Morning, friends! Happy new week, and happy belated Mother’s Day – I hope that those of my friends who were celebrating had a good time showering the mother figures in your lives with love, and if you’re moms or mother figures yourselves, I hope that you were pampered as you deserve! Steve worked his butt off and pulled out all of the stops to give me a good day, and I felt very loved and appreciated.

Rewinding – vacation week is behind me now, and it felt good to take a pause and a breath between jobs. I got out paddling twice – not as much as I had wanted, thanks to the weather, but better than nothing; on my second paddling day I saw three gorgeous great blue herons, and two hawks diving for fish – pretty cool. Later in the week I made an impromptu trip up to my parents’ house to get in a visit to my grandmother. It wasn’t a planned trip, but it was good to get there and to see a few people (my grandmother most especially). Rather than deal with the production of traveling with the whole family, I just brought Nugget with me, and he had a good time basking in all the grandparent attention. (I hear that Peanut enjoyed having Daddy all to herself for a few days, too!) Although it was a very quick trip, I managed a long visit to my grandmother and a wine evening with a family friend, and Nugget got to show his grandparents how his bike riding is coming along. (He now does tricks. Every one takes a few months off my life.) We drove back on Saturday and arrived home around lunchtime, then spent the afternoon bumming around the house. We were supposed to kayak with friends, but the weather was cold and rainy – so no go.

On Mother’s Day I woke up early and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I decided to lace up my running shoes and bang out a 5K. I’d registered myself for a local 5K with a virtual option, and signed Nugget up for the 1K kids’ fun run, and the deadline to get ‘er done was Saturday – but I figured one day late still counted. I ran the first 4K on my own and was pleased to find that my legs still remembered what to do even after weeks of being too busy to run (I know, I know). I swung back to the house and picked Nugget up for the final 1K and we finished the race together; he’s the best running buddy ever. After our race, Steve went out and picked up smoked salmon for brunch – yum – which he presented alongside my gift: an electric air pump to make inflating my stand-up paddleboard easier. Sounds weird, but was the perfect present for me. After brunch, we headed out for a hike at Seneca Regional Park. Lots of fresh air; just what I wanted. I spent the afternoon hanging around and reading, and then everyone treated me to takeout. All in all, a good day, and a good weekend!

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Reading. You can tell I was on vacation last week, huh? It was quite the reading week – although heavily front-loaded. I finished The Geography Reader, Vol. I, the latest issue of Slightly Foxed, and Rhubarb Rhubarb: A Correspondence Between a Hopeless Gardener and a Hopeful Cook all on Monday. All excellent and absorbing, but I enjoyed Rhubarb Rhubarb most; I flew through it in one sitting. After that, I felt a guilty pull toward my library stack, and spent the week over The Last Mrs. Summers (good fun, and a nod to one of my favorite classics – Rebecca) and The Other Bennet Sister, which I liked but didn’t love. Ended Sunday night curled up on the couch with Spring, from Melissa Harrison’s quartet of seasonal anthologies; I can already say I’m enjoying it as much as I did Winter – so, very much. Next up I think I’ll have to return to the library stack, as I am out of renewals on Lucy Foley’s The Guest List.

Watching. Almost done with Secrets of the Whales from NatGeo; we’re into the final episode – on sperm whales – now. The episode features my favorite marine biologist, Dr. Asha de Vos (and yes, Steve and the kids think it’s hilarious that I have a favorite marine biologist) and I am anxiously awaiting her appearance. Nugget and I also watched a family favorite – The Sandlot – with Nana and Grandad on Friday night.

Listening. Mostly, I listened to a succession of movies on the iPad, which entertained Nugget while I drove to and from my parents’ house. Also a bit of music; not much. Hoping to get my attention back so I can finish my audiobook one of these days.

Making. Conversation, lots of it – with my parents, family friend, Steve (always) and my grandmother; although the last was mostly me delivering a lecture about whales. (What? My dad told me to tell Grandmother about some upcoming travel plans, which obviously involve whales because I have to be me.)

Moving. I’m glad to report that I am finally getting my running mojo back, I think. On Wednesday I drove over to Riverbend for a solo trail run, which was lovely – except that I saw a (harmless) snake on the trail and after that, every stick was a snake. I’m not afraid of snakes, but I have a healthy respect for them and don’t want to step on one. Obviously. And then on Sunday, I banged out a 5K at a decently fast (for me) pace despite having not run for weeks as I wrapped up my old job. Pretty pleased with that, and it’s always fun to run with Nugget. Oh, and my mom and I took a long walk along the riverfront in Albany on Friday, while Nugget and my dad rode bikes. Not a particularly challenging workout (we had plenty of oxygen left to discuss mystery novels, the British royal family, and how much we love President Biden – so we weren’t exactly breaking a sweat) but all steps are good steps.

Blogging. Bookish week coming atcha! I have my belated April reading round-up for you on Wednesday, and a Classics Club review on Friday. Check in with me then!

Loving. It’s the Monday after Mother’s Day, so I am thinking about how fortunate I am to be surrounded by loving, supportive, and special women – not only my mom and grandmother, of course, but also aunts, family friends who have been like mothers to me, and female mentors. And then there are dear friends who have mothered my kids, and my cousin and other friends who have become mothers recently. And of course, I felt so loved and cherished – not least because Steve worked so hard to give me a special day. It’s been a hard year for all of us, and it was just so nice to feel appreciated (by Steve, at least! ha!).

Asking. What are you reading this week?