I've Got to Keep on Moving.

I thought my life would slow down once I had a child. Other parents may scoff at that, but I really did. In some ways it has (we're home way more in the evenings and on weekends), but we're still on the go a lot. Little William is a consummate traveler at nine months old. We've taken him everywhere - dinner, road trips, tailgating - since he got home from the hospital. He's comfortable with it. So while we've slowed down slightly really our life is now basically being as busy before and throwing a small human into the mix. It's exciting/fun/exhausting all at the same time.

When it came time to renew our West Virginia season football tickets, it was a no brainer. Of course we would. Four weekends in a three month span with a 14 hour round trip drive with a baby? Let's do this sh*t. 

Last weekend was our first trip, and it was slightly easier because it was Labor Day. It gave us an extra few days to hang out and enjoy being in Morgantown. We left just before our son's bed time on Thursday evening and drove into the night. We hit a crazy thunderstorm that looked like a beautiful light show over Lake Erie and felt like a nightmare for an hour on the Ohio Turnpike. Thankfully we arrived in Morgantown around 2 am without incident and a relatively on schedule small person.

The downside to driving late and letting the baby sleep is that he still wakes up on time around 6 am. I was groggy after only four hours of sleep, but it was nothing copious amounts of coffee couldn't handle. We spent the day lunching with family, buying WVU baby gear at The Book Exchange and relaxing at my parents' house.  

On Saturday morning I headed out on the Deckers Creek Trail for a 12-mile run. I last visited the trail in June for the Deckers Creek Half Marathon where I shattered my half marathon PR. I love running the trail. It's flat, well kept and most importantly runs through one of my favorite places in the world. As I was running I was thinking of some really fun college memories like the crazy drunken millennium New Years Eve and cramming into the Mountainlair Plaza to see bands like Fuel and De La Soul. 

Art work under a bridge

Beautiful Deckers Creek

It was one of the best long runs I have had in recent memory. I'm not sure if it was last week's iron infusion or being in Morgantown, but I felt amazing. I came home and showered just in time for my sister, brother-in-law and niece to arrive from Virginia. It was so much fun spending the day with my family and appreciating how much love we have. We're not perfect (we definitely put the "fun" in dysfunctional), but they're my crazy and I love them.

My husband and I went to the West Virginia game relatively late, leaving my parents' house at 6 for a 7:30 game. Our son is cutting his first tooth, and he was really fussy all day. It felt rather self indulgent to leave him with his grandparents and aunt while we went to have a good time. We drove downtown and took the PRT (personal rapid transit) to the game. Thanks for funding our state Sen. Robert C. Byrd (RIP)! The PRT is a monorail that is free on game day. It's the perfect way to miss game traffic although you'll hit student bar traffic on the way out. Worth it.

My Mountaineers were kicking off the season with Georgia Southern, a division 2 team that, let's be honest, we had no business playing. Thankfully we shut them out, put up a pretty good defensive showing, and like most first games got a look at what we need to work on. As is the case at every WVU game I was choking back tears from the minute we walked into the stadium until the ball was kicked off to start the game. The nostalgia is strong with this one.

Wearing sunglasses in the dark so you can't tell I'm almost crying.

On Sunday we had a belated birthday cookout for me. We had steaks and salads, and I cheated on my FODMAP diet for a cupcake. Okay two. Sue me. My husband and I headed back to the Book Exchange (because our son needs a LOT of Mountaineer gear) and I shopped with my sister and niece for a while too. After Will's bedtime my husband, sister, brother-in-law and sister-in-law headed out for some childless time and cocktails. It was a perfect Sunday.

Will was up a lot Sunday night and woke up teething and fussy on Monday at 6 am. Nothing would soothe him, so I decided we'd take a long walk on the trail. Unfortunately we didn't bring the jogging stroller so I was stuck walking, but it was a really nice way to get in some exercise and spend time with my favorite little dude. It was a beautiful morning, and we walked three miles on the quiet, shaded trail. Will's fussiness dissipated as soon as he was strapped in the stroller, and he looked around and seemed to enjoy the quiet too. It was perfect. 

My trail buddy

We took off after brunch with the family. We were nervous about how Will would travel during the day, but he was an absolute rock star. He slept for a few hours and then played the rest of the time. He cried for a few minutes when we were about 20 minutes from home, but that was it. What a champion. It was the perfect end to a busy and fun weekend.

"I'm keeping it together, but I'm NOT happy to still be in the car."

We came home to a rush of laundry (his bedding isn't clean for school!), unpacking (because I unpack immediately always) and running to the grocery store for Tuesday essentials. I really thought having a child would slow down the pace of life, but I now realize that blistering pace is who I am. I wouldn't have it any other way. Now who wants to join me for a run?