Father/Son Getaways & Turning 40

Jerry and Warren are off on their annual father/son weekend. Every Labor Day since Jerry was two or three they take a trip together. It was first recommended by our marriage counselor as a way to give me some time to myself. Oh how I looked forward to Labor Day weekend each year when Jerry was little! Last year, for the first time they invited me to come along--that was when we went to San Francisco. But this year they're on their own in San Diego. They sent me this photo from a Devo concert at the Del Mar Race Track. Devo!And what have I been doing with my weekend alone? I've been sewing curtains for the room we're renting out, reading, having dinner and a way too much wine with my neighbor. I went to see the new Woody Allen movie, Vicky Christina Barcelona, which I loved. Oh, and I was privileged to attend the 93rd birthday of my friend Sol, the man that I volunteer for on Saturday mornings.I went over before the party to help set up and then went to pick up his 97-year-old friend, Thelma. In fact, it was on Thelma's recommendation that I went to see the Woody Allen movie. The party was really nice. I met the two other women that read for him (he has macular degeneration so he can't read to himself anymore) and I think I may become good friends with one of them, which is good because my friends tend to leave Los Angeles faster than I can make new ones (could it be me?).

Today I'll finish making the curtains, clean the extra bathroom (oh joy) and maybe go see another movie. I might go for a good long walk with our dog Patsy, too. And I might even go buy myself some running shoes. This would be completely out of character for me because I have long held the belief that a person should only run if they are being chased by someone intending to do them harm. However, the clock is ticking. My 40th birthday is less than two months away and that calls for drastic action.

I took drastic action number one last week when I bought myself new skincare products. Yes, I now have a grown up woman's skincare regimen. I don't know what I was waiting for--more wrinkles, I guess--because at 39 I think it's safe to say I've been a grown up woman for a number of years now. I guess I'm a little slow.

Why should running be drastic action number two? Umm, I don't know, really. Maybe it's the Murakami book I just started, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. But also I think it might be that I'm in the mood to challenge myself. When we were in New Zealand I met a couple who had just completed a triathlon. That seems like something I could never do in a million years, (my first question to the woman was "Did you cry?") so I'm wondering if maybe I should try it. I'm going to start off by seeing if I can run for more than thirty seconds at a time and I'll just go from there. I'm not saying I'm going to run a triathlon, mind you. I'm just saying I might try running and then I might try swimming and then maybe I'll try biking and if I feel good about all of them eventually I might try doing them all in a row with a bunch of other people. Maybe.