Run for your Dad.

Saturday morning I set an alarm and woke up early. Not because I had an early race, though. Yesterday’s 5k had a leisurely 10am start. Because I meant to make up a custom t-shirt for myself earlier this week annnnnnd of course I totally forgot about it until about halfway through movie night on Friday night and hell if I was going to interrupt American Hustle to photoshop up a design and find an exacto knife and freezer paper and paint and all that shiz.

So Saturday morning it was.

Skip it, you say? Just wear one of the eleventy-frillion other tshirts you own, Grimes? Wear that new free tshirt you got in your race packet? Oh, HELL, naw.

Good thing we had that leisurely start.

So- June. Father’s Day. Run for your Dad, to benefit the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

A nice little 5k, starting in Louise McKinney Park. Once I started the run, I realized that it covers pretty much the same ground as the St. Patrick’s Day run, or the 5k version of that run. Paved trails, start and end on some nasty hairpin turn action. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, but once I started running I realized that it had been a good 45 minutes since I’d peed. And as baby’s head bounce-bounce-bounced on my bladder, I realized this could become a problem. By about a mile into the race I kind of vaguely needed to pee. By about 2 miles in I was seriously debating ducking into the woods or going across the street and knocking on a strangers door to ask to use their bathroom (funny story- it would not have been the first time I’ve done either.) In the end I toughed it out until I saw a most welcome sight. Public washrooms! Open! At around 2.5 miles! You guys, I thought my day could not get any better. Stopped to pee, finished up the race. My cheering squad was there to high-five me to the finish line, which was unbearably adorable.

Then we headed back over to the area where they had the bouncy house set up, because ZOMG BOUNCY HOUSE. The snack and water tables we also over in that vicinity, so while the kids bounced off the walls (literally), I got in line to get what I assumed would be like a banana and maybe a stale-ish cookie. I no longer expect to see bagels.

BUT YOU GUYS.

THERE WERE BAGELS.

I’m not sure I can properly convey my excitement. When I finish a race, I always want a bagel. Like, always. And races here just never seem to have them. BUT. Yesterday, there they were. In all their bagelly glory. And with cream cheese, too! I was so excited, it verged on inappropriate.

Once the festivities wrapped up and I’d fully enjoyed every bite of bagel and sip of coffee, Violet informed us that she would like to “go on a adventure! In the woods!”

So, we headed down a bunch of stairs to the very same paved trail I’d just run, and we all adventured along the river valley. We probably walked about a mile before turning around. At that point, Fiona was seriously starting to slow down, but Violet wanted to “adventure MORE!”. Luckily, I somehow managed to convince her that since we were walking back on the other side of the path, it was a new adventure! We didn’t see this side before! It’s a whole new perspective and therefore still an adventure! Still not really sure how I managed to sell her that particular line of bullshit, but hey. It worked, and it got us back to the place where we could get some gelato and rest a bit before tackling the stairs back up to where we started.

It was a gorgeous day.

And because today is Father’s Day, here’s to all the dads, the father figures, the male influences. I raise my cup of black coffee/pint of craft beer/fancy girly drink to you. Thank you for all that you do.

I also want to say a special thank you to my computer-fixing, guitar-playing, rock-climbing, stick-shift-driving, coffee-drinking, power-tool-wielding, take-off-work-to-lifeguard-at-girl-scout-camp, tell-us-stories-of-hitchhiking-cross-country dad. We may have butted heads a lot when I was growing up, but turns out that’s just because we’re too much alike.

So thanks for teaching me to build stuff.

And thanks for letting me learn photography on your old gear from the ’70s.

And thanks for showing me exactly what to look for in finding a dad for my kids.

Love to all the dads!