So glad to have Eric home, finally. 
Even when he’s at work, unreachable and in meetings, just knowing that he’s here in the same town with us, only a mile away, takes a ton of weight off my shoulders and makes me feel whole again.
On the other hand, it feels weird today because I’ve started into the training plan, and what would ordinarily be a running day suddenly wasn’t. I dropped Gabe off at school, and suddenly everything felt off-kilter. I went to the gym (which Karri found amusing: my “rest” day) and did strength work, and then I went on a walk. The morning felt so…long. Not in a good way. I suppose I’ll get used to it. The weights will do me good; I’ve been skimping on them lately, which isn’t great for me. Lifting heavy things is beneficial in so many ways, not least of which will be to strengthen my core for the trails.
Sam’ll get home here in a bit, and I have to haul him right back out to find a book for an upcoming book report. Man, I thought I was doing good, stocking up on a variety of chapter books for him, and now he keeps getting assigned book reports for which none of the books I procured are a match. This time, he has to read a book set either in a city or the country. You’d think that would be easy, but almost every book he has is set squarely in the suburbs, which I think would be stretching the point of the assignment. Meh. I’m also a little aggravated because he’s not a particularly fast or voracious reader, so we get caught in a tough spot with these reports that are due in less than two weeks. Last time, he got chastised for reading a book (Cam Jansen) that the teacher said was beneath the level he should be reading right now. Okay, fair enough, but if he’s to actually be able to finish the book and write a report within the given time frame, it has to apparently be a hard but short book. 
(Or, you know, she could give out a list of upcoming assignments further in advance, so we could be better prepared. Maybe she’s trying to train them to read faster as well as thoroughly?)
In other news, it was warm enough today that I wore a running skirt out for my walk. I got honked at repeatedly. I’m wondering if I should be flattered or whether they were just trying to tell me that, despite the sunshine, March in Wisconsin is in no way the season for bare legs. 
I’m doing this race as my first 50K/ultra in July 2012. I’m so tardy to the party but...
Yeay for warm enough weather to wear your running skirt!
I’m not sure if this is at an appropriate level, but the book From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is urban, and one of my favorites from when I was a kid.
What about something old and rural? As in, set in the renaissance age or something similar to Little House on the Prairie. He might like The Long Winter…or maybe that’ll be too close to reality this year! Good luck!
Goodness. We wouldn’t want a child to read a book “below his level” for a last-minute book report assignment. Why, he might actually enjoy the book and the process, rather than struggling to read fast enough to get the assignment done on time.
Oops, sorry. I hit “submit” by accident before finishing.
My kids all went through periods of reading books at lower reading levels at times when life was stressful for them or when their brains were very busy learning other things. If the end goal of reading education is to produce adults who love to read and who understand what they’re reading, pushing kids to read books that they have to struggle to finish in time (thereby making reading a chore instead of a joy) seems counterproductive.
I second the recommendation of “From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” when Sam’s ready for it. And for rural, you can’t beat “Charlotte’s Web.”
I remember and loved “Mixed-Up Files,” but there’s just no way he could get through it and have a report ready in ten days.
Sam was sad when she told him his other book was too easy, so I tried to assure him that he could read whatever books he wanted around here, just choosing more challenging ones for reports. He hasn’t read another Cam, though. 
He decided he did want a “city” book, so he’s doing “Number the Stars.” Fingers crossed!