Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

I know it's lofty saying today has been the perfect Christmas, but truly, I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful, fun-filled day. Though a frigid wind blew, the sun was bright and the snow glittered. I sat for a while, before anyone else was up and ready to open gifts, watching the birds at the feeder while a fire burned in the fireplace. Right after we opened presents, Lovely Beautiful Daughter and I made our way to the kitchen to get the meal going. I made bread stuffing for the turkey, the bread stuffing I grew up eating every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mom's bread stuffing. I snagged a bite as I made it, just like I used to when Mom made it. That stuffing is Christmas through and through. The turkey roasted in the oven for just over four hours, and during that four hour period, I made a couple of mincemeat turnovers to take to Dad tomorrow. He's the only one who liked the mincemeat pies that Mom made, so I thought I'd make a couple of turnovers just for h...

Whew! I can't remember a time when I was so happy to have a week end. Nothing horrible happened. I was just so busy mentally each day that by Friday afternoon, my brain was mush. This resulted from canceling classes and doing individual student conferences. Take 85 students who come in for a twenty minute conference and you get a full day of interacting that begins at 8 am and ends at 5 pm. By the time I got home in the evenings, all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and not think. Training didn't happen either. I thought about getting on the bike each evening, but I just couldn't find the energy to do it. So a week went by with no training hours or mileage. And that's why this morning I only lasted 30 minutes doing the AMGEN DVD. My heart was pounding after the second interval, and the tell-tale signs of heading towards dizziness was setting in. After last Sunday's awesome training ride at the high school, with no problems keeping my heart rate up or keeping my...