Orders of Magnitude

Today, I ran 7 miles to achieve a total of 28.8 for the week that began on Sunday and 288 for the year.  Where does it put me?  On Mt Olivett Rd NE just a mile west of where it intersects with McMillian Rd after being Badgersburg Rd.  Somewhere out there in Ohio.  Apparently the town is called Bethesda. 

So is the 28.8 and 288 just a coincidence?  Sure.  But it is pretty cool and one is exactly an order of magnitude higher than the other. 

What does a different order of magnitude make me think about? 

It makes me think about 2000 miles.  It is not an order of magnitude more than I ran last year.  But it is definitely almost an order of magnitude more than I ran just a couple years back.  And the process of reaching 2000 miles is not about necessarily training for a marathon (although I may run one in the fall), but running a little longer on a lot of days.  It is a different type of pressure.  It is not so much about what exactly should I run but instead about “can I get in an hour”.  Just run.

Second, I think about work.  I feel an order of magnitude busier.  I work some more hours.  But the pace of work is a LOT higher.  An order of magnitude?  Not necessarily.  But definitely working very hard.

What about at home?  Are we an order of magnitude busier?  Not necessarily.  But we have a lot going on right at this moment.  More stuff for the 14 year old.  A very busy schedule for the 9 year old with hockey this winter.  Running the 17 year old to 7 auditions in which we were responsible for his travel (Temple in Philadelphia (1), University of Maryland in College Park (1), University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (2), New England Conservatory in Boston (1), Oberlin (1), and Eastman in Rochester (1)) plus making sure he got to three on his own (2 Peabody and 1 more for Oberlin) with Sherry attending a parent session even at one of those.  Then, we have the stress of decisions for both the 14 and 17 year olds for where they will be next year.

What else?  Snow makes things more stressful.  I’d say an order of magnitude there with a whole bunch of snow days and still enough snow on the ground in the street near where we live to make it hard for two cars to pass.

And making dinner has even taken on a new dimension of complication in this time of Joshua and Christopher each having so much to do.

Am I still having fun?  With the exception of the snow, yes.  I love being busy.  I love doing a lot. I still get to teach Sunday school and write.  I still get to see most of the kids’ activities.  But it is tiring.

And I am looking forward to a relaxing vacation at some point.  I don’t often say that, but I am definitely appreciating the idea of a truly relaxing vacation much more than I used to.  I don’t need to “do” on vacation.  I need an order of magnitude less activity.