Well, it turns out that running at 6:30am in January is crazy cold. News flash! Not. But the early mornings with Ramona have been amazing. If I'm not staying over because her folks are at work, I've started to swing by and grab her so they can go back to bed for an hour. Run for me, nap for them. Win-win.
She gets a full body fleece suit, then zipped up in a sleeping bag and bundled in a hat, in her stroller, while I wear shorts and a tshirt and, if I'm smart, gloves. We start in the dark, go 2 or 3 miles out, and come back. She sings. I sweat and swear and hurt. I watch her watching the world as it wakes up, notice the cars going by, see the birds flying.
When we get back to the intersection of Rosa Parks and Interstate, the sky has lightened and the sunrise has begun. We stare in awe, my tiny neice and I. Her cheeks are as cold as my legs, and when I bend to kiss her she smiles. We go half a mile farther than planned. It's colder than anything, yes. But it's totally worth it.
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