I’m currently squeezed into my dorm bed with my mother. It’s 5:12 p.m. on a Sunday. Let me explain how we got here.
My mom picked me and my friend Alison up at 5:30 this morning and took us to Cambridge, where Alison and I ran a half marathon. It was a balmy 67 degrees at the start line (hello, November?). We went out steady, turning through neighborhoods, going through Harvard Stadium, and crossing two of the bridges we rowed under every day this season. It got hard around mile eight or nine. I kept telling myself to just finish the mile, and then it’d be a regular weekday run, or one Pond Rd loop, or a 5k… The last mile destroyed me (I somehow got a side stitch in my stomach), but I still beat my personal best by almost five minutes. Alison and I had been planning that since I was in Ecuador, and I’m so glad we did it together.
Afterwards, we dropped Alison off at the dorm and I went home to help my mom get things ready for winter (yes, while wearing shorts and sandals). I took out the air conditioners, moved stuff around in the basement, and helped pull a cover over the camper.
I was sweaty before, but after all that, I was dirty, too.
Mom took me to get a milkshake at Smashburger. They have vegan milkshakes! Too bad it was disgusting. Mom had one sip and looked like she wanted her tongue removed.
We won’t be doing that again.
I’m performing my standup set tonight—it’s the midterm for my comedy class—so it’s going to be a long day. There was no point in my mom going home and then coming right back, so she’s reading silly stories on her phone and I’m getting some readings done for Tuesday.
Update: she’s napping. It’s not a bad idea.
Me and Alison after the race! (And after I stopped to remember how to breathe again)
The view from my hammock yesterday