Eyebrows and old t-shirts

Seeing as Ethan's mission call didn't come AGAIN in the mail today, I'm finding myself thinking of reasons to be happy today, despite it all. Wouldn't it figure that we would have the storm of the century this week, and then today I would hear on the news that all mail is delayed because the PA Turnpike was closed yesterday. Grrr....

This morning, there was a 2-hour delay for the schools. We LOVE 2-hour delays in our family. It's not a whole day missed that must be made up at the end of the school year, and nobody has to wake up when it's still dark. Around 8 a.m., I woke the kids up, everybody got dressed, we packed lunches and we headed to McDonald's for breakfast. I felt like I owed it to Mark since we didn't make to the free Grand Slam offer at Denny's on Tuesday (at 6 a.m., there was a line out the door). It felt wonderful to finally get out of the house, see my kids BEFORE they are tired from school and activities and look forward to them returning home in only 4 hours.

After dropping all of them off, all at different schools and at different times, I headed to the gym. I love working out. I hate the thought of working out, but once I'm at the gym, I love working out. Seriously, there are few women my age and build that can run as long as I can. I love seeing them get on the treadmill after I do and leave before me (yes, my competitive nature comes out at the gym even). I love getting sweaty. Sweat dripping off my hair, my shirt soaked through, even my arms are wet. The one trouble, however, is sweat running down my face.

Walking into the gym, I already have my hands full. Coat, keys, phone, headphones, water. The last thing I think about taking with me is a towel. About 10 minutes into the workout, I remember that I should have brought a towel. It is then that I'm always grateful that I have eyebrows and old t-shirts.



Eyebrows are ingenious. Have you ever thought about it? I grew up knowing that eyelashes protect eyes from dirt and such, but to what purpose do we have eyebrows? Now I know. They divert the sweat from running directly into your eyes. And when there's too much for them to handle? Old t-shirts.

You know the kind. They are thin and wonderfully comfortable and boxy enough that nobody can tell you had a big breakfast. They absorb everything! Seriously, besides the normal sweat marks on the shirt, I walk out with the most unusual patterns on the arms of my shirts. Sometimes I run in shirts that are the super-duper-wicking material which are great if you want to still look good when you are done working out, but they absorb nothing! The situation kind of reminds me of trying to open a jar of pickles with lotion on your hands. The two ideas just don't mix. Man, I love my old t-shirts.

So, with no mission call today, and no opportunity to be grateful that it came, I'm grateful for my eyebrows and my old t-shirts. Anybody else grateful for some crazy thing today?