Category Archives: Parenting

So, how did it go with the new Bridge to 10K app?

It really could not have been better. The new app is helpful, a little learning curve as I was used to the robotic “Run Now” of the Couch to 5K. I was anxious about the run ten minutes and walk one minute idea. Once I stop jogging and start to walk it is sometimes hard to start again, to keep going. In the first 45 seconds of that walk I can think of a thousand reasons I should just stop altogether. And four cycles of walking means four opportunities to convince myself that I should stop, that Lucy looks too warm or that I need to make a phone call.

But I didn’t stop. Even when the diva was not cooperating.

*Chest clips unbuckled in the stroller. It is our version of a wild and crazy time, letting loose.  Clearly it was overwhelming.

Not this diva. She was a dream.

And the big little diva has a new best friend in less than five minutes anywhere and everywhere. A few people have asked me what I do with Emily while I jog now that she is home from school. She plays on the play ground at the local park. Or she rides her bike on the trail. She wears a light blue helmet. When she rides I can see her little helmet whizzing down the trail ahead of me. She has mastered riding slowly enough to keep me company but she doesn’t usually stick with me for very long.

She likes to go fast.  She loves to swing. She will swing and chat up the mommies at the playground for an hour if I let her. Sometimes I don’t see her for a moment. And then she comes around the bend. Or she pops put of the tube slide. I am unafraid. She is smart. She is careful.

We have two rules.  She never goes in the bathroom without telling me. She waits for me to pass by and I circle around near the bathrooms until she comes out. If she crashes on her bike, and she did often for a while there, she is to wave her arms.  If she can move she will live, and I need to know that from 100 yards away so I don’t have an aneurysm on my way to inspect a scraped knee.   But aside from that she is free. And she is thriving. At almost seven years old I was at the creek. I was riding bikes to another neighborhood near mine. I was free.

I didn’t think about it much. I am raising her like I was raised. I didn’t think there was a name for it. But as the helicopter parents got a name so, too, did kids like Em. Free Range kids. And before you read me the riot act or tell me that things aren’t like they used to be, no, they are not.

But anyway the diva. I think I’ve griped about this already. I am in that small percentage of women that get their periods back even though they are nursing around the clock.

Diva cups come in this discrete fabric bag. And you get a pin, perhaps so you can warn your loved ones as to the arrival of Aunt Flo.

After Emily’s birth when I first became more aware of my lady bits and how I treat them I fell in love with the menstrual cup.  That is a bold statement for a product designed for use during your period.  But it is amazing.  I didn’t get my period back after Em was born for more than a year.  After nearly two years without it I was loathe to return to the tampon.  Enter The Diva. Not only is it a one time expense but you don’t need to mess with it more than once or twice a day.  Good stuff in my book.  (If you are already icked out by this you might want to stop now.)

There is a learning curve.  And somehow in the year of being pregnant I had lost my touch.  I didn’t quite have it in right.  So how was my now 50 minute exercise experience?  It was good. It was great.  But I did have a baby not long ago.  And everything is not exactly how it should be just yet.  So, even though I have a size 2 (post childbirth size) Diva Cup, it didn’t feel quite right. But on I ran.  For fifty minutes.  While doing kegels.  If you’re wondering how I fixed this issue (since sadly fifty straight minutes of kegels did not immediately fix my .. issue – flip your menstrual cup inside out if it is slipping, it will be perfect, I promise.

That’s my two cents for this morning.  Let your kids outside.  They’ll be fine.  And get a Diva cup, or a Moon cup or my personal favorite brand name the Lady Cup.  You’ll be glad you did.