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It's really a mean thing to say, but I sometimes tease The Girl and tell her if she doesn't start skiing, snowboarding, and riding a bicycle that she'll have to go live at Grandma's house.

She knows I'm joking around and just rolls her eyes. I know it's a personality thing - she's just not the risk-taker that The Boy and my husband and I are. And I know I can't expect her to automatically like everything we like just because she shares our DNA.

But it's sometimes tough for me, because I'm not a mom who can just "play." I always have to be DOING something - and more often than not, it's something physical.

Recently, though, my baby girl has decided she loves running. As the hubby and some friends and I were setting out on a 10-mile trail run, she begged to come along. I explained the distance and pace would be too much for her, but she then said, "Well, when you come home, can you get me and take me back there and we'll do a little run?"

Alright! Yeah, I can handle that!

So The Girl and I have started running together, and I've discovered something incredible: those tiny legs - mind you, she's four years old, and average for her height - can give me a run for my money. Seriously. I estimate her pace (based on how it feels to me, chasing her) at around 7.5 miles per hour. Obviously she can't keep that up for more than a tenth of a mile or so, but for that tenth, she makes me work to stay with her!

We run up and down our street. We run from a parking space down a sidewalk to a store. Once I let her race me inside a grocery store when an aisle was completely clear. And we run at the park, at the playground, and pretty much every time we're outside in the rain and we want to go in somewhere.

Most of these runs are impromptu; since the distance isn't very long, it's not really enough for me to work up a sweat and need to be in running clothes. Truth be told, most of the time I'm wearing cute shoes (but comfortable: even my tallest heels have to be comfy!) and carrying a big purse. And my daughter is such a girly-girl that, to be completely honest, most of the time she's in a dress and cute shoes.

But it doesn't really matter: the point is that there is an activity we can share together, and it doesn't have to be some big planned race or event. We can just run from one side of the back yard to the other.

I knew that girl had to have SOMETHING in common with me!