This week, one of my closest friends had her baby. Talk about exciting! While Lydia Claire and I were there meeting their new, sweet baby boy, I couldn't help but take a trip down memory lane. Just like my friends, a short two years ago Adam and I had no idea what we were getting into. Neither of us knew how to change a diaper, and two years later we've gone pro. I had no clue to how to hold a baby, now I adore slinging my wild toddler over my shoulder and wagging her around upside down- the belly laugh that ensues is my favorite.

Being a parent is one of the strangest, most complicated things I've ever done.
But it's one of the best.
It's filled with complex feelings and emotions---

Some days I simply CANNOT wait for Lydia Claire to finally go down for a nap.
----but then I can't wait for her to get up so we can go get into something new.

Sometimes I NEED Adam to just take her for a little while so I can gather my wits.
----but before I know it, I've scooped her out of his arms.

This time last weekend, I had just gotten back from my first big trip since becoming a parent.
Pre-LC, I traveled lots to run.
Post-LC, not so much.

One day last May, I got the hair brained idea to do a Google search for "Cool Race Medals."
And then my coworker waltzed in to see what I was doing.
We happened upon the COOLEST race medal.
So we registered for the half marathon.
Because we NEEDED it, right?
Pennsylvania in a weekend? Totally doable.

It ended up being another one of those weird complex parent things.
I couldn't wait for a break from real life.
----but I was solo eager to get back to my gal.

In my mind, I just couldn't wait to get back to my runner roots - going somewhere new, running a race with all the crazy runner folks. Aside from that, I needed a break from being Mommy. But when it actually came down to it, I was scared. I didn't want to leave my gal.

May until September is a long time. I had neglected thinking about it; I didn't want to think about leaving my sweet girl.
But then race weekend arrived.
I almost backed out approximately 7 times.
But I did it.
I got in the car and rode for 12 hours.
And then I ran.
And then we came home.
It was a fabulous trip, and I didn't even cry when I FaceTimed my girl! She was having such a good time with her daddy that I couldn't be sad. She had a busy weekend filled with fun, food, and laughter. It was a lot like mine. :)

So, here's the race re-cap of the Bird-In-Hand half marathon in Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania. It wasn't long after eating that we struck out, car pointed south. While we had a blast, we were oh so glad to be home.
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