Confession.

I didn't go to the gym yesterday.

I had a lot of meetings and things I had to do at work, and then I had errands that HAD to be done during my lunch hour.

So no gym.

I am meeting with a personal trainer today, though. This first meeting is just a consultation so he can find out exactly what I want and talk with me about his expectations. I'm just going to do a few sessions -- just enough to get me on a routine that will build up my strength the right way.

I do expect him to have an issue with how much I run, but that is a non-negotiable. I have to run every single day. It's like medicine to me, medicine that I desperately NEED so that I do not lose my mind.

So hopefully he will understand that need.

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This is what running can do:

Last night, I supervised Katie's homework. Usually she does her homework at my in-laws' house, but on Thursdays, she has dance starting at 4 p.m., so no time for homework. So she does it afterward.

It's not a lot of work -- usually just two sheets -- but the girl drags it out painfully.

She finally finished around 7:30 p.m. or so and I was looking over it. That's when I saw that my daughter's teacher had sent home a worksheet about the presidents that said that Ronald Reagan was our current president.

Oh, and we only have had 40 presidents.

My level of outrage was incredibly high. I am hyper-vigilant about what my kids learn in school. Russ and I both want them to learn to THINK FOR THEMSELVES, and not just spew facts and figures. But I also want them armed with the correct information.

This was not.

I was ready to storm the administration building, call the principal, the superintendent and basically go off on everyone associated with the elementary school.

But before I did all that, I decided to run.

I ran five miles, and when I got back in the house, I was calm. I was rational. I was reasonable.

I did not, dear readers, storm the administration building. I did not call the principal or the superintendent. I did write a carefully-worded note to the teacher questioning the educational value of a worksheet with two incorrect statements.

Don't get me wrong; I'm still pretty upset about the whole thing. But the run focused my energies on doing the appropriate thing. Sometimes people get upset and their rage fuels the situation rather than corrects it. I just want this corrected, i.e., throw away the damn worksheet.

Don't underestimate the value of something that can take you from red alert to calm and reasonable.