This is Cleo, just before 7am today. She may appear innocent and unassuming, but what you can not see is the heating vent behind her butt. When the first thing you come down to in the morning is your dog warming her butt, you can bet your arss it will be a cold start to the day. All I needed to do today was run three miles on the treadmill and maybe lift some weights. Easy stuff, with Lila at school for a couple of hours and Solveig there all day.  But last night Tina texted me about cross country skiing. I did some figuring while the kids ate breakfast, which went something like this, " Lila, please finish your breakfast." " UM, no thanks mom, I just want a lollipop." Coming back from a frigid school drop off I said to myself, I should run three miles right now,  but I ought to ski with Tina. There's a fine line but a meaningful difference between the things you should do for yourself  and the things you ought to do. In the present, measure your choices by doing what you ought to do so that when you look back years from now the words "should have" never cross your mind. You know what you should do; it takes a little more intuition and energy to figure out what you ought to do. Which reminds me, if you ever need motivation to get your butt beyond the heating vent, try these seven little words: "When I look back at my life." When I look back at my life, I'll be glad that I skied with my beautiful friend along the ocean on a morning that quickly became more glorious with each passing minute. That treadmill run? Already forgotten.