He IS a runner already!

I don't recall what prompted the conversation yesterday, but my son's message rang loud and clear and I'm not likely to forget it anytime soon:

He IS a runner ALREADY!!!

I think I was plotting some future races with my husband - discussing whether it is reasonable for him to do a full marathon in the fall (plausible), my conviction to do a half vs. a full in the fall (he votes for me to do a full or even a 50 miler (haha, what a kidder he is)), and how we could line up our training runs. We're dreaming of the days when he can bike along side us while we run (at least for shorter distances)!

I must have said something to the effect of:

"And when you're a runner, you can do that, too."

To which he immediately went off on a rant that only a 3 year-old who is a little over a month shy of his 4th birthday can pull-off (I'm not even sure if he breathed):

"I AM a runner. I like to run! I can run fast, too. Just the other day I ran with you and Dad while (Little Sister) was in the jogger. She's not a runner yet because she's too little, but I AM a runner already because I can run and I can run FAST! I swing my arms and my legs GO! So, Mom, I'm a runner ALREADY!!!"

Message received. The boy is a runner. You can bet I'm not going to stand in his way!

So, this little runner of mine is camping in the backyard tonight. He had high hopes that we'd open up the camper and let him bunk there for the night so he could really dream of our camping excursions for the summer, but he thinks the tent option is okay, too, especially since it is his dad's tent, not his little play tent. We're not sure if he'll really last there tonight (my husband will be out there with him, too, we're not TOTALLY crazy!), but we're giving it our best shot. We filled his day with adventure:
- bike shopping for my mom (she found one!)
- an 8 mile bike ride on his tag-along with my husband with my parents on their tandem (meanwhile, I ran 5 miles with Little Sis in the jogger)
- yard time
- a 1 mile walk home from dinner at my parents'

So this boy is BOUND to sleep, right? Especially since this is his first week with only 1 nap (prior to this we were at an average of 4 naps/week). So far he's been out there for 45 minutes - after about 30 he dismissed his dad saying, "You've been out here long enough. You can go. But be sure to come back when it is your bedtime."

I just heard the back door open and his little voice chirping something about getting a drink. I'm not sure of my husband's location, so he might be back in the tent. I should probably fetch his pillow for him, because he might just end up there permanently until morning. Not quite like his treasured camping experiences of his youth, the Boy Scout that he was and the adventurous high schooler and college boy that he became . . . but it is the first "camping" that he's even had a chance to think about this spring, and he's passing his torch of love for camping down to our son, so I think he's fine with whatever tonight brings. Let's hope!

Of course we spent most of yesterday preparing his bedroom with blackout curtains to keep the sun from keeping him up until 9:30 and waking him up at 5AM . . . and what do we do now that his room is a total bear cave? We have him sleep OUTSIDE. Smart? Ah, well, that's the fun of a long weekend, I suppose!

So . . . here's to an adventure-filled weekend and the possibilities that come with going with the flow!

And here's to all of you for not judging me or my writing based on the amazing number of run-on sentences and lack of flow in tonight's post. It has been a LONG (but good!) day and I'm thrilled to still have my eyes open.