Gettin' Old
2006-11-13, 10:20 p.m.

Day 813 Lawdy, I�m Getting Old

NaBloPoMo #13

Youngest son (#2, Eric) will be all of 21 years old as of 10:13pm this evening (Nov. 13). Fredonia needs to be very scared. Can�t be too bad though, Canada survived him turning 19 a couple of years ago, even let him come home under his own power. Can�t be all bad, eh?

But you see, if Eric is 21, and I was twentymumblefrumplefritz when he was born, it�s like geeze, that makes me 39 at least!! Big numbers like that scare my brain, so the old brain makes them smaller so as to be less scary. Yeah, that�s it. (Actually my B�day is just around the bend. I�ll fess up then. Maybe.

Changed up the workout this morning. Actually did a couple of miles on the treadmill instead of doing the elliptical. Whew! Actual running is much harder than simulated x-country skiing. Forgot about that. I also hit the incline a teeny bit (0.5 % I think), supposed to simulate real live outdoor running better. I may switch back to doing more running � maybe 2x a week, alternating with the ellipticals. It certainly hits the muscles differently. Be good training for next years races too. Maybe I�ll finally hit that elusive 8 minutes/mile pace in a 5K.

Thought Cindy was having a good weekend. Things were a little tense, but she wasn�t drinking and we were figuring out how to sorta communicate & co-exist. Lemme see, that would cover Friday evening through early Sunday afternoon. Mid afternoon, I scooted to a sporting goods store to pick up a Christmas present for Zach that was on sale. Excellent deal. Mossberg 500, 12 Ga, smooth bore AND rifled barrels, plus a scope, $100 off. But don�t tell Zach, ok?

Anyhow � my heading to the store was apparently the chink in the armor she was waiting for. When I got back (in about an hour and a half � lots of paper work to fill out � even for a long gun!), Cindy was unusually talkative. As the afternoon dragged on into the evening, she developed her little �tell� of constantly sniffing, like she has a wee bit of a runny nose but doesn�t have a Kleenex handy. In the course of prepping dinner I had to run some things out to the recycling bucket, where I noticed an empty bottle of hard lemonade. Odd. That was Jill�s, and I know she hadn�t touched that stuff in weeks. Checked our little mini-fridge in the garage. My lone bottle of Saranac Lager � gone. Jill�s hard lemonade � down one. Also in the fridge � one 22 oz plastic mug, partially filled with something that smelled like neither beer or lemonade. So she�s back to sneaking drinks while outside smoking. Again.

She didn�t have a lot. Wasn�t all sloppy drunk and snoring on the couch. She was just kind of �gabby�. If it never got any worse than that, I could easily tolerate it. Unfortunately, I�m afraid she won�t be limiting it to two little beers.

Now it�s Monday � end of the workday. I�m just chillin here typing this up before I head home. Don�t know if she re-stocked her whiskey. Didn�t look last night. But I�ll be able to tell seconds after I walk in the door tonight.

Oh � I did tape that �Intervention�show on A&E last night. Didn�t get to see it all, as I was busy tending to other things, but I did see parts of it � especially the last 15 minutes where the intervention happens and the (one sided) negotiating of the treatment options happens. I�ll watch it again tonight (skipping commercials, yay!) and pay better attention.

Also made a decision regarding limits of discussion with my/our doctor Wednesday. I will freely tell Dr. B that I�m going to Al Anon, how long I�ve been going and why. From there, I think the conversation will take on a life of it�s own. I�ll simply follow where ever Dr. B leads. In the end, I will be providing Dr. B with the information she needs to treat her patient properly. I will trust Dr. B to be as circumspect as she can be when discussing any of this with Cindy in the future. If Cindy makes the connection, oh well. There�s plenty worse things I could do.

Updated stats:

Weight start: 206.5 on 1/1/06 (265.0 on 1/15/05)
Current weight: 188 on 11/4/06 (Out of the rut, but in the wrong direction)
Next weigh in: 1/18/06

New target � Aim is 180, by Christmas. Better get it in gear.

The Keep on Truckin goal: (miles piled up on elliptical trainers and/or running)
Miles at speed 11/8/06: 906.42
Miles with cool down: 997.26
Target for 2006: 1000 miles