Simple pleasures

Sometimes I forget just how valuable and rejuvenating even just a few minutes of dedicated quiet "self time" can be. The past week has been pretty nutty, and from the looks of my iCalendar, the coming one will be, too. It's all good stuff - putting in long miles on the trails, road trips for out-of-town races, working with people who have become like family to me, coaching Girls on the Run, dinner plans with friends, promoting REI's upcoming Running Shoe Expo in Seattle (April 14 - come one, come all!), and other life sundries - but it's always daunting to have so many of my waking hours scheduled in advance...particularly on days that start at dawn, and hop from activity to activity until dusk.

Wednesday this week was that kind of day. Early-ish morning run with a great bunch of folks, home for a quick shower and lunch, Girls on the Run practice, check-in meeting with my fellow coaches, then straight to work after that. Except! Except that there was less traffic than expected between my meeting and work, and I wound up with a bonus half hour.


So I seized the opportunity to take a walk (in the evening sunshine!) to one of my favorite spots in Seattle, the Row House Cafe in South Lake Union. I ordered a tasty cup of lentil soup, and soaked up the peace of every minute I spent curled up next to the window. I had some people-watching opportunities and a good book. Absolute bliss, seriously. Long live quiet moments among the loud ones.

(Also, their Pandora station or whatever they were playing - in conjunction with the Shazam app on my phone - introduced me to this lovely little song. It captures well my mood in that moment.)

Road trip tomorrow! Oregon, here we come! More soon.