I went to Barnes and Nobles the other day. Big thing since we have five Kindles in the family and never buy real books anymore. Sad. I love bookstores. If I am walking in to get one book I usually walk out with seven. Love, love books. One of the best parts with summer is bookstores in Sweden. I usually go thru 15 books during a month in Sweden. And bring the same amount back home. Caroline and I went to B&N the other day to find a good biography for school and came home with five new books. She got two biography’s since she couldn’t make up her mind, Roald Dahl or Gene Wilder?? All those difficult decisions in life. I’m almost finished with Dean Karnazes book Ultramarathon man: Confessions of a all-night runner. I read his blog every now and then on runnersworld.com. Interesting guy. Lesson learned, why not run a 100-miler, sounds like a lot of…fun…blisters… But he sure has a way of getting your mind spinning. Last night when reading the chapter of his last 10 miles of his first 100 mile race I somehow felt jealous and had the feeling of…yeah, why not? This is the sh**. Running in crazy heat, feeling nothing but pain and really get to know yourself. That must be the meaning of life, right? But then I woke up this morning and saw the book and turned around and slept until 6.30 and felt really fortuned to stay in bed. Can you imagine running 100 miles?
I am happy to say that I ran today. 5 very slow miles in Bridal Trails. Stepping over a lot of trees that fell over in the storm the other day. And it was a lot of mud, nice wet mud. It looks like fall is here. My tail is getting better and I am pretty sure I can run long, very long, very soon.
It doesn’t look better than flu season is here, very early this year. One kid after another have spent a few days in bed (or in front of the TV) with a sore throat and with a wheezing sound in their chest. They have complained a lot about body aches and back pain. And it looks like number 3 will be at home tomorrow after an evening of sneezing and coughing. I usually try to sneak out and get some fresh air and shake the bacteria’s out from my body. I haven’t been out much in the past two weeks. My tailbone gets angry when I run so I have been spending more time in the pool.
I am terrified that I will get the bug. I can’t stand being sick, I get mancolds. Let me tell you, sneezing and coughing when you have a broken tail is not very comfortable. I have done a lot the past few days to try scare those little bugs away. Extra vitamins, less coffee and more tea, Zink, Magnesium, lots of food, alcohol (can’t hurt and makes sitting less painful), sleep, Echinacea capsules (looks very strange, not sure they are legal), strength training and music. I’ve been listening to Royals at least a 100 times, very loud. Brilliant!
I even bought tea that are supposed to heal and comfort sore throats. It smells like rabbit pee and tastes like something that comes from under the lawn mower. Or maybe like a really weird scented candle. Very earthy, green, herby and organic. Disgusting. Nothing I will keep up with. My car smells like cinnamon and freshly cut grass. And old workout clothes and kneepads as usual. And when I woke up today my body was aching, my shoulders felt stiff and my hamstrings have been bad for weeks and they were still there screaming when I walked down the stairs. The worst spot is the part in between my ribs that hurts, really, really bad, whatever that part can be called, the fleshy part of the ribs. I went to the pool and suffered 45 minutes with very sore arms and shoulders. I thought if I will get sick I might as well get a good workout in before it happens. I started out the day feeling really sorry for myself, thought the flu bug had landed. But no, it’s called TRX. I took a class yesterday and I took it really easy since I have broken body parts. I rolled around like a snake on the mat trying to get my feet in the holes without sitting on my very sore butt. Not pretty! I really admire those ladies at the club that roll around gracefully and walk out an hour later without breaking a sweat and make up still on the right places. Well, not really admire but I really wonder how they do it. Sometimes their lips are red and glittery too. If I happen to wear make up I usually look like a panda after 5 minutes. I wonder how bad my fleshy part of my ribs would have felt if I didn’t take it easy. I’ll just have to try again tomorrow. Meanwhile I better drink some more rabbit pee just in case and listen to another song.
The battle of the cheesecake. 4 days, 7 pieces of cheesecake. I made a cheesecake for a dessert Saturday night. All 8 of us ate big pieces from it but I still have a large piece left in the fridge. Evil cake that does not want to disappear.
I am not really a cheesecake fan. It’s very dense cake, noting sophisticated about it. It’s not very pretty either, not like a nice princess or a strawberry cake. It’s not every day you change your mind about important things in life. Well, 7 pieces in 4 days must mean that my mind is all jumbled and confused. And I just want the cake to disappear, vanish since I obviously can’t stay away from it. And it gets better every day…
It’s not really a secret that I happen to go to the gym more or less every day. I usually pack my bag the night before and take off after I’ve dropped off the kids at different schools. If I have to work or do something else I usually try to get in at 5am, before I get the kids up. If I have company I rather run outside in the dark, it’s a great way to start your day. Watch the sun wake up and hear birds and rabbits move in the dark when you pass on the trail and every once in a while you get to greet a deer or a coyote. Extraordinary!
I am pretty good at planning my days around running and classes at the gym. If I don’t have time to run/bike/take a class/swim it is a very bad and not very happy day. When things get routine you tend to forget important things, you don’t notice what is happening around you and you take things for granted. I will try to get better at thanking people around me that makes my day easier and happier.
The lifeguards at the pool. Always watching out for you, always with a smile, always a nice word. I love the way they talk to the kids around them.
The front desk people, always nice and smiling. And always a nice word.
The ladies in the locker room. I am amazed, the locker room is a never ending story. I am amazed how people can just drop their towels and seriously mess things up. There are people there all the time, they never get a break. And you never see them stand still, they constantly move, clean, help…
There is a very nice guy that always vacuums the stairs that leads from the pool and up two floors. I don’t know how many times he has told me to have a wonderful day. He makes my day every time. He is one in a million.
And of course everybody else… Thank you.
Something totally different. Two days in a row, I laughed so hard that I started to cry. Really laughed and really cried. Isn’t it great to laugh, it makes the rest of the day so much brighter. The funny thing is when you try to describe why you laugh it sounds really lame. And as soon as you do something your kids are there with their phones. So, from me to you… this is how Caroline and I look when we kind of laugh/cry when having lunch.
A new week. Monday night started with a home game and one of my players stayed home sick. The other player got home after 9.30, ate dinner and started homework. Rumors tells me she went to bed 1.15. And from the look she gave me when I woke her up at 6.30 it could been later than 1.15. Great start of the week. Our weekend passed quick. A nice dinner with friends, lots of sleep, golf for some and work Sunday. The slowest weekend in a long time. I am still walking around feeling “post race trauma”, have an emptiness growing and feel like I have no clue what’s going to happen. The “back” fracture kind of made it worse since I can’t run for a while. And it gives me a strange feeling, maybe I will forget how to run? What if my legs won’t work when I try to run in a couple of weeks? Dealing with injuries is not my strongest side. I get angry and feel depressed, I need my daily running/sweating fix. I know, ridiculous. I was so looking forward to a fall of biking and it feels like someone stole something from me. And I don’t have anybody to blame but myself.
Got a good 1,5 hours of swimming and strength in today and it feels like I am getting back on track. But swimming, still not convinced. It’s just…wet and troublesome. I had my favorite right lane all by myself today until I collided head to head against a not very nice woman. She just got into the water and started swimming in my lane without making any kind of sign to me that she was there. I don’t swim with my head up, I look down at the bottom of the pool when I swim and occasionally my mind disappears away. After our collision we made it very clear that I will be swimming on the left side of the lane and she would swim on the right. I took off and bang. One more collision. She insisted on swimming right over the midline, the wide blue line. Really! I had about 400 yards left so I kept swimming on my side but started some serious sighting and managed to stay away from her for the rest of the time. What’s up with some people? And I was there first!
Day 2 of curriculum nights. I really enjoy curriculum nights. Not only because you get to meet other parents but because I get to sit and listen to other teachers. I love teachers. It is interesting and I still get surprised and actually blank in my head when it comes to questions. How can people think so differently. We read the same literature and have the same intentions, to educate kids and get them ready for life and everything that involves growing up. And I realize that after 6 great years in excellent schools and with amazing teachers I still feel very Swedish. And it is not all about the language, I know English will always be my second language. It is the way we think, the way we treat children, the way we act and the way we talk. I am not saying that one country does it better than the other, it is just different, totally different. Even if I love our schools here I will never agree about the homework load our kids get. It is in my opinion completely unnecessary. As a teacher I really avoid homework but there are always parents that asks for it, strange. Why? If we want kids to learn and develop a healthy lifestyle let them be kids and let them have time to enjoy life a little bit more. 3-4 hours of homework after 7-8 hours in school (with no breaks and no time outside) is crazy. No wonder everybody has to eat Vitamin D here. I don’t think kids learn from huge amounts of homework, it comes to a point when it get to much and it’s does the opposite. School becomes negative and they focus on the stress and the fact that they don’t have enough time to finish every night. Check out the high school kids at our volleyball games, they don’t have time to watch their friends play because they are trying to squeeze in a couple of extra hours of homework when they are not playing so they don’t have to stay up after midnight. That’s how you create stressed and overworked kids and teenagers. Add on bad eating habits and not enough sleep. And don’t get me started on PE. I love PE, my kids loves PE but there sure are ways to kill the joy of moving and running. Get a stopwatch and ask kids to run a mile fast and they hate running. And grade their throws and kicks, jumps and shots and they will feel like they’re never good enough. Hopefully not for the rest of their life. And why are some sports worth so much more than others, how can you grade sports? And why do we think some sports are cooler than others? We just want our kids to move and enjoy working out. Simple.
Day 18 of no family dinners. It’s easy, high school sports = no time to eat dinner. 3 out of 5 are taking high school sports and 1 out of 5 takes middle school sports this year that means that 1 person get to do everything else that has to happen around the house every night (without sitting down). If it’s not a game night that has been happening 3 out of 5 nights, then the whole family gets involved and usually gets home around…extremely late for a child. We are on a crazy schedule and somehow I have forgot that I need to get groceries to cook dinner five days in a row. Went to the store twice today since it seems like I lost the ability to think and write notes. Who needs to eat anyway. Well, everybody gets hungry all the time and every time I am around the only question I get is what’s for dinner? The kids cooked tonight and I went to curriculum night, again. Win-win!
How do you sit down when you’re not supposed to sit? Beats me. I am sitting. I kind of forget that I am not supposed to sit. I broke my tailbone Friday. I thought I was ready to conquer the scary trail, got my skis on and went to Sammamish River Trail (Marymoor felt kind of flat and boring the third time.) I was ready for the trail but not ready to share it with others. A nice but unleashed dog was happy to see me and I took a step to the side and hit the gravel. Roller skis don’t go well with gravel so I slowed down, in less than a second and fell on my coccyx. That is a cooler name for tailbone. The bone I broke into little pieces. After scooting around over the weekend I went to my doctor yesterday. I needed to hear that those things happen and it’s ok to run with a little pain around your buttocks. Today running feels impossible so I went to the pool and used my arms. Not my favorite thing to do. And apparently little bits and pieces can move around so I need to stop moving and not sit down.
This honestly sucks. I have had my fair share of injuries the past years and felt pretty done with broken bones and torn ligaments for the moment. This ridiculous piece of bone is totally useless. And so am I. No running or biking but lucky me, I can squat a little. And I have been going on and on about endurance and overcoming psychological challenges. Back to square one. The biggest challenge will be to heal a tiny useless, tail like bone. I usually think “clear your mind and the rest will follow”. My mind is so done with this and it’s on its way to a mountain top but my butt seem to be stuck at physical therapy. A different kind of endurance…
All my plans ended around September 1st and life got a bit empty after the race, THE RACE, and I flew back home and life continued. And I turned 41 yesterday. That is a big number. 41, I am middle-aged. Done with tiny kids, have a stable life, a car that I like and many credit cards. And I don’t have dinner at McDonalds or Taco Bell. And I have lots of laundry that needs to be folded, all the time. And I don’t care if it is Saturday or Tuesday when I drink wine since I go to bed around 11 anyway. When my kids talk about old people they usually say she’s 40 something. That’s me! I am now something.
Well, this old lady needs to make plans for this coming year. And I’ve been thinking of my training and racing year and as always I got some advice and help from the guru. What would I do without him? We met and talked. We agreed that now is the time to do fun stuff, rest and try new things. What I heard was mountain biking in the woods, go on long trail runs, fun fun fun fun fun. Take long thinking breaks, watch the view and bring a thermos with coffee, a nasty sandwich and a huge chocolate bar in my backpack. Maybe restart hot yoga and pick up squash again (it’s only been 19 years since I quit after moving from Belgium). Run for fun, I like that. And I saw myself rolling around Sammamish River Trail petting dogs, talking to seniors and having lunch at Red Hook half way into my roller skiing days. That’s what I heard during that hour we met. Sounds nice, right?
I got an email the day after we met. Shoot. Having fun is still ok, I heard right but I still need to do the minimum. My usual strength Monday and Wednesdays, two bike rides per week, at least 20 something miles of running and swimming at least twice per week. And then the fun stuff…
And when should I do yoga, and how about coffee breaks and enjoying the view at the top of Mt Si? And I was going to start with something new. I have heard that biathlon or diving is fun. High jump is supposed to be entertaining for tall people. And how about squash? And curling? And run for fun?
Well, I guess it’s good to get back to normal training hours since it is so difficult to know when to take a shower otherwise. If you don’t exercise, when do you shower? It feels a bit pointless if you’re not sweaty after running or training.
Skolstart och regnrusk, blöta skor och fruset in till benmärgen. Idag var det höstens första skoldag för alla barn på Svenska Skolan i Seattle. Finfina barn som förväntansfulla kom till parken i Redmond för att träffa sina nya klasskompisar och fröknar. Eller var det kanske fröknarna som var mest förväntansfulla och pirriga? Det brukar vara solsken och varmt när vi intar årets första korv med bröd och går tipspromenad. I år dundrade himlen lite, gjorde lite oväsen precis när vi började. Regnet småskvätte lite men de värsta skurarna verkar ha stannat runt omkring parken. Vi klarade oss från att bli genomdränkta och satte oss i bilarna hyfsat torra. Några nya gluggar där det suttit framtänder fick jag se och nog hade nästan alla vuxit minst en decimeter över sommarlovet. Välkomna tillbaka till ett nytt år!
Det har varit en tuff vecka för skolbarnen här hemma. Inte mindre än tre bortamatcher under förra veckan och vi åkte så långt som till Whidbey Island för ett av mötena. Långa kvällar och tuffa möten. Middag har intagits framåt 10 tiden på kvällarna och läxorna har gjorts efter det. Det är ett hårt liv för highschool barnen som har många ömmande kroppsdelar efter veckan. Nya tag och ny vecka! Go Kangs!
Ett nytt år med nya äventyr har jag framför mig. Tack alla för meddelanden och hurrarop på min födelsedag igår. 365 dagar till nästa är ju en hel evighet. Kan bara meddela att jag känner mig äldre än någonsin. I fredags rullade jag runt på mina rullskidor längs vattnet när jag blev överraskad av en lös hund som var lite närgången. Jag tog ett steg åt sidan och hamnade i gruset. Där var det tvärnit och jag satte mig platt på rumpan. Och inte faller man lika mjukt på asfalt som på snö så svanskotan har fått sig en törn. På’t igen bara, jag planerar att rulla vidare nästa vecka. Jag är tacksam att vi har en mjuk soffa och mjuka kuddar hemma.
Everything happens in the fall. The nature turns to beautiful golden colors, the air turns crisp, school starts, work starts, life goes on, the car needs a tune up, I need a haircut and a serious makeover… It is fall! Fall is like a Kinder Egg (that I still can’t believe is illegal).
My regular work at my school starts Sunday. It is lots of new kids this year and some new staff. Very exciting. I am brushing up my principal and teacher knowledge and reading through the curriculum and the course syllabus from the Education Department. Nothing really new but linguistically better formed. I get kind of stuck on different formulations. When can you call yourself Swedish? Is it a passport question or a something you feel in your heart? Is it enough to speak the language? It is actually pretty important when it comes to who the course plan and syllabus include. Important to discuss.
I got my ski poles today, finally. Can’t wait to try my new gear out, really try it out. I made a halfhearted promise to not try it when I was home alone. That’s how much my husband trusts me. I know he is just worried since my track record is pretty bad. When I do stuff that includes wheels and helmets broken bones seems to happen. I listened, so I stayed around our house. I did not fall, don’t think that would have been possible since I rolled around so slow even the snake in the back yard stayed and watched. Challenging, that’s all I’ve got to say. It’s going to take some hard work. Phew.
I dusted off my mountain bike today. First time since my head and elbow smashed into the ground and left me in tears on the trail. The bike was full of spider web, that’s how long it’s been, 10 months. I was expecting a bad fall, handlebar in the stomach area, bad bruising… something. I didn’t even get a fly in my eye. Everything went really smooth. Biking is fun! And then I stopped by the pool, a short swim and then back on the bike to get home. 50 yards and I was dead tired, I forced myself to swim for 30 minutes. I’ve felt really good since I got back, not too tired and sore. But apparently I am worn out. Train wreck, my arms don’t want to move and my breathing is off. I guess that happens after a 9k swim. Who knew? And I thought I was immortal.
Life goes on. Kids started school when I was vacationing in the Swedish archipelago, swimming around with jelly fish, enjoying electrolyte drinks, thunderstorms and gel that tasted like lime slugs. I tried to take care of everything I could before I left (read: writing checks and signing papers). They are busy, volleyball and badminton takes more time than school. I feel sorry for the three little nuggets that we have to schedule sleep on Sundays, apparently that will be the only day of the week when I will see them in daylight. Less than a week and we are already questioning the importance of school and why the teacher mom forced the poor high school kids to take AP classes since volleyball is the most important thing happening in high school? And when will we have time for drivers ed? Hopefully not until everybody turns 20. And how sore can a body feel after two weeks of the season. Sitting on the floor is out of the question even for a teenager. I really tried to curl the kids today bringing Jamba Juice and food before the bus left for Whidbey Island. Curl kids you ask?? It is an excellent Swedish expression. It means that you sweep the surface for your kids, really try to help them out, make life all golden and they don’t have to do a thing or even think (and that is not always a good thing). It’s not always positive if you want your kids to grow up. Well, at the moment I am the queen of curling. I’ll take a chance here, they will probably grow up anyway. I kind of sense that the school year 2013/14 will be the year of curling.
Below I add on an old blogpost from January ’13. A reminder how much we care about our girls. New schools, new sports and new friends. Change is good but scary!
I have three amazing kids, three beautiful girls. I don’t know how it happened but they are growing up. What feels like a couple of years ago we worried about preschool and swimming lessons, now we deal with drivers ed and honors classes at high school. The days go by slow but the years fly by so fast. 15 years feels like 5.
Our move to Washington was a big change in our girls’ life, both good and bad. As a parent you always question your decisions that involve your kids. You always wonder if you did the right thing, made the right decision. We have all learned and experienced so much and it has been a lot of laughter but also tears. I can’t even remember the first year we lived here, my mind blocked it somehow. Did we make the right decision? I do think so and I really hope so. This adventure will be a lifelong experience that we will all carry with us for the rest of our lifes. And I am sure growing up in different cultures has shaped their lifes. They will always view life through a lens that is different from their friends. Friends that lives on two different continents. We live in different cultures instead of reading about it in textbooks, we meet people that are very different from us every day. What awesomeness.
The only thing you really want for your kids is happiness. Not power or money, just for them to find their sweet spot, their thing that gives them goose bumps. You want them to grow up doing what they like to do, enjoy their lives. And you don’t want them to make the same mistakes as you did. But maybe they’ll have to. To get the experience and to feel some sort of pain. If I could I would pass my experience down to them but I can only give some advice. Just a few life lessons on the way, some more serious than others…
Keep swimming girls… before you blink high school will be over.
Be nice to your sisters, always.
It is ok to be homesick and long for all loved ones in our other country… they will still be there next summer.
Never get in a car with a drunk driver. Call home, any time.
Work out. As much as you can and as hard as you can. And it is ok to look sweaty, not very cute and feel like you are going to puke. It is actually good for you.
Always work hard in school, it will pay off. But remember, you can only do your best.
Never be afraid to ask for help.
It is ok to spend a lot of money on shoes, especially running shoes.
Don’t worry about love when you are 15, you have plenty of time. I am sure you will not even remember the name of the cutest guy in 9th grade when you turn 30. Life goes on.
Accept people around you. Nobody is perfect. Not even you.
Do your thing. Be different. But don’t wear too short skirts.
Travel as much as you can.
Laugh often and hard. And laugh at yourself.
Keep your eyes on the ball, in sports and in life.
Learn how to drive a stick.
Learn how to cook and bake bread. Enjoy food, it is good for you and it brings people together.
Change is good, scary but good.
Do things that scare you.
No tattoos or visible piercings. And no, I will not change my mind about this.
You are all three so much stronger than you think.
charlottebrekkan.com 