Clingy and Rainy

Sam was in quite a mood this morning. I don't know if it was because she was up late last night, or if the flu shot was bothering her, or if it was simply because she is two, but man, it was something. After a bit of a rough wake-up, things turned around until I went upstairs to get dressed before taking her to daycare and it was as if all hell broke loose. There were tears and screams and even when I came back down to get her, the crying did not stop. And then heaven forbid I try to put her down to brush my teeth. Oh the agony! Or when I gave her to Ryan to put on her shoes so that I could gather up our stuff for the car. You would think it was torture. Oh my goodness. I was just recently reading a blog where the mother talked about "the Phase of Endless Frustrated Tantruming Over Seemingly Nothing," and um, yes, I'd have to say we were fitting right into that phase this morning. All because I dared to go upstairs to get dressed. Oh my!

Luckily, when we got to her classroom, her teacher's 6 month old was visiting, so Sam was happy to go say hi to the baby and I was able to leave without creating a scene. It was heavenly to step out the door into the rain for a run after such a dramatic and noisy morning. To hear nothing except the pitter patter of the rain falling around me and the crunch of the leaves underfoot. Nothing makes you appreciate quiet like a screaming child :-) I told Ryan I was going to run the Highland Green loop, but after running less than half a mile on the road over to the high school, I changed my mind and headed for the woods instead. It's always much nicer to run in the rain in the woods than on the roads. Under the flat, grey sky, the reds, golds and oranges of the finally-turning maples glowed. The bog bridges were littered with downed leaves, little pockets of color underfoot. The green moss took on a rather flourescent hue. Nothing heightens color, and makes you appreciate it, like an overcast day. I ran down to the river, and on the return trip, took the cart paths back, adding a bit of mileage in the process. I ended up with 5.67 miles, and was glad for a chance to have made the most of the morning. Of course, I'd rather some sunshine and a happy baby, but maybe I'll get that tomorrow!