Letting it settle

I’m writing this in the Rassie Wicker parking lot, giving my pimento cheese sandwich and Coke a few minutes to settle before I start running. Ron is keeping Claire and he likes to do these long stretches that let me get in a respectable run plus a good chunk of writing or editing time. Love these grandparents who can't get enough of their grandbabies -- and the free time that means for me.

It's amazing how my definition of a "respectable" run has evolved since I had a baby. There was a time, and it wasn't that long ago, that I said to someone in all seriousness, "If you can't run for at least 45 minutes, you might as well not bother." I ran five miles the night before Claire was born. These days, a slowish four-ish-miler is my norm. It's harder to run while pushing a stroller than it was to run at 38 weeks pregnant -- even in the middle of summer.

On another topic, I have gotten so much use out of this “mobile inverter” -- a little adapter that lets me plug in things in my car. I bought it out of desperation on our way home from Maryland last fall when, somewhere between Baltimore and Pinehurst, I required the assistance of my electric breast pump.

It's one of those things you don't realize until it matters, but most restaurant bathrooms don't have electrical outlets. (The prospect of pumping in a public bathroom wasn't that appealing, but pumping while driving down Interstate 95 at 80 mph was a little bizarre too.) (I was not personally driving.) After striking out at a few restaurants we gave in and stopped at a Best Buy.

That’s the only time the adapter’s been used for breast pumping, but I use it all the time as my cell phone’s car charger, since I don’t have a real car charger. And right now I’m using it to keep my laptop alive. Quite a handy little device.