Mistaken Identity...

Twice this week, (ie. more than once!), I was asked if my sister was my daughter!! Oy. Now there's a way to put the ego back where it belongs...

It's true, the people who asked only got a quick glance at her. And my sister looks quite young - she has a youthful demeanour and fashion-sense. Appropriately youthful, IMO. And, perhaps if I'd had a child when I was 14, one could mistaken her for my daughter, but come on - my daughter?! Needless to say, my sister got a great laugh out of that, especially since the usual question we get is: Which one is the oldest? (That would be me - by seven years.)

Luckily, I have a healthy sense of humour and will use this incident to incessantly tease my co-workers... and my sister will no doubt bask in the memory of that moment... and I will go to my hair stylist to get that cut n' colour! :-)

PAX,

Running Tourist...

I'll be starting off this year's Canada Day celebrations in a completely new way this year. I've signed up to run a 5K race in Kanata. This time, it's a real race, complete with time chip and a finish line to cross - God willing, of course!

I'm still keeping up with my 3 X week runs, focussing on the 10:1s. Today's run was a sweltering one! Soooo humid... However, as I was doing my post-run stretches, I took a moment to appreciate how lucky I am to work downtown. Today's route brought me around the Centre Block of our Parliament Buildings, following through to & along the front lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada, circling back behind Parliament Hill along the Ottawa River pathway and finishing up at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal. That's where I stopped to stretch, looking across the River towards the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

As far as city downtowns go, this one is pretty impressive... and impressively pretty.
PAX,

Producing excitement...

I waited with anticipation for the delivery. It was getting dark, but I was told it could be as late as 10pm, so I distracted myself with menial tasks as I waited... and waited... It was only 9:15pm. The minutes danced by and, around 9:45pm, it arrived.

I opened it and my pulse raced. I chatted with the young man who delivered it and could see that he understood my excitement. He knew. Enjoy! See you next week.., he said. Oh, I will - and thanks again!, I responded, and carried it into the house. I set it on a chair in the kitchen and looked at it. I took in the colours and the textures... I reached in and touched... I paused and smelled... and I even tasted.

I've been searching for this exact type of thing for some time now. And here it was - in my kitchen. Because I'll be getting one every week now, I know it is but a beginning... Who knew one could get so enchanted & excited about this?!

PAX,

Hard wired...?

Could I possibly be wired to win?? As a life-long non-athlete, I've often wondered what it was that made others so drawn to sports or exercise. Why not me? And yet, at a pre-screening of a new movie being created for IMAX, I'm told that my brain can be trained to lead my body to accomplishments I can't even imagine.

I guess I experienced that for myself as I completed my first 5Km race earlier this month. When I first started learning to run, that goal was simply beyond my grasp. As I huffed & puffed my way through 2 minutes of continuous running during Week Two, I remember commenting to Hubby that I couldn't imagine running 10 minutes without stopping. He gently reminded me that I didn't have to; my goal for that day was two minutes, not ten. Without consciously knowing it, my brain was learning to cope with this new activity. And today, I can run 10 minutes without stopping.

I can take that personal experience, and multiply it many times over to imagine what professional athletes - such as those competing in the Tour de France - go through. And as for the "why not me?"... I guess that's where the heart comes in. I s'pose it all depends on your heart's desire. And mine simply has its gaze directed elsewhere...

PAX,

The urge to dance...

I was at Westfest this past weekend and found myself noticing people's bodies. More specifically, how their bodies (and mine) spontaneously move in response to music. Same music, yet different movements.

On Saturday night, a couple of hundred rain-soaked heads bopped to the sounds of Skydiggers & Cash Brothers. All bopping, but not always to the same beat. Some people double-bopped, others up-and-down bopped, while some side-to-side bopped... and then of course there were a few who stood freakishly still.

Then on Sunday morning, I listened to two local kids playing rock (electric guitar & drums) and watched a little girl in the audience, surely no more than two, dancing with complete abandon. No matter how heavy the music got, she found her beat and danced. Full body, moving primarily in rythmic circles.

I was reminded of the primal power of music and its intimate connection with our bodies. In so many cultures, this relationship remains spontaneous and natural. Not so in our uptight western world. We seem to have relegated dance and free movement to our dance clubs & studios. It's why we look twice at the free spirit who allows his or her body to fully embrace the music. Am I looking with disdain? Or with envy... Oh! to be an adult who can watch a 2-year old girl dance, and see in her a teacher.

PAX,