Weight I have lost

Monday, August 15, 2011

Don't Wait; Just Do

So Saturday, I ran 8 miles on a treadmill. It was hellish, but I got it done.  Hopefully I can sleep well (ahem, McMenamin!) next week so that come 6am, I don't feel like sleeping when the dog finally begins to be quiet.

On another note, I was looking for a Peanut Butter Pie recipe last week and came across this blog and recipe. I didn't read it immediately (I just looked at the recipe), but went back and read it.  And teared up.

So I got to thinking on my 8 miles of boredom...First, I thought about SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  I believe I get it in August. Who TF gets SAD in August?  But seriously, I pretty much hate being alive in the month of August (no, I'm not going to do anything irrational so no need to panic). I can look back at my calendars, diaries, blogs, and I know exactly what I was thinking, whether I expressed it or not.  My friend came up with the fact that perhaps because it is hotter than hell in August, I spend a lot of time inside. And my house is dark.  And that all winter I seem to spend outside.  Which led me to think about when I didn't put something off (the point of that other blog).

You all know Guinness was sick starting in October.  Well, she was also a fan of the outdoors.  Whether it was being at the park or sitting on the deck, she wanted to be outside.  After the anti-tethering law went into effect in Atlanta, she was not out as much.  So to get her outside, we would put our beach chairs on the front lawn and drink last September (the law is as long as we are with her, she could be on a tether).  We would spend many hours much to our neighbors' dismay drinking beer sitting out and letting her dig up the front lawn.

D and G
 How she loved it.  And as she got sicker and as the weather got colder, we just bundled up more, drank more and put more tape on her tube.  To see her come out from under a bush with a huge smile on her face was just awesome. 

Did a little digging
I'm the most beautiest princess of them all!



I also took her to the park where she would run around and say hi to people. She couldn't run as long as she would've liked but she got a few sprints in there.

Checking out the park on a December afternoon

Come January, D and I decided to have a date.  We looked at her (SB was at daycare), and put on our winter coats, gloves, hats, scarves and off we went.  It was 35 degrees and windy when we got to the bar. The bartender thought I was nuts when I told him to start a tab. I'd be outside.  Yet I remember that day.  Drinking Guinness with Guinness.  She sat on the sidewalk and people watched. A big smile on her face. D and I froze our butts off, but managed to down 3 Guinness beers. It was a great date. 

Crazy woman drinking Guinness outside in 35 degrees
 
Guinness loving Drinking Guinness with Guinness Day!

Checking out the snow with Scuttlebutt the day after Drinking Guinness with Guinness


20 days later she passed away. But I always have that.  We didn't wait to have fun.  We just did.

5 comments:

Christina said...

Nice take on SAD in August. I think I have a case of that too. It is too dang hot to be running outside or just sit outside with the dogs. :(
Cannot wait for colder days to come.

My eyes were welling up with tears when I read about Guinness. At least you have the good memories. I will always remember my Buttercup and will be glad that even though she was slow and old, we still managed to get a few easy miles in. She enjoyed it, even though it was tough on her. But she smiled. She always smiled at the end of a run or a walk.

Delane said...

Omg. I went to the linked blog....how sad.

Carolina John said...

I am totally right there with you sister. SAD in august. I hate it. absolutely. I end up writing blog posts with titles like "I hate August". worst. month. ever. At least it gets us through to fall and football.

Aka Alice said...

I clicked on the link first...made me hug my husband and kids immediately...then I read the rest of your blog... I miss your posts about Guinness drinking Guinness :-).

You're killing me out here!

Bring on the cooler weather!

Marianne said...

When I lived in Arizona, I definitely had the same SAD. I absolutely think it is valid. It is just so hot, you don't go outside ever and who wouldn't get depressed? Mine was worse in September than in August, I think because it always feels like in September it should be cooler, but in AZ it really isn't.

I loved reading this post, thanks for writing it.