Just when I was having a good day

Today my mood was finally back up. Several good things happened today.... until my run.

I didn't have to go to school early this morning because our schedule is all screwy this week and next. The seniors are taking their final exams, and a few of the classrooms are being used as testing sites only. Since we don't have any extra classrooms, the school day has been doubled -- junior high and high school classes at regular times but in the elementary classrooms, and the younger grades in their rooms after that. Each day's schedule is a surprise. Gotta love flexibility!

With that extra time this morning, I had an extra cup of coffee.

One of my little sweeties gave me a bouquet of snapdragons and roses.

Dance class was a little short, so I was able to catch the earlier marshutka to town to run some errands. I thought that I was going to have to go straight from dance class to town and rush around to get my errands done before the last marshutka left for Shamgona, but class ended a little early, so I got to town a bit earlier than expected. With more time to spend in town, I found two new books to read at the library -- The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos and All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. I love having new books to read.

When I came back from town, I cracked Tea up so hard, she was crying and almost fell on the floor. (I love making her laugh!) I was imitating how ridiculously bouncy and rocking our "new" marshutka is -- it is taller than some of the other ones, making it top-heavy. Needless to say, it doesn't handle the bumps very well. So, I showed Tea how everyone looked bouncing and jostling around, and how they looked trying to walk down the aisle while the vehicle was still in motion -- she was dying of laughter!

Tea's cousin Zaza came by today to invite us to go with him to Svaneti tomorrow. Svaneti is one of the places in Georgia that I have been wanting to see, but it is not easily accessible in the winter. Now that it has been warmer for a while, the road will be passable up in the mountains. I get to travel again with Tea and Koba, and Zaza and Teona (Tea's sister) are coming, too. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful regions in the country.

All the good things that were swirling around in my mind while I ran came crashing down around me when I stopped to talk to Eka. I haven't seen her for a couple of months, and she said to me, "You got fat!" And she pinched my cheek. Not cool. I'm already hating the way I look right now, and that was the last thing I needed to hear. All I want to do when I get home is run and ride and run some more -- then go climbing -- and detox my body and eat whole-grain foods and veggies -- no sugar, no oil, no fried anything, no white bread, no full-fat cheese or yogurt -- back to my preferred diet. I really wanted to punch her in the face for saying something so rude -- but for Georgians, saying something like that is not considered rude. Instead of showing how upset her comment made me, I ignored it and asked her how her university classes are going. But the comment stuck like a burr in my mind. For the rest of my run, I kept telling myself that I can lose the weight I have gained once I go home. Grrrrrrr.