Today I went running at eight o’clock in morning and left the kids a list of chores – vacuuming, dusting, bathroom cleaning – the bare minimum to make our house presentable tolerable. I ran two and a half miles today and I’ll admit that it was easier than the two miles I ran last week, but that’s because we ran a much flatter course, not because I’m getting better. Everyone in run club is so nice and encouraging. They all say that they hated running when they started. A lot of them tell me that now they love it. I know I will never love it. I refuse to drink the running Kool-aid. But I think I will go back again next week. Maybe. After running I went to coffee with some friends from the gym. It’s nice to have gym friends. 20 years of gym memberships and this is the first time I’ve made actual friends there. At coffee we talk about kids’ sports, the scariness of paying for college, and what a treat and a luxury a Hawaiian family vacation would be. When I got home the house was clean. Not company-clean. Or mom-clean. But kid-clean. It’s not perfect, but I didn’t have to do it. It works for me.