Day 111

I was feeling uninspired last night and opted not to make another post about how Tuesday was average, Run Club was fun, and I'm tired. Today, however, I feel more inspired.

People who know me or who have kept up with my blog since the late summer know that Richard's mom passed away at the end of August, and it has been a major adjustment for our family in many ways. The winter holidays were different, and we felt her absence for sure, but May has brought new challenges with Mother's Day and Kathy's birthday all in one week. It seems like she's been on my mind more and more lately.

Since my dad passed away in 2011, I have always tried to do something to remember him by on special days. His birthday was December 26, the day after Christmas, and I've celebrated that in death about as much as I did in life. (Hint: it wasn't often that we had much celebration during his life.) One year I did go watch his alma mater, NCSU, play in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, and that was fun. Mostly, however, I celebrate my dad on the anniversary of his passing (February 10) and on Father's Day. I was out of town on Mother's Day, and Richard had to work, so I suggested that we do something special--something #kathytastic--today to celebrate her.

Today was Kathy's birthday, and we celebrated her by having a meal of some of her favorite things: rare steak, salad, red wine, and bread on the table (like in France). I admire others' abilities to create beautiful table arrangements because that's a skill I lack, and I couldn't care less about owning and managing cloth napkins. Maybe I'll grow out of that one day, but then again, maybe not.  We also didn't have separate plates for the salad and bread, so the salad and the Brussels sprouts ended up touching each other, and we had to wait to make space on our plates for the bread. All in all, however, it was a delicious meal and a happy celebration of one of our favorite people, and I'm looking forward to continuing this so it becomes a tradition for us.

Dinner! I love our WWI propaganda poster about saving sugar.

Something that made today great: Running 6 miles after work
Time I woke up: 7:40 am