Stress, stress, and more stress

Sometimes being a grown-up blows.  I think back to being a kid when my biggest stress involved deciding what cartoon to watch after school (Duck Tales or Tale Spin or Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, so many choices) and I miss that carefree time.  No bills, no job stress, no gnarly commutes, no real sadness, just innocence, optimism, and living in the little bubble that was my world.  I don't mean to wax poetic, I am just feeling a bit nostalgic and truthfully, a little overwhelmed.

I alluded last week to the fact that someone I love dearly is going through a tough time and I didn't mean to be cryptic, but I also wasn't quite ready to share.  My dad is having some health problems and while there are some indications that things are somewhat better (at least superficially), I am not sure what the long-term outcome will be and it is a bit overwhelming and stressful.

I don't think I've ever felt more like an adult in my life; it's quite a culture shock when you are used to your parents caring for you and you have to switch gears and take care of them.  There is a lot of information to process with the added complication of not living in the same town (or state for that matter) as my Dad.  I didn't blog last night, because all I wanted to do when I got home was curl into a ball and go to sleep and I did just that.  My awesome hubby took the boys downstairs, fed them dinner, bathed them, and got them to bed, so I could go to sleep.  It felt good to get some extra sleep and that always seems to give me a better outlook on things.  

The other thing that helps me get a little perspective is running and unfortunately, I haven't been able to run since Monday due to old man Winter making his presence known.  We got probably another 5 or so inches of snow and today, it has also been incredibly cold.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder, so I'm hoping to go to the Rec Center on my lunch break to get in some cross-training on the elliptical.  I didn't make it out for a long run (or any run) over the weekend, but I did go for a run on Monday and got 3.5 miles in, which felt good. 

I have been stress eating a little bit, but certainly not to the extent I normally would.  I did have a Pepsi at lunch today and a cookie from Bread Co., but I refrained from a Pepsi at dinner (I ordered it, but before the server could walk away, I changed my order to a water.  I was good!), which I considered a small victory.  I have really been trying to watch my soda intake and have been doing really good.  I try to only have a Pepsi once a week or so and last week, I had one on Friday and one on Saturday.  Sometimes I don't really have much of an appetite and other times, I'm ravenous, so I just need to be mindful of what I'm putting in my stomach when those hungry episodes come around. 

I have the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge Run on Saturday, so I am really looking forward to that!  It will be a neat experience to run across the new bridge to Illinois before it opens to vehicular traffic.  I'm hoping that some of this snow melts and that the temperatures are a little warmer on Saturday.  I'm not picky; I'd settle for the 30's at this point. 

Do you have any races on the calendar this weekend? 

"Worry less, run more."