February came and went off without me noticing. I feel like every time I talk to my mom, which is every Sunday, we both say the same, time flies so quickly. February was a “boring” normal month, no travel, no weekend plans, just chill and center us with the beautiful normal life that we are blessed with. I look forward to no-big-news days more than ever, feeling like my heart cannot handle big news lately, I just want calm, peace, small joys, and little sparkles.
READING:
The loneliness of Sunny and Sonia. It’s a long book that I started in January and 2 weeks after I finished it, I still have lingering feeling of some parts. It’s an intense book and I am glad that I took it slow, absorbing and feeling bite by bite. I must confess that I read it because all the negative comments I heard from many about Indians. Cognitively I knew that’s a biased view and almost everything is more complex than its appearance. So I wanted to read something from their people and this book delivered.
Coming into view: this is a personal finance book, predicting how AI can affect future economy and how we should adjust our portfolio. I must say, it didn’t deliver as I was expecting although made some valid point.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (a re-read). As I am holding back to run more for my tendons and muscles to keep up with my cardio capacity (yes, I finally realized they are not in sync), I read about others running long and far. I appreciate reading it so much more than I am closer to master runner than when I first read it in my 30s. Funny enough, when I asked someone that I respect (52 and running UTMB) how she kept us with her running despite inevitable physical decline as we age, she said, I run with my mind, not with my legs. She felt the normal shifts but she kept going because her mind needed it more. And she asked me if I knew about this book, I smiled and said: I am re-reading it!
ARTICLES:
Work and leisure. As we go through life task after task, I forget to pause to think about what comes first and what’s all for. This article doesn’t provide an answer but made me pause and reflect.
Low travel period. Since coming back from Argentina trip, I don’t feel like traveling for a while so we are staying home for February break. This article resonated with me. I don’t need new exploration to keep life exciting. Stay home is what I need, to recharge mentally and physically, boring is what I need although I find mini excitement often without travel.
Middle age atletism resonates so much. “I also know there’s some sort of time limit on how long I’ll be able to do any or all of this, and it makes every run precious — and helps foster an appreciation for my body, a care for it, that I’ve never had before.”
I have strong opinion of having kids, I’d tell any parent appropriate age men and women to have kids. Not for someone to take care of us when we get old, not for bragging, not for fulfilling our unmet dream, but only for pleasure and personal indulgence. I have million reasons that I love having my girls, they make my world bigger, brighter. I enjoyed reading other people’s reasons too.
Marriage is probably the hardest relationship. I am blessed to get the second chance to appreciate it, truly work on it, and being transformed by it. I don’t think we give it enough air time as it’s a private matter so I appreciate them sharing their ups and downs and retrospective reflection.
The art of being unreachable. One of my 2026 goals is to not be distracted when I am with my family. On weekends when we are all at home, I put my phone in DND. What if someone text me? What if I miss a notification? Well… all the important people are with me or sleeping (my mom). So being unreachable feels luxurious and exactly what I crave.
NEW PRACTICES:
Foam rolling. I try to do it 2-3 times a week. At first it was painful and makes me sweat out of pain. Now I enjoy the pain and look for longer sessions.
NSDR. Those 10-15 min recharges me and calm my sensory in a magical way. I aim to do it in the evening to create peace after a busy day.
Last meal 2-3 hours before bed. Since I go to bed 8pm and usually asleep before 9pm, it could be challenging to finish dinner by 5, but I am trying and see noticeable improvement in my sleep stats. Last Friday I was invited to dinner to a colleague place at 6pm as someone from DC came for work. I went to the dinner and didn’t eat. I still enjoyed the conversation and didn’t miss the get together because of my own restriction.
WATCHING:
The love story. I didn’t know about their story before watching the series. I hope season 2 comes soon.
Sprint season 2. I’d watch anything related to running.
FEELING:
Centered.
Paced.
Seeking less ups/downs emotionally.
Relieved for tackling big decisions with courage.
Connected with people I love and care.
March will be a busier month: a swimming trip with Sofia, a work trip to Sao Paulo, first work trip solo at Teresina. This means a lot of solo time and reading, reflecting time. Running could be challenging but I’m determined to keep running.
Our New Journey 
Marriage truly is the most complicated relationship. There is so much that goes into it, and it changes with the seasons of our lives. I love thinking about long marriages and how they go and sometimes how they don’t go. It’s a topic I think about a lot!
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I thought of you LAST NIGHT when I had to get up three times to pee. I should really stop drinking so much tea before I go to bed!! I still scored a 89 for sleep but still, I think I’d sleep so much better if I would not eat and, above all, drink a few hours before going to bed.
Your reflections feel very intentional. You’re not chasing stimulation, you’re protecting your energy. The unreachable phone, the foam rolling, the early dinners, the NSDR. All that creates a quiet, strong base. That’s exactly how good training and good life both work. Nothing extreme, just consistent care.
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I have not heard many positive reviews of The Loneliness of Sunny and Sonia. I have heard that it takes over 200 pages to get into the book and I don’t have that kind of patience these days! I know it was critically acclaimed, though!
We travel far less than a lot of families in a similar economic position to us, but it is not enjoyable to travel with young kids for us. So we tend to stay put for holidays. I am going to DC with Paul for 4 nights during his spring break in late March, though. But we are visiting my sister so it will be pretty low key overall. Hopefully in a few years, family travel will be more enjoyable. My life feels quite hectic with all of the work travel so I am not keen to get on a plane in addition to work travel.
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I totally agree with you Lisa, work trips are so tiring. after them, I just want to sit out for a while. Yet, traveling with kids is really nice. You get to see the world through their eyes, our best memories are from the trips. Once the boys are older, it gets easier.
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Sounds like you had a really nice month! I haven’t read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, but you’re reminding me that I want to.
Months where there are no big trips or events seem to fly by- but I like your reflections on the month. Sometimes you need to slow down and check in with yourself. Sounds like a good balance to March, which will be a busier month.
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I haven’t heard of NSDR but I can’t fall asleep these days without turning an ASMR video on my phone. It’s so relaxing and I’m usually asleep in 5 minutes, ha.
I love when my married friends talk to me (a single girlie) about their marriages and the ups and downs. It’s just not something people talk about much, and it gives me a really great perspective.
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I love many of the thoughts you shared. To pony up on some:
I like to turn my phone OFF when everyone is home. My kids my husband, we all are home and safe so I just turn it completely off. It’s liberating.
Marriage is hard. I find a sense of humor and apologizing always works. Maybe not together. T and I do not have a lot of conflict anymore but when the kids were much smaller, we struggled individually and as a couple.
I also liked the article on leisure. Who know, schulē=leisure?!?!?
I also eat very early. Sometimes, when Tony is traveling for business and I’m alone with the kids, I’ll eat around 4pm then make them their dinner and just sit with them while they eat. I actually really like that. I go to bed at 8 so my tummy is nice and empty by then.
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