Kid Dates

This month I've been taking my sister's kids on one-on-one "dates." They get to pick the activities and get input into where we eat lunch (though I have final call on lunch; you can only eat at Chick-Fil-A so many times). I've enjoyed spending time with them individually and it's been interesting to see what they choose to do on our date. Plus, I swear that these guys are better dates than most men I've gone out with!

First was my date with six-year-old E, who had been studying Martin Luther King, Jr., in school and wanted to go see the new MLK memorial here in Washington, DC. He also wanted to take the metro there. My sister dropped him off at my house and we took the metro downtown, then still had a bit of a hike (for a six-year-old, anyway) to get to the memorial, which is on the southern rim of the Tidal Basin. It was a chilly but gloriously sunny winter day.


I had given E some gum during the walk there, which he then proceeded to use to make a snaggle tooth every time I took his picture. That kid is the epitome of silliness!

After the memorial, we went to the Natural History Museum, where we got lunch and visited several fun exhibits: skeletons/bones, the insect museum, and the butterfly house. The butterfly house is a smallish rectangular room filled with hundreds of colorful butterflies and moths flitting all around and resting on the flowering bushes lining a winding center path. Magical! One even landed briefly on E's head, which thrilled him to no end.


Next came five-year-old J, who originally wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese to play before having lunch at Famous Dave's. Luckily, my sister talked him out of Chuck-E-Cheese (my love for these kids only goes so far), and instead we went ice skating. It was J's first time on the ice and he actually did pretty well. I can barely ice skate myself, so we wobbled around the rink for about 30 minutes before he said he was getting tired and wanted to take a break (which really meant stop skating and do something else). He thought it would be a good idea to try roller skating next, before ice skating again.



We had lunch at Wendy's (J's choice), then I suggested we go to a movie. I showed J trailers for some kid movies on my phone and he chose to see Beauty and the Beast (in 3D!). In spite of the scary parts, he said he liked the movie. Afterwards, we cozied up with some hot chocolate to round out the afternoon.


Last weekend it was my three-year-old niece's turn. She wanted to go to the farm. Again, we had lots of sun and slightly warmer temps--perfect for being outside and looking at animals. She loved climbing up on the fences to look at the sheep, horses, goats, and cows, and she ran (not walked) from place to place.


We played on the playground at the farm for awhile, where she insisted that we talk like pirates. Aarrrgh, matey! She also said such heart-meltingly-sweet things during the morning as, "You're my favorite aunt," and "We're best friends." Aawwww....

When it was time for lunch, I suggested the Silver Diner--a 1950s-style diner with jukeboxes on each table--as an alternative to Chick-Fil-A. Luckily, she is adventurous and agreed. Her exact words were, "Well, I haven't been to the Silver Diner so we can try it." Thank goodness!

After lunch, we tried to go to the play area at the mall but it was closed for cleaning, so instead we got some nail polish--she picked out bright orange--at the CVS and went home, where I painted her nails. Gorgeous!


I sure do love these kid dates!

2012 Goal

Following up on my last post, evaluating how well I did with my 2011 NYRs, I thought I'd post my big goal for 2012. I'm calling this a goal instead of a resolution because it's something specific I want to accomplish, as opposed to a lifestyle change or something I need to work on.

(Food for thought, readers: What's the difference between a resolution and goal? Do you set resolutions or goals or both? Do you approach them differently?)

My goal is to ride a century (100 miles) on my bike in 2012. Riding a century is for cyclists what completing a marathon is for runners. It's the ultimate achievement (for us amateurs, at least), the Holy Grail of the sport that pushes the levels of your endurance to the max. It requires focus and training to be able to ride a century, not to mention a lot of calories!

There are many organized centuries in this area throughout the summer and into the fall, so I'm sure I won't have trouble finding the opportunity. Last year, I came very close to riding a metric century, which is 100 km or 62 miles. A metric century is sometimes considered to be a benchmark on the path to riding a century. My longest ride last year was 60 miles (read about it on my health and fitness blog), and although it was challenging because I was riding with a bunch of overachieving speed demons, I was in shape enough to do the ride.

With many rides of 40+ miles under my belt, I am confident I can ride a century this summer. I'm motivated by the idea of pushing my limits and achieving something I hadn't previously considered or thought possible. There's no better feeling in the world than realizing that you've done something you didn't think you could do.

After riding 100 miles, what will my next goal be? Riding the RAGBRAI? Riding across the state or across a large swath of the country? Or how about this awesome-sounding cycling trip around the South Island in New Zealand? The sky's the limit!