April 9, 2010
My husband and I are at the Defeat Autism Now! Conference in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, DAN! for short. My husband claims that DAN! is the number one reason I ignore him in the evenings after the kids go to bed, but that's not true. The number one reason is HGTV. Autism research is actually number two. So here we both are. I finally convinced him to come with me to a conference, and we were looking forward to a nice weekend filled mainly with medical speakers, but perhaps a little fun thrown in. I promised to pay attention to him at some point during the weekend.
Feeling like we hadn't been spending much time together lately, I suggested that we go running in the mornings before the sessions start. This was not my husband's idea of quality time. He was thinking along the lines of catching an Orioles game instead. Conveniently, he announced that he neglected to pack his running shoes. Forgot would have been too strong a word, and not entirely accurate. It's my policy not to run alone in strange cities, so I knew I'd be stuck in the gym all weekend ticking off miles on the treadmill, training for my next half marathon. Major bummer.
One of the first sessions I ever attended at a DAN! conference was a startling presentation on defending our children from a toxic world. I left that presentation utterly horrified, and wondering if I would ever touch plastic, microwaves, paint, cosmetics, or home decor again. Wasn't quite sure if I should ever drink, eat, or breathe again either. Needless to say, it left a lasting impression, and my husband still rolls his eyes at my vigilant avoidance of chemicals.
I trudged down to the hotel gym at 5 a.m. the next morning to be greeted by the most overpowering toxic smell I had encountered since my son was in diapers. Seems the pool area was under construction and there was no shortage of paint thinner in the hotel's remodeling budget. Unfortunately, the gym was basically a big airtight glass aquarium overlooking the pool, so every chemical had wafted into the gym and gotten trapped inside. After 8 miles on the treadmill, my lungs and head were not exactly in a good mood. I tried again the next day, but I turned in my towel after 6 miles. Decided I'd be better off not exercising than burning up my lungs with toxic fumes. My husband was in the doghouse big time for the lack of running shoes by this point.
My luck turned on Saturday night, when a kind person from Bailey's medical team in Texas agreed to go jogging with me the next morning. I was so excited to finally get outside! He agreed to meet me at 6 a.m., even though I forgot he lives in the Central Time Zone, so 6 a.m. would feel painfully early. We had a nice long jog while Sleeping Beauty (my husband) caught up on some much needed rest. The fresh air really cleared my lungs and my head, which was spinning after all of the medical information I had learned that weekend. I owe a big thanks to my Rescue Runner for saving my week's mileage and my lungs!
My husband and I are at the Defeat Autism Now! Conference in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, DAN! for short. My husband claims that DAN! is the number one reason I ignore him in the evenings after the kids go to bed, but that's not true. The number one reason is HGTV. Autism research is actually number two. So here we both are. I finally convinced him to come with me to a conference, and we were looking forward to a nice weekend filled mainly with medical speakers, but perhaps a little fun thrown in. I promised to pay attention to him at some point during the weekend.
Feeling like we hadn't been spending much time together lately, I suggested that we go running in the mornings before the sessions start. This was not my husband's idea of quality time. He was thinking along the lines of catching an Orioles game instead. Conveniently, he announced that he neglected to pack his running shoes. Forgot would have been too strong a word, and not entirely accurate. It's my policy not to run alone in strange cities, so I knew I'd be stuck in the gym all weekend ticking off miles on the treadmill, training for my next half marathon. Major bummer.
One of the first sessions I ever attended at a DAN! conference was a startling presentation on defending our children from a toxic world. I left that presentation utterly horrified, and wondering if I would ever touch plastic, microwaves, paint, cosmetics, or home decor again. Wasn't quite sure if I should ever drink, eat, or breathe again either. Needless to say, it left a lasting impression, and my husband still rolls his eyes at my vigilant avoidance of chemicals.
I trudged down to the hotel gym at 5 a.m. the next morning to be greeted by the most overpowering toxic smell I had encountered since my son was in diapers. Seems the pool area was under construction and there was no shortage of paint thinner in the hotel's remodeling budget. Unfortunately, the gym was basically a big airtight glass aquarium overlooking the pool, so every chemical had wafted into the gym and gotten trapped inside. After 8 miles on the treadmill, my lungs and head were not exactly in a good mood. I tried again the next day, but I turned in my towel after 6 miles. Decided I'd be better off not exercising than burning up my lungs with toxic fumes. My husband was in the doghouse big time for the lack of running shoes by this point.
My luck turned on Saturday night, when a kind person from Bailey's medical team in Texas agreed to go jogging with me the next morning. I was so excited to finally get outside! He agreed to meet me at 6 a.m., even though I forgot he lives in the Central Time Zone, so 6 a.m. would feel painfully early. We had a nice long jog while Sleeping Beauty (my husband) caught up on some much needed rest. The fresh air really cleared my lungs and my head, which was spinning after all of the medical information I had learned that weekend. I owe a big thanks to my Rescue Runner for saving my week's mileage and my lungs!
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