A Piece of Me

The winter months add a lot of weight to our bodies.  We eat heartier foods, but we're also pushed to dress in bulky layers to stay warm.  Summer clothes make a home out of the backs of our closets while the sweaters and coats take the limelight.  The entrance way into a house becomes littered with gloves, hats, and boots; this is their temporary resting place until the next outing.  As an all-weather runner, I have an additional wardrobe in the rotation.  Winter requires me to break out all my cold gear like jackets, face masks, and running tights.  I also have a few pairs of gloves that I'll wear together on bone chilling days.
The past few weeks have been somewhat of a Runner's Delight; going for a 5 am run at 30 degrees is practically a heat wave considering the freezing temperatures we've endured since December.  Needless to say, it's quite welcome.  Spring is in the air and I can smell it.  My Friday morning kicked off with a 5 am run with two of the crazies.  Twenty-seven degrees dictated a lighter winter get up of tights, arm warmers, short sleeved shirt, ear warmers and one pair of gloves (versus the usual 'two').
The route was tough (gosh, marathon training is going to break me), but we successfully nailed almost 5 miles well before the sun started thinking about making an appearance.
We spent maybe 5 minutes stretching before we went our separate ways.  I returned home to a hot cup of coffee and a lot of hip openers.  Before I knew it, the house blew up in its usual morning hustle of pre-bus activities.  With Ava on the bus, I organized the rest of myself to take Alli to day care.  I got her buckled and walked around the rear of the car to the driver side.  I noticed something on my rear bumper.  Oh no.  Oh yes.  It was...
ONE GLOVE.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

At that moment in time, I knew exactly how other people felt when one glove went missing.  I felt hopeless; I needed to find that other glove.  Images of single gloves laying face down in a slushy parking lot or strategically placed on a door knob waiting to be claimed flooded my mind.  Hell, even OJ, made his way in there.  Crap.  I lost a glove.  I then inwardly retraced my steps.  I took of my gloves at the end of our run and put them on the back bumper before we stretched.  Clearly, I didn't grab them when I was ready to leave.  I.Just.Drove.Away.  Oh God, that poor glove.  Oh God, those poor gloves.  One glove fell off the car somewhere on my way home and the other had to witness the whole thing.  I left the house in search of the missing glove, with the surviving glove on my lap.  I drove the same route as I did that morning, in reverse, with no success.  I took Alli to day care and drove the route, again with no luck.
The gloves were free, but they were with me all winter.  They endured cold mornings and runs - both great and not so great.  Perhaps this is a sign of spring and Friday was the last day I'd need those gloves.  Perhaps this is a sign that I shouldn't put anything on my bumper.
Crap.