can also try out new tricks that are bound to impress. For more information, see the full range of JD Bug scooter on Skates to help you choose the perfect scooter for your child.  

3. Try Out Sports with Them

One of the best moments as a parent is showing them something that you love, with the hope that they love it too. It is the hope of every parent to teach and mentor their child, and it can be very disheartening when they don’t find your sport interesting. Instead of getting disheartened, try out new sports with them. Learning together can be incredibly rewarding, for both you and your child. 

4. Keep it Fun

The most important thing to remember when encouraging your child to love a new sport is to keep it fun. By participating in a sport it keeps them healthy and happy. If they are talented in that sport, and even if they show interest in becoming a professional in that sport is no excuse to take the fun away from it. Let them push themselves, and focus instead on being supportive and knowledgeable on what their next steps need to be, if they decide to take their talents further.

Getting your child to love a new sport takes two main steps. You need to first help them find a sport or activity that they love to do, and then you need to keep it fun. Whether they play sports with friends, with you, or by themselves, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they are active, healthy, and happy. 

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Any tips from you parents out there for other parents?

See you back here tomorrow for carrot pineapple muffins. 

She-Ra Power Breakfast Muffins

I typically avoid "good for you" muffins because they tend to taste like cardboard to me. I tried these on a whim because I needed a good freezer muffin with some oomph behind it: one that's good for you, and filling. This fits the bill and I have to say I really like these. Original recipe from Suzanne Shares here.

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
A shake or two of cinnamon if you're into that
1/3 cup flax seed
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 bananas
1 cup of apple sauce
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk (I used skim and 2% at different times. I don't know if soy, almond, whatever will work)
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with liners.

Mix all ingredients up to vanilla, Mix well and set aside. Add vanilla through milk to a separate bowl, and mix with a hand mixer until well-blended. Mix in dry ingredients with spoon, add chocolate chips (more or less to your liking).

Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way. Bake 15-18 minutes. Recipe makes 24.

Now for the tip portion of this parade:

If you make muffins or cupcakes, life will be easier if you use an Oxo large cookie scoop to fill them. Fill it up, release into tin, boom, done. Onto the next one.

If you are freezing, cool muffins and then flash freeze in the freezer before packing them in a ziploc bag. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that there's no waste. They travel well to work and they're good for you.

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Haikuesday

Healthy but still good.

Chocolate in my breakfast?

Come hither, muffin.

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Tuesday Strikes Again

Photo from rogerwilkerson.tumblr.com

If you know me, you know Tuesday is no friend of mine. It sits there after Monday, serving no purpose save to cling to the beginning of the week like a disease. We're prepared for Monday to bum rush us. Wednesday finds us hot and heavy in the thick of things. Thursday is a big slow slide into Friday. Friday starts the weekend. What does Tuesday do? Nothing. It's the lazy weekday that should be banned.

Since I have unfettered animosity towards Tuesday on a weekly basis, I think it screws with me on purpose.

Today was no different:

Last night I was up most of the night with hideous heartburn. Geege was up fretting over the wind and rain. The whipping overnight winds removed the remaining leaves on the tree that blocks the back neighbors, so they got a clear view into my bedroom as I was getting dressed. Which of course I didn't discover until late in the dressing game, causing me to immediately sink to the ground like Maya Rudolph in Bridesmaids but at least I wasn't shitting in the street in a wedding dress.

photo: quickmeme.com

Then the people walking by the front of the house got an equally inappropriate view since my pants were in a dry cleaning bag in the living room so I emerged downstairs sans pants. Traffic was bumper to bumper on the way to the station, causing me to miss my first train. If the later train wasn't late I would've been cutting that one close too. It's raining and I left my umbrella at work. By the time I made it on to the train I was soaking wet and cold.

I finally got to work with wet pant hems (hugest pet peeve!) and promptly spilled creamer all over the floor and my cardigan. Need I go on?

Tuesday, let's lay down our swords. It's not even 8 am and I'm crying uncle.

I'm linking up with  Helene, Emily, Kathleen, and co Host Rachel for Tell me about it Tuesday.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Hello comrades.

I'm back from the dead, which is how I felt for the past 48 hours. I had a lovely post-weekend blog all prepared for yesterday morning, but alas I felt like shit on a stick and now it is Tuesday. What's been going on?

The Good:
-Friday, I had an early dismissal from a class in which I was the only student (awkward)
-I tried and loved Trader Joe's organic chicken broth (kickass and $1.99 for a carton)
-Saw Black Swan (weird) and Blue Valentine (sad and upsetting) this weekend
-Reorganized my china cabinet
-Tried four new recipes this weekend: Mimi's coffee cake, homemade taco seasoning, and Italian Wedding Soup (skinny version), crimini mushrooms and green beans roasted with balsamic and parm cheese
-Had a kickass time with friends Saturday night

The Bad:
-Still have not swept up from this weekend's soiree
-Today is Tuesday, Tuesdays always suck

The Ugly:
-Stomach virus. I was taken down on Sunday. I thought it was a bad hangover when I woke up at 11. When I woke up at 12 and had the chills, aches, and a fever, I knew it was much worse. I actually used a sick day yesterday, which I never do. I can deal with many things, but an awful stomach virus is not one of them. And of course, my train was a half hour late today, so I stood on the platform, swaying, nauseous, cursing everything.

Still fighting my way back,

SMD