The Flan Incident

Life throws curveballs.  No doubt about it.  I suppose it would be boring if it wasn't like that - if we knew what would happen every day, and it was the same as the day before, that would be torture.  It's good to have a little variety once in awhile.  A little bit of a challenge.  To a point...

When I woke up yesterday, I could not have predicted I would be running with flan at the end of the day.  That would have never crossed my mind.  But that's what happened.  Observe.

I went on a long run about a week ago, and slightly injured my left foot.  So I haven't been out for a run in about 5 days.  So I was itching to continue my regimine yesterday.  I woke up and got ready to go.  I had a staff meeting at lunch time, and some fighting on the playground for dessert.

So, when I finally made it home around 5:00, I was a little exhausted and a little fed up.  I was ready to put my aching foot up and relax.  I was greeted at the door by 5 smiling faces, and a little song and dance number besides. :) I was told we were having takeout mexican for dinner, which suited me just fine, but then I wanted to make sure I got a run in, or I'd feel too guilty.  So I went and picked up the food, but when I got back it was pushing 5:30.

So, the forgot the side of sour cream.  That's okay, but we did pay for it so I wanted to go back and get it.  We fed the kids, but I wanted to wait to eat until I ran, so I didn't run with a belly full of rice and beans (not a good throw up combination).  So around 6:30 I took off out the door for a run.

On the way, I thought I'd go ahead and pick up the sour cream.  The restaurant was very nice, but I was in a hurry.  When the guy came out with the sour cream, he also had a to-go container.  I gave the perfunctory "no, that's okay, you didn't have to do that, etc..." but then he was gone.  And I was holding a flan.

What do you do?  I don't want to waste the flan.  So I picked up the dog's leash and started back toward home, running at a 25 minute mile pace (a little ahead of my normal time!).  How did I get here?  I'm sure if anyone saw me I was a little peculiar.  "He went for a run: great!  He got take-out while he was running? - not so great" they would say as I passed by.

But by that point, with custard sloshing about so much it was running down my arm, I was not going to waste this flan.  I was not going to be another wasteful American - I was an ingenious pioneer American who took what life threw him and made the best of it. I was running with the flan.

When I got back it was basically sloshed around so much it was soup, and most of that had run out the sides of the container.  So it was a waste.  But I had never felt so alive.