Just been thinking about how much I love being back in Utah--the Crossroads of the West--because it doubles as the Crossroads of the Family (probably since Mom lives nearby). My brother Brian was in town last week--we dropped everything to drive down to Provo to see him. Family, lots of laughter, and Olive Garden. Doesn't get much better than that! We also got to see Rick and Ashley within the past few months, each as they were in town for just a day or two.
We didn't get to have family "just passing through" very often before moving back here--Texas, northwest Washington, and Pennsylvania were a bit too far off the beaten path, I guess.
It has truly been a blessing to be here. Still blows me away sometimes.
MOJ
Scarred for Life
Once upon a time there were two kids who didn't really get along. They bugged each other; they got into arguments; they got into fights--ongoing warfare. It was a bit of a mess.
But Kid 1 was having a birthday party and, due to cancellation of one of his invitees, extended a last minute invitation to Kid 2. When Kid 1's dad heard about that, he thought that was a pretty cool idea; it'd probably help usher in a new Era of Peace.
Kid 2 accepted the invitation and, despite the family's assurance that they did NOT need to do a last-minute shopping scramble, Kid 2 showed up at the party bringing a whole bag of fun little gifts for Kid 1. Everyone had a ball, enjoying pizza, eating loads of cake and ice cream, playing with the gifts, etc. They had a LOT of fun! The Era of Peace seemed certain.
...until the next school day.
That's when Kid 1 tormented Kid 2 beyond his breaking point, resulting in Kid 2 hulking Kid 1 across the room and (probably unintentionally) into the edge of a bookshelf.
Kid 1 spent the rest of the day in the hospital, coming home with a new birthday present: 12 stitches and (most likely) a lasting facial scar.
Fitting, given that he's the Son of Markenstein.
Sigh.
But Kid 1 was having a birthday party and, due to cancellation of one of his invitees, extended a last minute invitation to Kid 2. When Kid 1's dad heard about that, he thought that was a pretty cool idea; it'd probably help usher in a new Era of Peace.
...until the next school day.
That's when Kid 1 tormented Kid 2 beyond his breaking point, resulting in Kid 2 hulking Kid 1 across the room and (probably unintentionally) into the edge of a bookshelf.
Kid 1 spent the rest of the day in the hospital, coming home with a new birthday present: 12 stitches and (most likely) a lasting facial scar.
Fitting, given that he's the Son of Markenstein.
Sigh.
Race #3 (May) -- 5K
My worst race ever...
...as far as my time goes, anyway.
This was the "High Fives 5K" race--free to register, open to everyone, and right her in our own neighborhood. As I pointed out in a previous post, L wanted to run it with her friends. R decided to run it with her friend as well, and the boys were going to run it with me. And we invited some friends, Neighbor1 and Neighbor2 (not their real names) to join us--their mom recently broke her arm, so she couldn't exactly run a race since, as you might have noticed last time you ran anywhere, your arms sort of swing back and forth a bit while you run.
So J, S, Neighbor1, and Neighbor2 ran with me, L ran with her friends, and R ran with a friend. S made it .6 mile and J made it 1.5 miles (though, admittedly, he rode a fair amount of that on my back). R dropped out after about 2.7 miles, partway up the "Heartbreak Hill" of the course. I tried to tell her that if she could make it up the rest of the hill (.2 mile), the remainder of the race was a piece of cake--only another .2 mile and all downhill. But she had never run that far before, and was feeling like she was going to be really sick. So her friend Neighbor3 tagged along with the remaining 3 from our group (Neighbors 1 and 2 and me), and we finished the race in about 45 or 50 minutes.
We even got medals. (They give them to everyone who finishes in less than 55 minutes.)
But the best part was, a few minutes later, looking up and seeing my R coming down the home stretch. She didn't give up! She had rested for a few minutes and, once she felt imminent death had been averted, she got back in the race!
L and her friends finished too. That was cool because their friend, who had wanted to run the race, had had surgery and couldn't run. So the girls ran the race for her, "carrying her" by bringing her name on a piece of paper, taking photos for her on route, and picking up a medal for her at the finish line. It was really thoughtful.
Way to go, kids!
MOJ
...as far as my time goes, anyway.
This was the "High Fives 5K" race--free to register, open to everyone, and right her in our own neighborhood. As I pointed out in a previous post, L wanted to run it with her friends. R decided to run it with her friend as well, and the boys were going to run it with me. And we invited some friends, Neighbor1 and Neighbor2 (not their real names) to join us--their mom recently broke her arm, so she couldn't exactly run a race since, as you might have noticed last time you ran anywhere, your arms sort of swing back and forth a bit while you run.
So J, S, Neighbor1, and Neighbor2 ran with me, L ran with her friends, and R ran with a friend. S made it .6 mile and J made it 1.5 miles (though, admittedly, he rode a fair amount of that on my back). R dropped out after about 2.7 miles, partway up the "Heartbreak Hill" of the course. I tried to tell her that if she could make it up the rest of the hill (.2 mile), the remainder of the race was a piece of cake--only another .2 mile and all downhill. But she had never run that far before, and was feeling like she was going to be really sick. So her friend Neighbor3 tagged along with the remaining 3 from our group (Neighbors 1 and 2 and me), and we finished the race in about 45 or 50 minutes.
We even got medals. (They give them to everyone who finishes in less than 55 minutes.)
But the best part was, a few minutes later, looking up and seeing my R coming down the home stretch. She didn't give up! She had rested for a few minutes and, once she felt imminent death had been averted, she got back in the race!
L and her friends finished too. That was cool because their friend, who had wanted to run the race, had had surgery and couldn't run. So the girls ran the race for her, "carrying her" by bringing her name on a piece of paper, taking photos for her on route, and picking up a medal for her at the finish line. It was really thoughtful.
Way to go, kids!
MOJ
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