Ten Miles for Mom and Dad!

I have incredibly supportive parents, so it's only appropriate that my first run was for them!

Today I did 10 miles around Somerville and Cambridge, including parts of MIT's and Harvard's campuses. It was about 40 degrees and sunny and windy. I found myself near the Charles River, but decided not to venture too close to it, for fear of blowing in.

For most of the run, I listened to "This American Life" which was a rerun of a story about two women who find out they were switched at birth at age 43. One of the mothers knew all along too. I thought it was cool that I happened to pick this podcast for my run for my parents because:

1. My mom loves NPR (especially "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me") and I used to tease her mercilessly about it. Until I got into it and had to shamefully admit that, once again, she was right.
2. There is absolutely no way I was switched at birth. Not only do I look remarkably like my parents and siblings, but every day I think becoming more and more like my parents (in a good way). So whether nature or nurture is more important, it doesn't matter. Those two made me who I am, and now they must face the consequences of their actions and genetic sequences. They are stuck with me.

the dream team

the end result

So thanks, Mom and Dad, for everything you have taught me and your continued support. I think a fair amount of parents would freak out when their daughter quits her job to go to grad school full time in an unrelated field, and then decides to go to Africa to do an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in a rural village instead of finding a summer job or paid internship of sorts. You even put up with my frequent rambling, stress-filled phone calls while I was deciding to do this, and really reassured me that I was making excellent choices. Although Dad might just want me out of the country for a couple of weeks... And Mom, I sincerely hope you were joking about your request that I listen to "Friday" by Rebecca Black for all 10 miles...

Natalie