Training time is here again!

Early to bed, early to rise is turning into a vicious cycle. A few early morning running workouts this week, and now it's Sunday and I'm up at 5. Today is a "rest" day (no workouts on the Sabbath, isn't that nice) but I just can't sleep in. Well, it should help me with the 3 runs I need to do this week before Saturday's 4 miles with the team.
I decided to train with the intermediate runners this time. Not only do they meet one hour earlier, they run much longer training runs and only have two rest days each week: the plan calls for 4 running days and 1 cross training day. I would love to make it all the way to the 10k with the intermediate team, but it's nice to know the beginning team is there as a backup option.
We signed Caeleb up for the 1 mile kids run on the same day! It's sponsored by VA 529 (college savings plan) and in looking at pictures from last year, they had a "tuition monster" running with the kids. Uh-oh. We will see what happens on race day, as Caeleb is terrified of costumed things.
Back to my coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet!

If Lance or Manti had ASD...

The boys are at Nana and Pop's house, and I have a nice day off from school - just me and Sophie.  Thank you, Iago and your snow! Thank you, Nana, Pops and uncles for taking my boys for a 2 night sleepover!  This morning I was overwhelmed by the number of shows for grownups because our usual morning fare consists of Disney Junior, Disney Channel, or a Disney movie.  I settled on SportsCenter and watched while enjoying coffee and playing with Sophie.  Of course, the two major stories were athlete-related instead of game-related.

Lance Armstrong said in his interview with Oprah that the definition of cheating is "gaining an advantage that an opponent or rival does not have", and that is how he justified to himself that by doping he felt he was on a "level playing field" instead of giving himself an unfair advantage.

The Manti Te'o hoax is another story - personally, I do believe he was misled and did not create the fake girlfriend himself.  However, he was intentionally vague on how he "met" the girlfriend (online vs. in person) and his credibility is coming into question for the rest of the details.

Those events are in stark contrast to a conversation I had with a student last week.

Me: "Did you have a nice vacation?"
Student: "Yes.  I went to New Orleans to visit my grandparents."
Me: "Oh, that's nice.  Did you fly or drive?"
Student: "We flew.  We flew on an airplane."
*pause*
Student: "Well, the airplane only took us to the gate of the airport in New Orleans.  We had to take a car from the airport to my grandparents' house."

The student above is on the high-functioning end of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  He's bright and talkative, but very literal, as shown in his travel description.  He struggles with understanding nonverbal social cues and idiomatic expressions, but he is honest.  He realized that his first statement about flying to their house was not accurate.  Yes, logical people would assume that the airplane did not land in his grandparents' backyard and that a car was used at some point, but he wanted to make it explicitly clear.

How refreshing that he wanted to be absolutely transparent, to make sure he didn't mislead me and that I understood the actual turn of events.  How different from the rest of us.  We all have, at one time or another, been intentionally vague, or been misled by someone else who perhaps didn't lie outright, but certainly didn't tell the whole truth.  We take advantage of the multiple meanings of words and we aren't precise in our language, aren't careful enough about the words we choose.

I probably should not compare Armstrong and Te'o.  Armstrong did LIE, but at the time he felt it wasn't cheating.  Te'o didn't lie, but he was not completely honest about the fact that his relationship was completely online and that he had never met this girl in person.  Imagine if my student had been in a similar situation as the two athletes.

If my student were a competitive athlete, he would have never taken drugs in the first place, because he obeys rules without questioning.  Had he taken drugs because he felt pressure to do so, he would have admitted it was wrong and would not have been able to lie about it.  When he doesn't have his homework or forgets about a quiz, he tells the truth as he covers his face and rocks back and forth - coping strategies to deal with embarrassment because he would rather be ashamed than be deceitful.

If my student had a girlfriend that he met online, the conversation would have gone something like this. "Mrs. Stein, I have a girlfriend I met last month." *pause*  "I've never met her face to face like we are talking right now.  But I met her on Twitter and we talk on the phone and she's really nice and her pictures are pretty." Again, he would rather face embarrassment about the nature of the relationship than be deceitful.

That's the reason why my favorite work stories to share are conversations with students who have ASD.   In my conversations with them I have to choose words that express precisely what I mean to say.  I delight in the transparency of those interactions, the assurance that they are honest and openly saying what they think, and in the opportunity I have to do the same.

Now, off to enjoy the rest of this four day weekend!

Happy New Year!

Our New Year's Eve was an evening of yummy Indian takeout, fun drinks, and trying to keep 7 small children asleep so we could play Settlers of Catan - Seafarers. Sadly I was not victorious but had a blast, and I tied for second place. The boat building led to some Lonely Island video watching, reading the news about fiscal cliff deals, and other silliness. We paused our FOUR hour game at midnight to watch the ball drop, and luckily my running playlist provided some context to who Flo Rida is to the adults in the room who listen to NPR rather than top 40 music. I'm here to help. We made it home around 3am... annnd Caeleb woke up at 7:55 and asked/demanded to change the calendar right away. Ouch. Days like this I wish Starbucks delivered, or that we had a live-in nanny/barista.

2012 - highlights! new baby, new job, new school for boys, I ran 3 races, and my oldest turned 5.

2013, what will you bring? This is the year I turn 30! Noah will be 4 in March, Sophie's first birthday is coming in July, and Caeleb will be 6. Caeleb will be starting kindergarten this fall! There is so much to look forward to!

I'm not one for resolutions, really, but my goal is to run the same 10k, 8k and 5k and finish a little faster than I did in 2012. I also want to do a better job with the family budget and healthy meal planning.

Happy New Year to all!

Back at it!

Getting a two day headstart on the resolutioners!

Warming up before cycle class followed by ab workout. Also, breaking in my sweet new running shoes - Christmas gift from my brother!

Photo Card

Modern Christmas Christmas

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Sneak peek at our Christmas card! I get a $10 gift certificate for sharing, FYI. Love Shutterfly!

Merry and Bright

This sweet moment brought joy to my heart.  The boys are getting into the spirit of Christmas!  They have purchased and made gifts for us and grandparents, and have big plans for Sophie's first Christmas gifts involving princess toys and baby dolls.  They even asked to hang a stocking for our (Jewish) nanny because they want Santa to leave treats for her, too.

They looked through their train collection and thoughtfully chose engines and freight cars to give to their younger cousin.  Sunday we cleaned off their little toy kitchen and some of the food toys, and sold it (cheap!) to a family through Craigslist to gift to their 2 year old.  It really feels good that my children aren't sad or greedy in those moments, but excited to share.  They scrubbed that kitchen with Lysol wipes and helped me track down all the pieces.  It was still in great shape, but they know they don't use it much anymore, and were happy to pass it on.

I decided not to hang on to the kitchen for Sophie - my one concern with that kitchen was that it's not very sturdy (just plastic) and a couple times baby Noah pulled it down on top of himself.  He was only scared, not hurt, and we laughed that he looked like the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz with just his little feet poking out under the kitchen.  When Sophie is old enough, I might try to find or make a wooden kitchen set for her to play with. Fun stuff.  Ana White also has plans for building American Girl doll beds!  Oh, I need a shed and lots of tools (and lots of practice) for all of Sophie's upcoming birthdays and Christmases!

It was so refreshing to my soul to spend a nice weekend with my boys after hearing about Friday's events in Connecticut, which have been so hard to process.  I was in my sophomore year of high school when the Colombine shootings happened in 1999.  Trenchcoats were banned, administrators developed intruder drills, bullying issues were addressed.  Colorado seemed so far away. Through our church, we know families who had students survive the shooting at Virginia Tech.  I watched the news in horror with my dad, a VT alum, who was so sorrowful as the place of happy college memories was defiled by violence.  Caeleb was just a little kiwi-sized baby in my womb at the time.  College seemed so far away.

The tragedy at Shady Hook feels so very close.  It has affected me much more deeply than the other tragedies.  The heartbroken families, the pictures of cute little faces, the wondering why.  I have wept watching the news.  I have hugged my kids extra tight, looked them in the eyes, and told them they are my greatest treasure.  I have told them how full my heart is of love for them, that I loved them from the time they were in my belly and will love them forever.   

Saturday morning Noah told me "Someone died at school on tv yesterday."  My heart dropped.  We had been so careful not to talk about it at home, to protect their innocent hearts and minds.  He must have overheard the broadcast from CNN as we watched Friday afternoon, I switched the channel as soon as he came downstairs from his nap but I guess it was too late.  I don't think he really understands what death means.  I'm thankful he didn't have any more questions for me, I hugged him and reminded him we were off to go see Santa.  When he is older we will tell him, when he wonders why we don't allow guns as toys.  When he wonders why at Advent it is so important to pray for peace.  

From an email sent by the principal of the boys' school, titled "Discussion Guidelines."

Teachers will not fabricate answers to student questions.  For example, if a student asks "Are we safe? the teachers will respond in a manner such as "I believe you are safe, and everyone here is working to keep you safe."

The school is pre-k to 8, so I'm sure they are scripting this to have consistency in responses to older students, and I respect their desire to be truthful. I'm struck by how terribly tragic it is that we cannot unequivocally, without a doubt, say to a student that he or she is safe in school.

And from the teacher side of things, my school is now getting a buzzer system for added safety and the front doors will be locked at all times.  Considering the shooter in Newtown blasted his way in the building, a buzzer does not make me feel any safer.  Political preferences aside, something HAS to change about the types of guns available in the retail market and the process for acquiring them.  Please tell me we can agree on this.

My son

Caeleb. Oh my. He may look like his Daddy, but his personality is all Mommy.

Conversation as I was emptying his tote after school today:

"Why is Matthew's name on this paper?"

"I made a game for him, for math homework. He has to tell me what the numbers equal and then he gets a sticker!"

If Big Bang Theory ever does a flashback to Sheldon Cooper as a five year old, I think Caeleb would be an excellent choice, he could totally pull it off.