Back when Sam and I started the blog in 2012, two years prior to our 50th birthdays, we had the modest objective of tracking our road to 50, with the goal of being the fittest we’d ever been in our lives by the time we got there. We expected it to be a two-year project. We thought we would wind down the blog when we turned 50. And here we are, 12 years later.
As anyone who has been following the blog for awhile knows, Sam is prolific. I’m always in awe of how she comes up with things to write about, week-in, week-out. One of her signature approaches when we started was to write “six-things” posts. For example, “Six Things I Love about Aikido and Six Things I Struggle with” from the second month of the blog. The longevity of the approach has proven itself. See her “Six Things Sam Wants to Blog about.”
Sam is also a big fan of gratitude, and so am I. So here are my Six Things that Make Me Grateful for Samantha in My Life:
We are like-minded in so many ways, but just different enough that I keep on learning from her. When I say we are like-minded, it is hard to capture the extent to which this is true. From our philosophical sensibilities to our basic sense of academic values, from our commitment to family to our appreciation of a good sleep…more often than not I don’t have to explain myself to Sam because she already gets it.
Picking up on this, we have an ongoing conversation that we pick up and drop and pick up again, about little things and important things. It started about 31 years ago and has never stopped. Without that conversation, we would not have landed on the blog idea, the fittest by 50 challenge idea, or the Fit at Mid-Life book idea. I am grateful for the ongoing conversation and the many years of friendship that has made it possible.
Her energy for keeping the momentum of the blog going for so long. I am so grateful to have been a part of the co-founding of this wonderful community. But it’s obvious that Sam is the main driver behind the blog’s success. Because of her efforts, we have an amazing group of regular bloggers, many subscribers on various social media platforms, and have built something that we can all truly be proud to be a part of.
The opportunity to co-author with her. I have never in my life enjoyed any writing project as much as I enjoyed writing Fit at Mid-Life with Sam. We spent a few days at the Banff Centre together to write the proposal. And while writing the book, we literally used our writing sessions as breaks from work. We went to an on-campus lounge, opened up our laptops to the shared google document, and wrote together.
Her patience, care, optimism, and sense of adventure and fun, all of which combined to get me to try triathlon, to learn how to ride a road bike with clipless pedals, and formulate my fittest by 50 goal of completing an Olympic distance triathlon (I did two!).
She is practical and has integrity. It isn’t easy to be a dean, and it wasn’t easy to be a department chair. Sam does lots of things that are not super easy, and I’ve learned a lot from watching her do them.
I should add a bonus thing, which is that because of the blog and the book and our friendship, one of my favourite photo shoots ever was the one Sam and I did together with Ruth Kivilathi. It yielded some amazing photos that always lift my spirits when I look at them. So I’ll end with that. Photo credit in all the photos below goes to Ruth.
Looking forward to Sam’s party this afternoon — another talent of hers is bringing people together!
Image desciption: Collage arrangment of four photos of Sam and Tracy. Top left: Tracy leaning on Sam’s shoulder, Sam on her bike, both wearing sunglasses, slight smiles. Top right: Sam and Tracy talking to each other, white background, room divider in the background. Bottom left: Low angle shot of Tracy and Sam in an urban setting, Sam on her bike. Bottom right: Sam with bike and Tracy sitting on a ledge in front of an industrial, red brick building. Photo credit: Ruth Kivilahti.
It’s Sam’s Birthday Week! Some of the FIFI Bloggers, in no particular order, want to celebrate Sam and wish her a very happy 60th birthday!
Mina:
I can not choose one post of Sam’s as a favorite or most iconic. For me it is the consistent curiosity and resilience that threads through every post that is the force and grace of Sam. Happy Birthday!
Amy:
My favorite posts by Sam are her aspirational travel posts and/or lists of where she hopes to travel. These posts inspire me to think more about the adventures I want to undertake. Even knowing where to find some of the information for these experiences is half the battle, and it’s nice to not have to look so hard when Sam is sharing her plans.
Savita:
In 2013, the Western News published an article about two feminist philosophers who set a challenge for themselves to be the fittest they’d ever been by the time they turned 50. Being a colleague of theirs at Western and one year younger, I was intrigued by their feminist perspective on fitness. As a scientist in a mostly male discipline, I didn’t get a lot of feminism in my daily work life (things have changed a bit since then). So I contacted Sam and Tracy and we went out for lunch and chatted about their challenge and their new blog, Fit, Feminist and (almost) Fifty. The feminist perspective really opened my eyes to other women’s experiences with their bodies, nutrition, in the gym, on the bike and other exercise arenas. I invited both of them to give a presentation to our endocrinology/diabetes residents, and wrote an article about swimming for their new blog, and so began a relationship with Sam and Tracy and their blog that’s lasted 11 years. I love what they’ve accomplished with their blog and book, and their journey has also been empowering for me and has also changed my thinking about exercise and nutrition. After several guest blogs, I accepted Sam’s invite to participate in the FIFI community, and it’s inspired me to keep a fitness journal and to join a swimming community on Facebook! Thanks, Sam, for your energy, enthusiasm and inspiration, and happy 60th!!
Natalie:
What I appreciate the most about Sam is that she is an expert nerd herder. She convenes get togethers, rides and general silliness. She understands the value of exercising with friends. She helped me go from not cycling at all to a little 20 km with friends. I was so nervous but she knew exactly who to invite so I had a good time. What a gift.
I hope she continues to have people in her life that do some of the convening.
Bettina:
I came across Fit is a Feminist Issue pretty randomly one day, but stuck around reading for some time. The way Sam (and the others) wrote and thought about fitness gave me a whole new perspective and when I mustered the courage to ask if I could write Sam was so kind! I don’t know her in person but I always appreciate her drive, generosity and will never cease to be in awe of how she handles her big job, running the blog, and doing about a million other things. Wishing you loads more of that energy, Sam!!
Kim:
I joined the blog in 2012 after moving to the uk for work and taking up cycling in a serious way. I didn’t know Sam or Tracy super well, but as soon as I reached out to ask about contributing posts from my 2013 London to Paris charity bike ride they were welcoming and supportive like you wouldn’t believe. I became a regular contributor and they supported me again when I started my teaching blog, The Activist Classroom. Sam retweeted and liked and reblogged my AC stuff all the time, encouraging me forward; and when I got back to Canada she welcomed me into her riding community warmly and introduced me to Cate, Susan, and Sarah, all of whom are now close friends. Sam has had a huge impact on me personally and professionally as I enter the full on midlife years (50 next month!) and I’m super, super grateful. Love you Sam!
Nicole:
From the time I sent Sam my first idea for a post, as a guest blogger in 2019, to now, I have always appreciated Sam’s welcome approach. When I sent that first request to Sam in 2019, I felt I had something to say (about fitness and feminism) but I wasn’t sure I was a “writer”. I still have my doubts, but having Sam welcome me to the blog as a regular writer helped me feel I had something worthwhile to say, regardless of my status as a writer.
Also, as a person with lifelong doubts about my academic prowess, it has buoyed me to know that I am welcome amongst this esteemed group of philosophers and academics. I don’t think I can pick one post. I appreciate Sam’s commitment to her own fitness, through physical challenges (knee surgeries) and busy Dean-ing and looking after her family. Sam’s post are always balanced, open-minded, while sticking to her main theses that fitness should be available to all. I have no doubt that I will continue to enjoy Sam’s posts for however long she chooses to blog.
Of course, I also appreciate Sam’s continuous ability to keep all the bloggers organized. She is always there to respond to a question and I am not sure how she does it with her busy schedule.
Thanks, Sam!
Tracy:
My favourite post from Sam is the one she wrote way way back called “Fat, Fit, and What’s Wrong with BMI.” I feel as if that post helped to define the blog’s direction really early on. I also think now’s a good time to acknowledge the amazing talent Sam has of keeping this blog rolling on a daily basis, despite that she is keeping a zillion other things rolling along at the same time. I’m always in awe, and feel an immeasurable amount of gratitude and good fortune that our birthdays are so close together, that our conversation about “these issues” has been so enduring, and that I stumbled into the blog project with her back in 2012! Happy birthday, Samantha!
Catherine:
Sam and I first met in 2010 at the International Association of Women Philosophers conference at Western. It was clear then that we had a future as friends, philosophical colleagues, activity pals and feminist comrades-in-arms. Fast forward to 2013, she invited me to write my first guest blog post—Facing Fears of the Group Ride. This led to more guest posts, and by 2014, I was a regular weekly blogger.
Writing for this blog is one of the great joys in my life, and Samantha is one of the primary reasons. She is ever so patient with timing of posts, quietly reminding us about schedules and pivoting deftly when that schedule gets jostled. She provides us with #blogfodder on our blogger Facebook page, offering info and new topics for posts. I still marvel at how she manages all that throughput—reading content coming in, posting it on the FIFI FB page, keeping track of post scheduling, writing her own multiple posts every week, and reposting all of our content on social media.
The world, the blog and all of us have changed over the years that Fit is a Feminist Issue has been in our lives. We have changed jobs, changed partners, moved house, lost loved ones, taken on new activities, had medical encounters, and gotten COVID (more than once for some of us). But I’m grateful and happy to report that FIFI is still here, we are still here, and Sam is still here—at the helm, steering, looking ahead, helping us to enjoy the view along with her. Happy 60th Sam, and thank you.
Cate:
I met Sam around 2015, because two people from entirely different parts of my life said “how is it that you don’t know Sam?!” They said that because we have so much in common – obviously, we share a commitment to fitness, and an ongoing curiosity about the meaning and implications of the movement choices we make. And as soon as we met, I slid into the blogger world with a sigh feeling I’d found my people. But another thing we share is persistence. Sam joked a couple of weeks ago in response to one of my posts that I am a super persistent human – but so is Sam. There are many many things I could point to that I admire and appreciate about Sam – as an academic leader, a philosopher, a parent, a community member and most of all, as a friend. I will not ever forget the way I felt when she and Sarah committed their day to come to my mother’s funeral – it meant more than I can say.
But one of the things I admire and appreciate the most is the way she takes a hard, impossible task – whether that’s Deaning, keeping this blog going on a daily basis, or being present for her friends and family – and tackles it with good humour and optimism. I don’t know if anyone else I know could have taken on a double knee replacement and the intense pain and physio that followed with the commitment, determination and strength that Sam did. I am in awe at the way she recognized the limits of her body, assessed the options and dug into doing everything she could to keep herself as mobile and strong as possible. I am grateful to have her spirit and her self in my world. Happy birthday, age-twin! I’ll be there shortly!
Christine:
Sam and I have never met in person but I had the good fortune to interview her via Zoom for an article I was writing back in 2020 and something she said has stuck with me ever since.
We were talking about deadlines and feeling behind on your work and she said that she was technically behind on a lot of things at that point but that she wasn’t dwelling on it. She had just accepted that she was going to be late with that stuff and kept working.
As someone who has spent a lot of her life scrambling and apologizing for getting behind on things (ADHD, whaddaya mean?) her comment was a big deal for me.
It was ok to say ‘Well, that’s going to be late!’ and just forge ahead? Brilliant!
I mean, it wasn’t the first time I had heard that and it probably wasn’t even the first time I had tried to tell myself that but hearing it from someone I admire as much as Sam? That made a HUGE difference for me.
And while that comment was about writing, not about fitness, I think it’s emblematic of how Sam shows up for the blog and for those of us who write for the blog.
There are so many things to celebrate and admire about Sam but her approach to her work and to fitness and to the blog is a key element in the success of Fit is a Feminist Issue.
Sam shows up.
She shows up how she is today, even if she sometimes wishes things were different, and she does what she can with what she has.
She doesn’t pretend to be perfect. She doesn’t offer ‘one quick fix.’ She just keeps figuring things out and adjusting as she goes.
And she asks the same of the rest of us here at Fit is a Feminist Issue. She doesn’t judge, she doesn’t ask more than we can give, she immediately adjusts if plans change, and she supports what we are trying to do with our posts and with our fitness plans.
Sam, you rock and we are lucky to know you. Happy Birthday!
Martha:
I met Samantha back in 1982 when we were both deeply involved with student newspapers and shared similar values and ideas about feminism, social justice and community. We worked together in 1985-86 for a national student press cooperative and shared a house. We kept in touch after graduate school, marriages, children, house moves, job changes and life in general. We both took up running around the same time and kept up-to-date through email. When Facebook came to be, we were able to stay connected so much more easily. It helped us take advantage of face-to-face opportunities and we’ve shared a number of meals, in her home and mine.
It wasn’t long after Sam and Tracy founded the Fit as a Feminist Issue that Sam would send me occasional nudges to write for the blog when I would post about my trail walks, my swimming adventures or relearning to cycle. The nudges became suggestions on posts and finally I took the hint and began writing a few guests posts. I think maybe it was after a year that Sam said, “why don’t you write regularly?” and I thought to myself, “why not?”
So, thank you Sam for your persistence and patience, your gentle reminders as I learned to navigate scheduling, blogging software and the fitness world with my feminist lens. Happy birthday Samantha, my friend of more than 40 years and counting. What fun we’ve had and what more fun awaits!
Elan:
I’m a fan of Sam’s first post, made the day before her birthday 12 years ago: In a blogsphere of stylish artifice, it’s refreshingly straight up. I also kind of like this post, made on her birthday August 31, 2014, where she features a cycling cake. August 31, 2019 she talked about her new knee, and now here she is with one! I’ve learned a lot about Sam over the years from her many thoughtful and honest blog posts….including how much she likes her birthday! 🙂 I’ve known Sam indirectly since I was a grad student at Western, entering into her outer orbit around 2006. Back then, I admired her from afar as a feminist and a scholar and a leader, but I was one of many students who did, I imagine. Years later, maybe around 2019, I had always wanted to write blog, but I always felt highly self-conscious about my own writing voice. Sam has been a consistently supportive of me and other FIFI bloggers, and I’ve always been grateful for her supportiveness and her graciousness. Thank you, Sam, for all your many posts on the blog, and all the efforts you do behind the scenes. You deserve a whole week (and more) of celebration.
This week has been all about the vacationing for me, a final pause before scurrying home to begin my school year 2024-2025. And it’s been a wonderful pause that refreshes, in no small part because water has played a significant supporting role.
Even before I crossed the Peace Bridge and entered Canadian jurisdiction, there was swimming and frolicking in water. Yes, it was a hotel pool, and yes, it was Saturday night in Rochester New York (which turns out to have some lovely and interesting neighborhoods and parks). My friend Norah and I shared a hotel room, a meal and then a swim in their modest but thoroughly enjoyable pool.
The pool area was friendlier than it looks here, and we got a chance to recover from our respective long drives and relax.
Once in Guelph visiting Samantha, Sarah, Kathleen, Jeff, and a slew of animals, I enjoyed a mix of relaxing outdoor activities. My favorite one was a Wednesday swim with Sam in the Elora quarry, about a half hour from Guelph. The town of Elora looked very charming, and the quarry swim was super fun. The water felt cold at first, but once we were in, it was great.
The rain held off but I think the clouds scared away a bunch of folks. We shared the water with only a few other people.
Thursday I woke up in Goderich, Ontario, having driven the very remote back roads from Guelph to get there Wednesday night. I joined Norah and her daughter and son-in-law, who are at a lovely cottage near Lake Huron. On Thursday we had multi-mode fun: we cycled the Goderich-to-Guelph rail trail, and then visited Rotary Cove beach for swimming and sunning.
Not many visitors on a bright sunny late August day. This is where we went in. The water was, uh, rather chilly. But also fun for swimming.After all that activity, a short snooze in the sun seemed in order.
Friday we’re headed to Black’s Point beach, an even quieter (and I think even colder-water) location. But I’m looking forward to it.
After a Saturday celebration at Sam’s place, Norah and I are once again headed for a hotel pool before I drive back to Boston. This one, in Guelph, has a pool, hot tub, and spiral sliding board. Oh yeah.
A hotel pool with blue water, a hot tub, and a bright green spiral sliding board. Am definitely trying it out.
Hey readers, are you taking any last-minute dips before the month of fall is finally upon us? Let me know. I also love tips on interesting hotel or public pools and beaches.
A number of the bloggers are gathering at my house on Saturday to celebrate my birthday along with other family and friends. There’ll be photos. And singing. And a bike ride. And cake. Stay tuned.
The plan is to riding bikes in the morning (30 km Saturday and 30 km Sunday to make the birthday goal of 60 km) and hang out in the backyard in the afternoon.
It’ll be a big celebratory day but I feel like it’s been a real week of celebration with Catherine here visiting.
There’ve been dog walks and ice cream and card games. Not to mention swimming and visiting the Cheltenham Badlands.
Cribbage!
We even took a trip out to the Elora Quarry for a swim.
It’s nothing as bold as Cate’s solo cycling adventures, but I’m having fun. I brought my Brompton to Toronto for a visit with my son. He had to work, so I am exploring a bit of the city.
I started out by taking it for a ride around Mount Pleasant Cemetery because I knew it would be a safe mostly car-free spot. I ignored all the signs warning cyclists not to speed because I was too busy stopping to look at monuments and Google the more interesting ones.
The next day, I tried out the bike share service in order to ride to Cherry Beach, a destination I had wanted to visit last year; I was thwarted then by a week of unrelenting rain. As a cycling advocate, I really wanted to see what was possible, what was scary, and what was brilliant in a different city.
Aside from walking around my son’s neighbourhood, my experience of Toronto dates back well over 20 years. At that time, I knew a car-clogged section of Scarborough and had paid occasional visits to the downtown. My recollection of busy downtown streets was that they were not at all car friendly, although a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum a couple of years ago showed that things had changed: cycling was was possible (and possibly even pleasant).
The first thing I noticed when I picked up an e-bike at a nearby station was how many bike parking options there were. Every corner had racks, and most of the racks would be useable by non-standard cargo bikes or bikes with trailers or baskets, too. That’s key if you want people to ride: they need to feel confident that their bikes won’t be stolen.
The very first instruction was to ride down Yonge Street – yikes! Well, yikes until I realized that there was a separated bike path protected by a pin curbs with bollards or flexiposts. It was great! From there I worked my way to The Beaches area, mostly using lanes that were physically separated from cars. In 10.5 km of travel, I came across only one vehicle parked in a bike lane, and one spot of construction where I briefly needed to share the road with cars (but it had good signage and the drivers gave me plenty of space, as they did whenever I was at an intersection or had only painted lines for protection). Even in quite industrial areas there were some lovely paths.
A Bike share station; a section of bike lane along Yonge Street; a quiet bike path surrounded by bushes. Just past the bushes were busy roads with lots of construction vehicles.
Google Maps was not my friend, as it took me along Lakeshore Drive to Woodbine Beach instead of to Cherry Beach, but I’m not mad about that. Woodbine Beach turned out to be gorgeous and I had a lovely swim.
Diane, still wet from her swim, with Lake Ontario in the background.
I planned my ride home to take me past the store that was the main setting for Kim’s Convenience, a popular Canadian TV show. It meant more busy downtown streets, a few of which had no bike lanes, but it felt no worse than downtown Ottawa, and most of it felt considerably better.
Kim’s Convenience, a variety store that was the setting for the TV show of the same name. Yes, I’m a Canadian content nerd.
The ride home took me up Sherbourne, which was a lovely mix of bike lanes that were separated by being at level with the sidewalk, or had pin curbs or speed bumps topped with either bollards or flexiposts to keep cars out of the lane. I paralleled a bus most of the way; it was nice to have my own lane so I didn’t have to stop behind it all the time, and it was easy to avoid riders getting on and off at the stops.
Google Maps tried to kill me right at the end of my ride: first directing me down a one-way steep hill to merge into busy traffic so I could turn left across multiple lanes less than half a block away. That was a big old nope so I walked my bike back up the hill on the sidewalk, and headed into Rosedale looking for an alternate route.
The second attempt was when it took me right past the park where I was pretty sure I could find a bike share stand, and down a little path that led to a steep flight of stairs to the bottom of a ravine. Also nope! I got myself back to the park, off-loaded the bike and walked home in time for a shower and quick nap before walking to dinner.
Total count for the day: 33+ km cycling, 10.5 km walking and a 1 km swim.
Day 3, my final day of this holiday, was dedicated to exploring trails along the Don River. Growing up, the Don had a reputation as a terribly polluted place, and the Don Valley Parkway was considered well-named because of the stop-and-go traffic. The reality today is quite different.
The day started off badly as I believed both Google and the Toronto trails map, and was too stubborn to go back up a steep hill once I discovered the trail was closed. Instead, I half carried my bike along a narrow dirt path that was sometimes muddy, sometimes under water, and sometimes blocked with roots or fallen trees. Something that should have taken 12 minutes took an hour.
A narrow rough path beside a stream in a wooded area.
But after that, I had a delightful ride down to the Brickworks park and then north to the botanical gardens and then along another trail that took me into Don Mills. At that point, I was faced with very busy roads and no bike lanes, so decided to head home. Total distance for the day was just shy of 33 km.
I’m glad I brought my little Brompton on this trip, but also glad I had the option of the bike share. Both turned out to be really handy for exploring the city.
Next stop: points west to visit friends and hopefully use the Brompton some more.
Apparently, today is National ‘Just Because’ Day so this is your official permission to do something you’ve been waiting for a good excuse to do.
For example, for my own amusement, I can post this picture of my nephew’s Guinea pig, Powder, in full drama mode.
Image description: my nephew’s white and black Guinea pig looking through the squares on the side of his cage. Powder has his front paws on a ledge and he is looking slightly to the side. His long hair is flipped back over his head so his large black eyes seem to be emphasized and he looks oddly dramatic and glamorous.
Maybe you can use today as a reason to eat your lunch outside.
Or as a reason to text a friend to join you for a walk/for a new class/for an afternoon on the beach.
Perhaps it’s an excuse for extra rest. (Not that *need* an excuse but it can sure as hell feel that way sometimes.)
Maybe you can spend extra time reading.
Perhaps you can challenge someone to a race or to a dance-off.
Maybe you can try a new-to-you meal or play your favourite music or watch a movie you love.
Or you could spend extra time playing with your dog (technically National Dog Day was yesterday but let’s be realistic here, every day is National Dog Day!)
You could say you’re going to meditate ‘just because.’
You could journal or draw ‘just because.’
On Saturday, my friend Mary and I represented our community arts organization and hosted a table at a local art crawl held by an artist-run gallery. A lot of people took us up on the invitation to try squiggle art…just because! Image description: two monster drawings on index cards taped to the side of a red box that contains markers. The box is sitting on a purple tablecloth in the sun.
Whatever you decide to do on Just Because Day, I hope you have a grand time with it.
Because you deserve some ease and some rest and to have the joy of moving your body and you deserve to enjoy a challenge and you deserve good things.
Really?! I was shocked to see this story come across my newsfeed, The citation black market: schemes selling fake references alarm scientists. Sure, as academics we all want high impact, highly cited articles. Presumably though we want to get that by doing high impact research and writing excellent papers, not by paying for citations.
Here’s a quote from the story linked above, “Research-integrity watchers are concerned about the growing ways in which scientists can fake or manipulate the citation counts of their studies. In recent months, increasingly bold practices have surfaced. One approach was revealed through a sting operation in which a group of researchers bought 50 citations to pad the Google Scholar profile of a fake scientist they had created. The scientists bought the citations for US$300 from a firm that seems to sell bogus citations in bulk. This confirms the existence of a black market for faked references that research-integrity sleuths have long speculated about, says the team.”
Again, quoting from the article, “Want to make some money on your next ride? If the questionable side hustle of one Indonesian teenager—who logs runs on Strava for other runners, for a fee—is any indication, this might someday be a reality. Wahyu Wicaksono, 17, has become what’s known in Indonesia as a “Strava jockey,” completing running achievements for others on the app for a fee. “I am active on X and it is booming there,” Wahya told Channel News Asia. He charges 10,000 rupiah (about 62 cents) per kilometer for running at a “Pace 4” (one kilometer in four minutes). For a more leisurely “Pace 8” (one kilometer in eight minutes), the fee is 5,000 rupiah per kilometer. Clients pay upfront, and Wahyu tracks his runs by logging in to the buyer’s account.”
I just can’t get my head around faking citation data and miles logged on the bike. They’re both the kind of thing, that for me, unless they’re real they have no value. The whole point is that they track something that matters.
I want people to actually read my papers and cite them lots because my ideas make a significant contribution to the literature. I want to record my kilometers ridden on my bike because I care about getting out lots on my bike. Other people pretending to me and riding their bike isn’t the same thing at all. It’s not even close.
This week I’m exercising my summer right to a last hurrah before school starts: I’m in transit to Ontario, where I’ll be engaging in many fun activities with Samantha, Sarah, their families, and dogs (and cats, although I’m not sure of their commitments). Also, I’ll be dipping into life at Lake Huron with my friend Norah and her family– swimming, biking, and exploring. Yay!
At the end of this last-hurrah-week, I’ll roar back down the New York State Thruway to Boston to begin the school year Sept 3.
A full report on the week’s festivities will be arriving at your inboxes next Sunday.
During yesterday’s almost-7-hour drive, I passed the time listening to a variety of podcasts, which is super fun– I can indulge my idle curiosity about anything from Archery to Zen Buddhism, absolutely free, unfettered by anything other than the need to stay on my side of the road (that went well, by the way).
My favorite podcast of the drive was one by the Washington Post called Field Trip— a five-part series on the complicated past and present of some national parks. Reporter Lillian Cunningham gathers a variety of perspectives from rangers, indigenous residents and scientists, outdoor guides, engineers and politicians. I highly recommend the series, which focuses on five parks: Yosemite, Glacier, Everglades, White Sands, and Gates of the Arctic National Parks.
Yesterday, while driving through the farmland of western New York, passing grazing cows and barns and silos, my attention was drawn to Florida wetlands, saw grasses, and the roseate spoonbill. What’s that, you might ask? No problem– take a look:
The roseate spoonbill in the Everglades.The spoonbill showing off its wildly pink plumage. Take that, Barbie!
I won’t issue any spoilers here, but these birds are a bit squeezed for habitat these days for the obvious reasons: development, very bad decisions 70 years ago by the Army Corps of Engineers, and of course climate change. Listen for all the details and plans to fix the messes we made.
This gets me to the travel planning part. For years, I’ve been wanting to visit natural Florida– the Florida of springs, manatees, marshes, and everglades. Way back in 2005 I spent four days cycling on rail trails in Central Florida, and it was a blast. I hung out in small towns off the tourist circuit, ate at local diners, and even staying at a motel that offered secure, dedicated kayak and bike storage.
This time I want to go back for more aquatic adventures, exploring the Florida springs that host manatees in the winter and invite us to swim, snorkel, dive, and kayak in their clear water (which ranges from 66F/19C to 75F/24C). I can handle that.
Kayaking down a quiet river.The swampy lowlands of Central Florida.Manatees in one of the springs.
So I think I’m gonna do it. Early January is a great time to visit these places. The air temperatures are mild and the waters are invigorating but not super-cold. I’m now thinking about starting in Central Florida near Ocala, which isn’t far from Three Sisters Springs and also Homosassa Springs. There are so many springs (more than 100 in the state), so planning and research is a must. Unless I just want to meander and see what I encounter as I set out each day. We’ll see.
Then there’s Everglades National Park. A little more than a 4-hour drive from Ocala, it offers both biking and kayaking trails. I would love to do some of both.
So, the planning begins. Well, I’ll probably wait until I’m done with this trip to make any hotel or plane reservations. One adventure at a time…
Back in May, Sam and I both wrote about grandmothers as athletes in the context of an amazing marathon swim by Amy Appelhans Gubser. At the time, Sam’s son Miles told her “All your athletic achievements could be so much more impressive if I had a kid.”
I struggle to think of myself as an athlete, despite all the positive self-talk. It is getting harder now that I’m retired and we are living through a miserable wet summer that has me unmotivated to go outside. And now I am about to be a grandmother.
A young couple standing on a dock at a lake. The man has one hand around his partner, and the other on her belly. Both are smiling.
I’m thrilled, but also wondering what that will do to my self-image and the preconceptions of people around me.
Will I continue wanting to do my own fitness things or will I turn to a pile of granny goo who just wants to play with the baby whenever I can? How can I adapt what I enjoy doing to incorporate the little one? When I do those activities with a baby (or toddler or child, eventually) will I still be seen as an independent person or just an extension/caregiver playing along? Will it matter what other people think, or can I be comfortable in my own skin?
In other words, can I be a little bit like Amy Appelhans Gubser, even if I never do an amazing marathon swim?
