Legos & Work & Life

Harry is the master of Legos. He’s putting together 200 piece sets alone & it’s just amazing to watch. Like one day, we were worried he wasn’t going to point on time & now he’s building a freaking Lego camper, complete with coffee mugs, little tables, & a canoe.

I’ve decided after watching him that everyone falls into 1 of 3 Lego categories:

• People who prefer to buy Lego sets & follow directions
• People who prefer to free-build with a bucket of random Legos
• People who don’t give a shit about Legos

Harry falls into Group 1 & I fall into Group 2, but I think that’s the perfect balance so he can build the trucks & I can design the houses. It’s something that I never mind doing with him & most mornings before work & daycare, we’re in our pajamas building.

_________________________________________________________________

On Wednesday, our boss gave us the afternoon off to swim & party at his pool.

It’s been over 9 months & I still want to pinch myself. The work I do is fun & creative & challenging. When I first started at Ignite, the hardest part was being surrounded by people 9 hours every day. There was no break from conversation or laughter & for someone who spent 18 months working alone in a cubicle, it was a culture shock. I spent most of my evenings in the first few months running in the lights-off “getaway room” at the gym & then turning down every invitation for dinner or play dates. I felt so burnt out.

Now it’s simply my new normal & it’s hard to believe that a place like Ignite exists, where I’m a person as much as an employee & leggings are more acceptable than suits.

_________________________________________________________________

We discovered through x-rays that Tuck has severe hip dysplasia in one hip, the beginnings in another, & arthritis in both hips knees. I knew it wasn’t going to be good when they had to sedate her for x-rays due to pain & then bring me in the back room, where I stared at the foggy black & grey films. The doctor showed the tiny bits of bone chipped off into her muscles from the bone-on-bone grinding & handed 2 prescription bottles.

“Long run, what are her options?” I asked & the vet simply stared at me sympathetically.

Our life with Tuck changed that day, starting with medication & realizing that she’ll never use the long back steps again. Instead, she’s leash-walked out the front door & for the first month, we carried her up & down the inside steps every night & morning.

It was heart breaking those first few weeks, desperate for her to feel better. We wondered if a life on pain killers was a real life, without walks & running & things she enjoys. It was a very isolating experience for me & Doug, knowing that any decision we made would be met with judgment.

We are thankful that the NSAIDs have done beautiful work on her pain level – she’s off the daily pain killers & can now climb the stairs by herself, although we only allow it once per day. Her days of runs with me & chasing rabbits in the back yard are over, but she seems pretty content with her new, quieter life.

_________________________________________________________________

I started the week running 2.5 miles at 12’11″ pace. A month ago, I hurt myself with shin splints & cramps, limping for 2 days & taking an entire week off from the treadmill. I’m not entirely sure what happened, except I think I had a hard day & pushed through it with a funky gait & then BAM! legs screaming. It’s been a slow build up since then, increasing by only 20% each week & on Monday, I felt I could keep going but stopped myself.

I’m not sure if that was the right thing to do or incredibly, fearfully dumb to hold myself back, but the point is that I’m only .60 from running a 5K without dying. Which is perfect, considering my first 5K is scheduled for late June.

_________________________________________________________________

Right now the boys are still sleeping upstairs & my coffee is hot & I’m 20 pages in to my first summer book. (Lone Survivor, not an affiliate link, on loan from a friend. Anyone read it?)

It’s funny how life seems boring but then I stop & realize these little things are my life. & it’s pretty fantastic.

The post Legos & Work & Life appeared first on okay, ba.