Wednesday or Why Is It So Gorgeous Outside When I Can't Run

This is a serious pain in the rear. It's like mother nature is taunting me, calling me out. "Ooooooooh Joooohn, look outside, look how nice I made it, it's peeeerrrrfect for a run, oh that's right, your weak little hamstring can't take it. Hahaha, I love this whole survival of the fittest thing I set up, hahahahahaha, stupid human." It's enough to make a guy do something stupid, like risk his ultimate goal for a wonderful 5 miles. But, I won't. And the kicker is, when I can start running, it's supposed to snow. Climate torture is what it is! Instead, I'll stick to my gym regimen which, by the way, is no small matter. The aerobic stuff is fine, used to it from running. I did a spinning class the other day that kicked my butt 3 months ago, this time, no problem. However, the core work, abs, back and hips, is tough. I haven't really worked that group for awhile, just indirect conditioning from running. Well, it's good I'm starting now, it'll help on the hills in Boston. I'm starting to get anxious for the marathon, the excitement is building!

We volunteered last night. It was a pretty calm night. The kids did art projects most of the night, as well as myself. It's always good to sit down and get some serious coloring in. We did have an interesting predicament, and I warn you that I'm about to release some blunt honesty. One child was prohibited from going into the playspace by the shelter staff as a punishment for earlier misbehavior. This isn't the predicament, it's fairly easy to keep a young shild out of a room, especially one that has an oak door. The kid wasn't too happy about it at first, we had some crying and some testing of boundaries(i.e. if I stick my foot in or stand here and watch, it's ok right?) but we held our ground. The dilemna came a bit later. We didn't want to abandon the child, so a couple volunteers tried to occupy him. Unfortunately, he turned it into a game in which he took control, rotating the volunteers with him, trying to get the other children out of the playspace to be with him, and dictating the activity that took place around him. Now, he wasn't some pint size despot, but it definitely ceased to seem like a punishment or consequence for poor behavior. Here was the dilemna, and I guess it could be turned into a general ethical question. I didn't really feel confident in how to proceed, the letter of the punishment was followed, the child was not allowed in the playspace. But, it didn't seem as if the spirit was at all since he got everything how he wanted it, and was continuing to interact with everyone and affect their night. Obviously, some leeway is in order, it's a child and it's a tough call. Do I make sure it feels like a punishment all night? Also, I didn't set the consequence so I don't even know the intention, and since he was clearly unhappy about it in the beginning of the night, is that enough? I imagine this is a dilemna for anyone who cares for children, or is responsible for discipline in general, when you step into an established set of rules and consequences not set by you. Just thought I'd share, as this is an intricate part of volunteering. We only see these kids 2 hours a week, and we have to make sure that we're adhering to rules and policies that exist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week even though we're not there. That obviously goes beyond one incident like this, but it is an example. In the end, we kind of let him do his thing, but we were more assertive about not letting him boss us around, and he did try to sneak his way in the room again, only to be rebuffed, which he took well. And despite whatever intial trespass begat the punishment, last night displayed the immense emotional growth this child has made. When we first met him, he would have probably thrown a very long tantrum given this situation. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with comfort and adaptability, but I also think a lot of it has to do with the strides the staff at the shelter has made in strengthening his emotional skills and other realms of his life. They do amazing work, that takes time, and people don't always readily see when they look at shelters and programs like this. I'm very privileged to have a small part in it.

On that note, let's help continue that great work. If you'll divert your attention to the box in the upper right corner of this page, you'll see that we have gone past halfway towards my goal of $3500 for Horizons for Homeless Children. That's awesome! Congratulations and thank you to all of you who have sponsored! To the rest of you, we can do this! I know for a fact that we can hit $2000 by Friday. That's it, that's the challenge, no funny pics this time, just my immense faith in all of you. Let's do it!