For the love of mothers

"Run," I told Mark when he first asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day. When he asked me a second time, I told him the same thing but adding the condition that it be by myself.

I had dreams of a delicious long run through the park, where the lilac bushes are in full bloom, adding brilliant color and a sweet scent that follows along the trail. Petals squish underfoot and rays of gorgeous sun peak through the leafy trees. The pace would be easy, effortless but brisk even so as I basked in the solitude.

But life had other plans -- more specifically, my legs had other plans. Recovery, or lack there of, from the Wisconsin half didn't go as planned. My legs were stiff and uncooperative, and the three runs (a total of 11 miles) that I completed felt arduous. BODYPUMP on Tuesday left me feeling unusually sore, and I had to fight the fatigue as I rehearsed Piloxing in anticipation of teaching my first two classes - Thursday and Saturday. Of course, Saturday's class being preceded by my regular BODYPUMP session. Oh, and I worked out with the Fort Wayne ballet in case you were worried I didn't do enough.

And so, on Saturday night, I told Mark just the opposite of what I had insisted in the previous two weeks: rather than let me run, I wanted him to keep me from the trail. What I needed most was to not run.

It was an odd feeling waking up on Sunday, albeit Mother's Day, without lacing up my shoes. Part of me missed it -- the preparation, the feet on the pavement, the sweat collecting on my brow -- but nonetheless I slipped on my TOMS for the start of what was a brilliant day.

Breakfast with my boys at my favorite spot.

Upon walking in, Miles immediately declared, "I hungry," and the kind server brought out a plate of banana and cantaloupe, chopped in small, bite-size pieces. It was a kind gesture that Miles "paid forward" by feeding the fruit to me. (Really, he was saving room for carbs.)

As for me, I opted for the Olympic skillet, with feta, green peppers, onions and tzatziki. I get it every time though I continue to be tempted by the Angel Food French toast.

Once satiated, we headed to the home improvement store for dirt. I am adding a raised bed this year and have a bevy of heirloom tomato plants ready for planting. All I needed was the dirt ... and lots of it. I think we purchased 20 bags, a mixture of top soil, compost and peat moss, for the 8-foot-by-4-foot bed. It took some muscle loading and unloading but it was rewarding to see it all come together. Miles even got in on the fun, helping me rake and find worms to add. We didn't put in any of the plants as there was a frost warning but we're good to go for this week.

During nap, Mark treated me to a much needed pedicure. My feet and legs achy, I opted to do a tropical treatment, which included an orange scrub and hot stone massage. It was my first time at this particular spot, and I will be going back. The tech spent extra time removing the calluses on the tops of my toes and even went back several times to make sure the bottoms of my feet were soft.

Once Miles woke up, we headed to the library to spend some time as a family. We had the children's room to ourselves, and Miles had a good time coloring, pushing around the shopping cart and driving the firetruck - complete with hat.

It was a great way to cap off the day and an even greater reminder of just why I like being this kid's mom so much.