early to bed, early to rise

The last week or so I have been getting up at 5am and heading out the door for a short 2.5 mile run downtown and back. I love running early when everyone in town, including my family, are still snuggled in bed. Maine summers are actually quite cool and even in a t shirt I feel a bit chilly down by the water. This week it has worked out especially well, with low tide being early in the morning so I can participate in my favorite summer activity without feeling any Mommy guilt. Hunting for beach glass is free, fun, and therapeutic. I have 6 jars of it that I have collected over our summers in Maine. The girls love to sort it by color, and while I have filled 2 glass lamp bases with aqua pieces that our local beach is semi-famous for, I haven't really done anything artsy with it.

Friday evening before bed Mary begged and begged me to wake her up early so she could go with me so I whispered in her ear and she willingly got dressed and followed me on her bike downtown. After our hunting expedition we stopped for breakfast at the local diner and then I ran home slowly to avoid tummy upset. I am glad we did it once, but this morning she had her nose out of joint that I went without including her. 7 year olds don't quite get that a treat is a treat precisely because it only happens once in a while, otherwise it is defined as a routine.

My morning runs will soon come to an end when Tim leaves in a little over a week to go back to North Carolina, though I might have a sitter lined up so I can run sometime. I do know for certain that no 15 year old is going to show up at my door at the crack of dawn so I can go hunting for beach glass.