Running with Riley

Saturday morning, I decided to try out my new jogging stroller (compliments of my fabulous sister-in-law, Stephanie!) and take Riley on my run. I had run 6.2 miles Friday and it was 9:30 a.m. when we left (for those of you not in the South, it's already pretty hot by then!); there were no expectations that this would be a long or a fast run.

The time with Riley, however, was priceless!

As we left the neighborhood and I began to run, he immediately shouted, "Whoa, Mom! I need to put my seatbelt on! We're going fast!" A pretty good boost to the confidence, I'll admit. The county roads in Winston County need some attention and it wasn't long before he began "aaaawww"-ing to make his voice vibrate. "Mom, it's bumpy!"

*Note: Here I have to interject and point out that I have recently become "Mom" rather than "Mama." With this change, he also feels he needs to add it to the beginning or end of every sentence.

About 1/2 mile from the neighborhood, he'd already had enough. "Mom, I'm ready to go to the house." When I explained we were going a little further before we turned around, he settled in and began his (almost constant!) chatter.

Some excerpts:

"Mom, are we going to Gran and Granny's?" (That's about 30 miles - I think not!)

"Look! It's a digger....Catch it, Mom! I wanna ride it!" (A truck passed us pulling a backhoe)

"Mom, there's trash on the ground."

With this comment, I knew I had been given the opportunity to teach Riley about litter. I explained that we should NEVER throw things out the window onto the ground because it was God's world and when we did this, it made Him very sad. Throwing trash on the ground made it hard for all of His creatures to eat and breath, so we need to help take care of the beautiful world He gave us by not littering. The solution I provided was that we just keep our trash until we get home and then throw it in the garbage can. Later that evening, Riley began to tell his Daddy about the conversation and got the details a little confused...

"We don't throw God in the garbage can, 'cause that will make Him sad."

Oh, my funny boy!

So, I only made it about 1 1/2 miles running with Riley, but we got in another 1 1/2 miles talking and enjoying the beautiful (although warm!) day! I hope the lesson on litter will stick with him for years to come...it's one of the saddest things I see on my runs.