Month: February 2015

Every once in a while I am asked to sub for an after school exercise program my school has called Move 60. I was asked to sub today and I wasn’t really into it, which told me that I’ve been a little off this week. I needed to do report cards, which I did, but I really needed to get my rear moving, too! My nutrition was solid but I was tired, sore and not at all interested in exercising. I told myself I could take Monday and Tuesday off, but then Wednesday happened, too. I used the excuse of ‘insane days at school,’ which have really and truly been insane, to avoid the workout. (The post-Super Bowl letdown is coursing madly through my second graders’ systems, and the modeling of brawling and poor sportsmanship did nothing for some of my students’ interactions this week.)
So, even though I didn’t want to, I did it. I went to Move 60 and ran the warm-up with the kids, which is always fun. They all try to race me, forgetting that I don’t care about fast, I care about endurance. They are so cute as they burn out, over and over, then rev up again to race me as I come around the bend again and again and again. They all remark at how red my face turns, which makes me wonder if I have a bizarrely red face, but then I just realize that little kids have to critizice adults when they see them doing something they’re competitive about. It hurt my feelings until I realized what was going on there!
Anyhow, I only got to run with them for about ten minutes, so when I got home I ran for 15 more on the treadmill. When I weighed myself, 204.8! I had one of those moments of disbelief, hopping on and off several times and rubbing my eyes before I let it settle in… Cool! 🙂

Well, well, well. If you hadn’t heard, I’m from Seattle and we kinda sorta have this team called the Seahawks that played the Super Bowl today for the second time. I’m telling you what, people around here are crazy for this! The kids in my class were more amped up than before Christmas, before spring break, before the last day of school- NUTS!

{Seen on a tree today. February 1st. Oi.}
I am not a football fan at all. I’m not a team sports watcher anyways, but the brutality (head injuries) of football paired with the population of people I work with (who look up to and imitate the players) makes it a harder pill for me to swallow than other sports. That said, there is an element of blue and green that actually made it into our home this year, had us following the score and even had us eating a feast! Who woulda thunk it?!
Our day started out fairly normal. Rise and shine, but then I decided I needed to make a big feast. I wasn’t sure why I needed a feast, but today felt like a feast day, so we drove all over the east side in seek of vital wheat gluten. With all the gluten allergies out there, suddenly our very necessary vegetarian, binder-protein source that we rely on has become more and more scarce. It took three stores until we finally found some to make our veggie ribs. I know that sounds weird, but omg they are yum.

After errands, we came home, I ran a few miles on the treadmill, we cooked, cleaned, we lazed… It was good.
Last year we went for a walk during the Super Bowl. It was a really special walk as the Seahawks scored their first touchdown and then their second of that game while we were out. With each one, our hill lit up with hollering, noise and fireworks. This year we planned our walk to be during the game hoping for the same kind of noise and we weren’t disappointed. We heard the first score, the second score, then the score that put the Patriots ahead. Hollers and honking for the win, grousing and grumping and groaning when the patriots scored, neighbors hollering across the hood: SEA, to which a reply would come: HAWKS! It’s a pretty interesting vantage point to observe the game from.

From there we came home, followed the score and made our feast. It ended up being a pretty fun day, with us celebrating the Seahawks in our fairly unusual way.
This year I have a different attitude about the Seahawks. While I still don’t love them, I see things they do outside the sport which make me appreciate them. I love how their gameplay has knitted our Washington/ Seattle community together over something positive. How often do we support one another for authentically positive and good things? I also really appreciate that the Kingdome, you know, the building that got knocked down to make the new play field and no longer exists, well, it finally got paid off because of the hawks. Bonus!
I’m hoping for a win. I hope my second graders come to school tomorrow tired, but happy. Excited that they won, excited that the whole brouhaha is over at last. Happy Super Bowl Sunday, all!
***
So. They lost.
Poor Seahawks and Seahawks fans.
🙁