Race Day!

This weekend we enjoyed one of our annual family traditions: the Marathon.  Every year--with the exception of last year--some of us run in the races.  This year, all of us ran in the races.  None of us are marathoners, but some of us are half marathoners.  The location for this race venue is really beautiful, especially with the fall colors. 

B always runs the half marathon, and this year I had trained for it, too.  (I ran my first half marathon in the spring.)  However, 10 days of head cold/stomach flu combo leading up to the half marathon made me chicken out.  I switched my entry over to the 5K, along with J and our friend Banks.  E,S, and E's friend K entered the Kids' Marathon (1 mile).  We start helping the kids train once school starts.  This was J's first 5K, but he'd been doing really well in training.  He was excited.

Having the stomach flu before the race didn't stop B!  (I tell you, the man is pioneer stock.  Total Spartan.  I honestly think I married the Bionic Man.)  He was determined to follow through and run the half Marathon.  He didn't get his best time, but he still got a better time than I would have!  Here he his after he finished.

Before you make fun of our crazy outfits, let me tell you, IT WAS FRIGID!!!  As I mentioned, we've come to this race before, but we've never experience such cold temperatures.  We were dressed in multiple layers, and I didn't even shed a layer when I was running.  Oh, I guess I took off my scarf.  But that was it.  It was really that cold.  Here is a picture of the girls, trying to stay warm.

Brrrr!  It is making me cold just remembering!  But I get warm as my heart swells with motherly pride.....because J took first place in his division of the 5K.  Way to go J!  Here he is, proudly displaying his "trophy".

Yes, that is a mug.  I'd like to know who came up with that bright idea.  For heaven's sake, the child earns his first big win, and all he has to show for it is a MUG?  Well, as J explained to me upon our return, it is actually not a mug, it is a trophy, and he does not intend to use it for hot chocolate or other beverages.

Here is another picture of J, the athlete.  I gave birth to him!  And picked out the polarfleece he's wearing.  And he totally beat me in the 5K.

Our friend, Banks, who has been running with B, was also running in the 5K.  His first one.  His assignment was to run ahead of J, while I would run behind him.  I was somewhat concerned about J's safety, since he is only 8 years old, and this was a 3.1 mile course.  What really happened was that it took Banks the first half mile of the race just to catch up with J, and then next half mile just to get ahead of him.  And I was waaaayyyy behind both of them.  Pushing S in the jogging stroller, who announced to me at the half mile mark that she had to go potty.  The story of my life!  Banks said that he crossed the finish time and looked behind him for J.  J was weaving between the legs of big, tall men, who were surprised to be beaten by such a little dude!  By the way, I just looked at the results online and discovered that, not only did J beat everyone in his age category, he beat everyone in the 11-14 year old category, too!

This is a picture of Banks and J stretching after the race.  Banks got an excellent time, as well.  Way to go, Banks!  And here is a picture of my handsome husband and son.  You can tell B has had some time to recover and change into dry clothing, in this one.

K and E are veteran runners, but this was S's very first race.  Look at these awesome pictures of S and her good friend, B, stretching out before the 1 mile Kids' Marathon.

S is in the black track pants, and B is the little girl with pom-poms on her hat.  Aren't they hilarious?  What is even funnier is what happened to B's parents on race day.  B's father trained for the half marathon, and ran it that morning.  Her mother was there, close to the finish line, ready to take pictures as her husband ran past.  She was excited about his accomplishment, and was trying to get good pictures, so she jumped off the sidelines and ran alongside him for the last few yards of the race.  The crazy thing is, the girl was 38 weeks pregnant!  Note that I use the past tense, because her water broke as she was running!!!  Luckily, Grandma was there to help with the girls, because our friends had to head to the hospital immediately.  Their new baby girl was born less than five hours after Daddy crossed the finish line.  Is that the best birth story ever, or what?

Anyway, S ran in her first race, and we were very proud.  We are pretty sure that if there had been a category for runners with artificial heart valves, S would have won!  She had to stop and take a few rests along the way, but she was determined to run--not walk.  So after each brief rest, she would take off again.  She's an excellent sprinter.

Look at her go!  The kids marathon course goes around this lovely village green, surrounded by historic homes built for the officers back when this area was a large army base.  One of the homes was showing lots of Halloween spirit, with an extensively decorated front yard and porch.  S hates scary Halloween decorations.  She really does.  It makes it difficult to take her shopping during the month of October, because she gets so worried that we will see scary things when we are in stores.  She cowers in the bottom of the shopping cart, whimpering, while the other shoppers Wonder About Us.  So S stopped short when she saw the spooky house ahead.  She sat down on the curb, and hid her head between her knees.  J and I, who were running alongside her, tried to give her some encouragement.  S thought it would be better to turn back than run past the scary house.  We gave her a few minutes to think about it, during which time a worried B called me on the cell phone, wondering if S was in respiratory distress.  (No, just Halloween distress.)

At last, S leaped to her feet, covered one eye with one hand, and one ear with the other, and declared, "I CAN DO THIS!"  She sprinted past the spooky house, and as she did, she yelled, "YOU CAN'T SCARE ME!  NOTHING CAN SCARE ME WHILE I AM RUNNING!"  I was impressed.  I'm not that brave, or that strong.

Last but not least, a picture of E approaching the finish line.  Look at that form.  She looks so graceful.

So, we all had a good time.  Some of us had a better good time than others, but we can honestly say that good times were had by all.  Personally, my favorite thing about running is not running.  Guess what my favorite thing about running is?  This will be easy for you to guess if you have seen me in person in the past five years.  My favorite part about running is:

Eating lots of pasta the night before a race!  Eat lots of carbs, everybody, we're running them off in the morning!

It has come to my attention that I have neglected to post any pictures of child J.  Somehow, this blog seems to be monopolized by pictures of his sisters.  This was unintentional, as J is a very fine looking son, even when he needs a haircut.  These are two of my favorites, taken a couple of years ago.

One of my favorite things about J is his hair.  It is real, and it is spectacular.  I only wish I could get this color for myself from a bottle.  It is nice and thick, and it would curl if we let it grow long enough.  Lucky, lucky boy.

J has a great personality.  He is lots of fun, with a great sense of humor and a love of people.  A lot like me, I would like to think.  He is also very much like me in other ways: easy going, easily distracted, absent-minded, and a procrastinator.  This is a challenge for me.  It is hard enough for me to keep myself on task, let alone someone else!  I've been struggling with how to make the negative sides of our two personalities equal a positive when it comes to getting chores, homework, and other tasks done.  I'm constantly looking for patience, and frequently I can't find it when I need it.  But J is a trooper.  He keeps on trying. 

If J were to win a contest, it would be for Best Brother Ever.  I mean it!  He may be the only one they've got, but J makes sure he's the only one his sisters will ever need.  He is very kind and willing to try to see their side of things.  He is also very adaptable.  J can go from playing football outside with the neighbor boys to agreeably joining the girls for a tea party.  J would never be caught dead in anything that seems remotely feminine, but he has a great selection of Jedi robes and other manly costumes for joining in the dress-up fun that the girls always seem to have.  Some of my happiest memories of L include J, because he was never far from her and always tried to help her be happy and comfortable.  Like this:

If you look really closely at this picture, you'll see that J is being very careful with L.  This was back in the days when L had an NG feeding tube.  (A tube that went in through her nose to deliver food to her tummy.)  He is snuggling her to sleep on one of our beds, making sure she has her beloved binky.  Told you he'd win.  This is proof.

J has lots of interests.  He does very well in school.  He also is proving to be quite the athlete.  What J lacks in size, he makes up for in commitment.  Once J understands what his role is on a team--no matter what the sport--he gives it his all.  Baseball, basketball, and soccer are his current favorite sports.  Here is J playing goalie in a recent soccer game.

 

Nothing got past him that day.  Nothing.

J has inherited his father's love for the outdoors, running, and scouting.  His first 5K race is coming up this weekend.  Ever since J was a toddler, he has been going to the scout activities that B was involved in.  (No matter where we live, B invariably ends up helping with Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts.  Yep, I married an Eagle Scout.)  J has been asking when he could be a scout since he was old enough to talk.  So you can bet who was first in line at the recruiting table when the Cub Scouts came to school.

Anybody want to buy some famously delicious Scout Popcorn?

Voila!  There you have it--enough pictures of child J to even up the score a little bit.  And seriously, we do have three more containers of popcorn to sell. 

Head colds, chest colds, and other "fun" stuff

Son J and daughter S both came down with sore throats and runny noses this past Tuesday.  S had a migraine the day before, and had to miss kindergarten on Monday.  She and J both had to stay home from school on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a  big day for E.  It was the "Fifty Nifty United States" Fifth Grade Program.  (It was called a program, but it was really a pageant.  No lie.  The kids actually had to walk across the stage and pose in three different places.  They were referred to as "Mister" or "Miss" [name of the state they represented].)  E has worked hard for several weeks on her state.  Arkansas.  She and I made a costume to for her to wear in the pageant--I mean program.  It had to represent Arkansas.  Our choices were limited:  Huckleberry Finn, Hillary Clinton, Razorback Hog, and Diamond (did you know Arkansas is "the Diamond State"?)  We went with Diamond.

This is the diamond costume L and I created.  Hard to tell from the picture, but there were lots of rhinestones and pixie dust involved to make it very sparkly.  Like a diamond.  L plans to reuse the tutu for her Halloween costume.  More about that later.

I promised E that even though her siblings were sick, we would all be there for her program.  Like a fool I said the same thing when I left a message on the school's attendance line.  Less than an hour before the program, I got a call from the principal.  Yes, the principal.  Informing me that I was not allowed to bring my children to the school if they were sick.

"They will wear masks," I told her.  "They have no place else to go!"  The principal assured me that it was better for them to stay at home.  She was sure that E would understand, considering the circumstances.  "I have to be there," I told her, sounding a bit melodramatic.  "E has been experiencing a lot of anxiety.  She is expecting me.  I have to be there."  I started to cry.  On the phone.  With the principal!  I was both mortified and angry.

I hung up.  I scraped myself together.  It took only two phone calls to find a friend who was willing to let J and S sniffle and watch television at her house.  I wore my sort of skinny jeans with a white tee and black blazer and I even curled my hair, in an attempt not to look like the kind of crazy woman who would cry on the phone to the principal.  I dropped off J and S and made it to the school auditorium on time.  E looked adorable.  She waved at me.  She was thrilled to see me there.  We took lots of pictures.  E was pleased with her performance.

I said good bye to E and drove back to pick up J and S.  On the way, I cried some more.  I didn't want to have to spell it out for the principal.  How do you explain to someone who doesn't know your history why it is so important for you to be there?  The principal has no idea how many school functions I missed because I was at the hospital with L or S.  Or on my way o the hospital.  Or couldn't leave L with anyone else so I could go to the school.  The principal doesn't have a clue about all the things E has had to do for herself and her siblings in the last two years: carry a spare key just in case the school bus beats Mom home from the hospital, pack lunches, fix breakfast, complete school projects by herself because Mom and Dad were too preoccupied....the list goes on.  E is the oldest fifth grader I know.  And she's amazing.  But, like the rest of us, she has her share of baggage.  E experiences anxiety.  Not enough to interfere with academics or daily life, but enough for it to be a concern for me.

Anyway, so I cried.  And even though I cried, I totally understood where the principal was coming from.  Then again, as my sister, Nurse L, pointed out, "It is frustrating to think that there are children much sicker than your own who are attending school.  And no one calls their parents."

After an afternoon of playing in the warm sunshine, it looked to me that S and J would both be well enough to return to school on Thursday.  I was only 50% right.  J was well enough, but S was worse.  Much worse.  We hurried in to see the lovely Dr. B, our pediatrician, on Thursday afternoon.  Surprise!  Swine flu is running rampant in our area (vaccine doesn't arrive until next week), so S was tested for that, strep, and had her lungs xrayed.  Flu and strep tests were negative, but xray showed fluid in the lungs.  ARRRGH!  I've now lost count of how many times S has had pneumonia in the last year.

By that night, my head was pounding, my nose was dripping, and my throat was hurting.  S and I holed up in our extra bedroom with the humidifier, nebulizer, juice, and extra blankets.  We spent Friday together blowing our noses, coughing, and playing in Pixie Hollow.  Friday night, as I tucked S into our sick bed again, she told me, "Today was my most perfect day.  I got to stay home and do everything with you I've wanted to do with you for as long as I wanted."

Somehow, that made my own head cold more bearable.