Who Needs Sleep?

Yawn...I am typing this and trying to stay awake at the same time. It's not late. It's just that I've been getting up early this week - REALLY early. I have begun my spring/summer ritual of powerwalking during the early morning hours. When I say early morning, my alarm goes off at 5:05 am, and I am on the pavement by 5:30 am. Waking this early is not an easy task for me. I am a 'day' person - not arising early, not staying up too late. But I am held accountable by walking with friends, who ARE morning people.

I am enjoying my morning walks. I've spent most of the days walking with one friend, who typically is a runner, but is restricted to walking for a few weeks. I feel blessed by her presence. She is full of energy and zest, singing, laughing and pleasant at this early hour. Me...not so much. I flat out told her this morning that I didn't know whether to laugh with her or tell her to shut up. I decided to laugh. It brightened my dismally tired mood and lightened my step.

The sun is not quite above the horizon at this hour. There is still a slight hue of dark blue/gray to the sky. There is a hush to the neighborhood. The dampness of the dew feels refreshing once we've been going awhile. Our voices echo off the hills and get lost in the woods. On a few mornings, we've caught sight of deer crossing the street. There may be the stray car that passes on it's way to another destination, but otherwise, we have command of the streets. It's the sweetness of these early mornings that we share our life stories: what happened the day before, what we have planned for the current day, how we deal with our children or husbands, what the doctor said, how we appreciate our parents, how to spit (surely a runner's thing). It's peaceful, blissful. It's what I need before the craziness of the day begins. I don't want to admit that I am beginning to enjoy that hour of the day. But I think I just did.

By the end of the hour, the sun is up, and we feel the stir of the day beginning. Sweat is pouring from our skin, but we've solved some of life's issues in that time together. I am fully awake and alive, laughing and looking forward to another day of walking. Until, of course, the alarm goes off.

Ring Around the...

I recently spent an afternoon shopping, which is usually an enjoyable task for me. However, this particular time was a little different. It was my annual hunt for the right swimsuit. I don't need another suit, but swimsuits to me are like shoes for some women, or purses for others. Actually, I did need new black bottoms, so my idea was to find a pair of bottoms, and match it with a different top than what I already have at home. What I found was a whole different experience.

I don't know why I don't remember this year to year, but swimsuits do NOT run in the size that a woman normally wears. If I tried on the same size in which my year round clothing runs, I would cut off my circulation. Why is that? Why don't swimsuit manufacturers try the vanity sizing that all other clothing companies have gone into? It's not enough that most women are self-conscience anyway regarding how they look when wearing very little clothing in public. But now we have to go up in sizes just to find something that doesn't leave deep red rings around our thighs or back. It's a blow to our self-esteem.

And while I am on the subject of how suits fit, who invented the woman's swimsuit anyway? Why is it that 95% of men wear long, loose shorts (the other 5% should!) that could pass as everyday clothing, but women wear something akin to their underwear? We can't throw on a t-shirt and get into a restaurant dressed that way. Spend too much time in the sun, and the parts that shouldn't or don't normally see the sunlight get painfully burnt. (Then try wearing the undergarments after that!).

My trip ended with me trying on one size larger and finding it to be small, then trying on two sizes larger and finding it too big. There's nothing enjoyable about seeing yourself in the "too small" suit, in the three-way mirror, under the flurescent lights of the dressing room. However, when trying on the bigger size first, I did feel a little lighter, a little firmer, a little tanner (for some reason). I guess I can be glad that I need that inbetween size - my winter workouts have paid off slightly. Not enough, though, to want to walk around in my underwear at the public pool. Anyway, I didn't find black bottoms that fit properly, but I did come home with a cute bathing suit top. My search will continue, but at least this time I'll know what to expect.