ten miles

I'll admit, I'm worried about summer vacation. 

For the last few years, those words - summer and vacation - haven't always seemed to fit together. When you have a child that needs help going to the bathroom and eating every bit of every meal, being home all day just sounds like more work. Because it is. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Leah. I love being with her. And I honestly don't mind doing those little things for her each day. Sometimes it just makes me tired. 

So, this summer, I decided a few things:

• I want some structure to our summer. Things to look forward to each day or each week. 
• I want the girls to get outside (because, um, we can't do that for 6 months of the year apparently). 
• I want the girls to move their bodies and stay active (watching TV/listening to music and books is the only thing Leah can do all on her own...and it's almost too easy to just let her do it). 

That's when I decided we would have a running/walking goal. If you saw the three of us in action, you might call it a herding cats goal. But however you put it, we have a goal to run/walk 10 miles this summer. That doesn't seem like a lot, but running up and down the hallway and rocking on the couch don't count, so it actually is a lot for the four little legs in my care. 

I have two days each week set aside to do this. And so far, we've gone both of those scheduled days. The girls get about a half mile out and then we turn around, making about a mile each time, depending on how much they wander. 

They stop and smell the flowers. All of them. 

And they pause to rest on the benches. All of them. 

We aren't fast. And we look like a circus. But it wears them out and gives me energy, so, win-win! I'll report back in six weeks.