Monday, May 25, 2015

Me vs Mother Nature


How was your weekend? For this holiday weekend, we had big plans. My husband was excited to go to his dad's lake house. At the last minute, he had to work Saturday and my youngest had an indoor football game, so we delayed our departure for Sunday. The weather forecast looked ominous, but optimistically, we got ourselves ready. We even laughed at the cancellation of our town's Memorial Day Parade, 3 days ahead of time, based on the forecast. Let Mother Nature win? Not this runner! 

Sunday morning was cloudy and my boys started protesting as soon as we woke them up. But we were on the road by 8. The rain started shortly after we crossed the Illinois Wisconsin state line. That radar picture above tells the story of the day. My heart sunk. We stopped in Madison to pick up the kayaks I had purchased. The rain poured as we pulled up to the lake house. We unloaded the kayaks and hoped to be able to use them. 

My father in law was waiting for us at the lake house. He had the TV on and told me I could put on whatever I wanted. I replied that we didn't come there to watch TV. Kind of rude of me, but at that point, my frustration level was pretty high. 

And as it turned out, we did watch a lot of TV. He doesn't have cable, so it was slim pickings. We watched Brady Bunch reruns. The French Open. Golf. Rick Bayless, who made some delicious looking Tortas. After dinner, NASCAR came on. I couldn't take it anymore. I noticed that it wasn't raining, so I headed down to the water to take one of the kayaks out. 


The water was like glass. I found myself taking deep breaths and savored the quiet. I paddled around the bay, each stroke cutting the surface on the water and smoothly moving me forward. I stopped paddling and just drifted. After a while, the dark clouds rolled back in and the wind picked up again. I headed back down the channel, feeling much more relaxed. 

It rained all night. This morning, I put on the news. The weather radar showed some breaks in the rain, so I headed out for my 5 miles. Not only did it rain on me, but the wind started to pick up. I raised my fist to the sky, determined not to let the weather get the best of me. Soaked but triumphant, I got my 5 miles done. 

After drying off and warming up in the shower, I decided to take the kayak out again. The sun started to peek through the clouds. It was really windy and I couldn't head out to the bay, so I paddled down the channel. 


Saw this guy sunning on a sunken boat. 


I soon had company. My youngest son was paddling towards me in the other kayak. "Pretty nice, " I commented. He nodded. And asked if we could go home.


Sigh. I completely understood. We all tried to make the best of a bad weekend. There was no complaining. My oldest son forgot his phone charger and his phone died. There's no wifi either. The house is really small and even when the weather cooperates, it's pretty close quarters. 

Still, I'm grateful I was able to spend time with my boys. We had some laughs. We watched some really bad TV. I got a run in. And I got out on the water. 

Mother Nature, you are a formidable foe. But as hard as you tried, you didn't stop me. 

How was your weekend? Mother Nature make other plans for you?

I'm linking this post up with Tara at ReadingNRunning for her Weekend Update! I'm typing this on my phone while we're driving home, so if the post looks weird, you'll know why! 




52 comments :

  1. Sorry you got rained out!!! I'm stuck at work, which is probably best with family drama going on at home. :(

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    1. It's not a bad weekend to be working. Memorial Day weather is never good, but this was brutal. I"m glad to be home.

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  2. Your first kayak looks so wonderful and peaceful.
    It's always a bit of a bummer when the weather doesn't cooperate on a long weekend, but you certainly made the best of it!

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    1. I needed that so badly after sitting inside with the TV on all day. To me, that's the worst way to pass the time.

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  3. Like you, I can't stand being stuck inside in front of a TV! I spent a lot of time working in the yard and relaxing in my swing. It was windy here but I made the most of it - sadly no water skiing though. I love your kayaks. That would be awesome fun.

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    1. I can't wait to get back out there! I've wanted one for so long.

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  4. YAY for kayaking on quiet water. I am for getting on the water whenever possible! Glad you made the best of less than ideal circumstances.

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    1. I loathe watching TV, so it was like a torture treatment for me. I hope our weather gets better!

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  5. at least you were all able to make the best out of a bad weekend. sometimes it's worth it for the family time!

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    1. I agree! And it could have been worse--we could have been camping in a tent!

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  6. Glad you were able to make the most out of your trip, despite the circumstances. It looks like it was a pretty place to kayak! Hope you had safe travels back!

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    1. It's a really pretty lake. I'm hoping that this weather we're having isn't a sign of things to come for the summer.

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  7. Ha you've ran in way worse than that! Glad you were able to salvage some of your weekend. It was gorgeous here all weekend and the pools are finally open.

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    1. I keep hoping for "gorgeous". We're home and it's sunny but it's windy! I think it's going to be one of "those" summers.

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  8. Oh, man! It stinks when you plan something like a trip and then the weather gets in the way. Good for you for making the best of it, and getting a little bit of quality time with the boys. While I new no WIFI and a dead phone is just about the worst disaster ever to a teenager, maybe it was for the best in some way?

    Here's hoping for a great week for you!

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    1. I'm impressed that there was NO complaining. I complemented both of them on that. They were really good sports. I think because we stayed home Saturday and they got to hang out with their friends. Compromise is a beautiful thing.

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  9. Sorry the weather wasn't the best for you! But it looks like you made the most of it anyway :)

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    1. What else can you do? But I won't lie, it was tough not to beg my husband to leave.

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  10. I love kayaking, as least you were able to enjoy some of that. Cute little turtle :)

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  11. Sorry to hear your weekend didn't go as planned. At least you were able to spend it w family. I had to work so no fun here.

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    1. Not much you can do about the weather except make the best of it, right? At least we weren't camping.

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  12. I love kayaking, paddle boarding... glad you got some peaceful time in on the water.... when you get a little time for yourself, everything else ends up being fine..

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  13. Ugh, getting rained out is never any fun! It sounds like you all were able to make the best of the situation though.

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  14. aw man! but at least you made the most of the situation. that's really all you can do and you got to spend some time with family, which is most important really.

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    1. That was my thinking. I love time with my boys, no matter what!

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  15. Too bad you got rained out - but cheers to you for looking on the bright side of things.

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  16. Great job not letting nature beat you! Glad you got out and both kayaked ran! I wouldn't have let nature stop me either! :)

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  17. Bummer! Sorry you didn't have the best weekend and had crappy TV! Sounds like you made the best of it and at least got out on the water a couple times and got in a run. We were going to take our kids out on their horses Saturday but it rained, it was rather cool and cloudy all weekend, but yesterday was beautiful and then of course the kids didn't want to ride.

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    1. Isn't that always the way with kids? They don't realize how important it is to take advantage of a great day!

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  18. Too bad about the rain but it seemed like you still had fun on the kayak!

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  19. Damn. I, too, have raised my fist to the sky before! Making the best out of a bad situation can be good family memories too, though. I hate running in the wind.

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    1. I'm still stunned at how they just sucked it up and didn't complain! Puts a huge smile on my face!

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  20. Ugh...the rain! I'm so glad you had a great weekend, in spite of all that, Wendy. I love the turtle! For some reason, I really love seeing this little guys (and gals!) out on the road, the lake, the river, etc. I think they are so fascinating! Thanks so much for linking up with the blog and I hope you have a great day!

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    1. My oldest also found a smaller turtle in the yard. He was carrying it around. I should have taken a picture of that one too!

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  21. Take that Mother Nature! You didn't let it get the best of you! I so want a kayak! I was hoping to rent one this weekend but we just didn't. I enjoyed being at the Lake where we were so much! Just something about a large body of water, peaceful.... I do hate you didn't get to enjoy it more and I know all too well about teens forgetting their chargers!

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    1. I'm already in love with my kayak! I can't wait to take it out again. Of course, it's raining again today...

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  22. Too bad you had to run in the rain. I hate that. At least you got some kayaking done. I wanted to go up to the lake yesterday but the forecast was for rain and I stayed home. Well, it didn't rain Boo!

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    1. I'm getting used to running in the rain, since that seems to be the daily theme here lately...

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  23. Well it sounds like you made the most out of the weekend! I can't believe they canceled the parade three days early?! Crazy! Ha, what did your son s think of the Brady Bunch? I haven't seen that in years!

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    1. They've seen it before--they get a kick out of it. It's so corny! but Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Actually we watched the one where Bobby and Oliver thought Sam the butcher was a double agent. Hilarious.

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  24. Mother Nature was good to us in Phoenix! I lovely weekend with golf, pool time and paddle board! WOO HOO!

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    1. Isn't Mother Nature always nice to people in Arizona? I think she doesn't like us Chicagoans. Or Cheeseheads, as we were in Wisconsin...

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  25. I pity Mother Nature Vs Wendy. PITY THE FOOL

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    1. Oh I've got nothing on Mother Nature. She laughs and laughs at me.

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  26. Good for you for trying to make the best of the bad weather. Your kayaks look awesome though and I am sure you will get great use out of them this summer!

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    1. I hope so! I have to figure out how to transport the thing...

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