The speed at which life goes by sometimes astounds me.
Actually, it usually astounds me.
Seriously, it makes me need a nap.
I went to a class last night and they were talking about how we are all running so fast with the speed of our lives. It gets so hard to tolerate any other speed.
I can't tell you how many times I have stood in front of the microwave and told it to hurry up.
Seriously?
I wonder when we got this way. When we developed to obsessive need to hurry through everything. I am not going to hurry through this post.
At least I will try not to.
But I warn you, it is a REALLY, REALLY long one!
So, last week was a doozy.
We had a track meet on Tuesday. Thank goodness it was at home!
It was very, very cold. Seriously. I had five blankets on.
I have been trying to figure out why Track seems so much colder than football. I think it is because you don't jump and down and it doesn't move fast enough to really keep you engaged. This means you get to sit there and think about how you are freezing to death. Plus, football lasts about 2 hours. Track meets are a good 3-4 hours.
Dallin is the one, lone, smart eighth grader. He is wearing his heat gear from Football, his track uniform, a hoodie sweatshirt and most of the time his sweats and a warm beanie hat. He has listened and learned to stay warm. That is a good thing; to have warm muscles when you run.
The teams hang out in the middle of the field. I don't if McCade likes running or socializing more. But he certainly had a good time flirting at this meet.
It took some serious convincing, but we did convince him that he should also wear his heat gear. He really didn't like to wear the legs, especially after a girl called him 'tights boy'.
Gotta love Junior High.
McCade's first race was the medley. He ran the 200 leg.
Dallin was the anchor leg in the 4x200 relay.
Yes, he holds the baton like Usain Bolt.
He does that on purpose.
He swears it makes him run faster.
They both ran the 400, which is the event most people hate. It is a flat-out sprint for a quarter of a mile.
Dallin and McCade like it. I think they like that they can do it when most everyone else can't.
And, as a bonus they do it well!
AND. . . backstory. . .
Before this race began McCade had spent the last 45 minutes playing soccer and running around in the field. He was so distracted that he missed the first, second, third and final calls for the Triple Jump. In addition, he wasn't lined up for the 400 when he was supposed to be. Dallin had to leave his spot and go get his otherwise-occupied brother.
It was a nice brother thing to do.
So in the end, McCade was kind of tired for this race because he had been running around for quite a awhile.
It will be amazing to see what McCade actually accomplishes when he focuses, instead of fly by the seat of his pants.
Granted, there are people who do nothing but fly by the seat of their pants, and they do just fine in this life. So maybe that will be him as well.
Oooohh, Here is a GOOD story!
Tacey was in Mr. Campbell's (a math teacher) with a friend before school. When she got there he was talking about these brothers who were incredible runners and had run in the Spud Run last September. He had been looking for them all over the Valley and was afraid they went to Firth. He mentioned that their last name was Matheson. Tacey laughed and told him that they were her brothers. Mr. Campbell asked about her brothers and showed up at the Track Meet that day to do some recruiting. As a good Dad does, Shane got in on the action.
(Also note that there is NOT a phone attached to his ear!)
You know, McCade runs the Medley which is the first race of the meet.
Both of them run the 4x400 relay which is the last race of the meet.
I think I am the only parent that is there the WHOLE time.
*Drops of Awesome*
The day was long and cold, but they ran well!
The next night was the Tech Expo.
(Previously called the Science Fair)
Dallin has been doing a long-term experiment on whether or not video games act like anesthesia. He not only presented his experiment, but had it set up for people to try. He was excited to gather more data.
So, the experiment went like this: People took off their shoes.
(Okay, so seriously people. I go to the gym and to the dance studio and the shoes don't smell. But HERE, OH.MY.GOODNESS!!!!!!
NASTY!!!!)
He titled his experiment 'Are your Parents right?'
Parents loved it; kids not so much.
First thing he did was have a person put one of their feet in a bucket of ice water. He timed how long they left it there. If they lasted three minutes they were disqualified from participating in the experiment.
Then got them engaged in a video game. After a few minutes of playing he had them stick the other foot in the ice water and timed them again.
Every single case they went significantly longer in the water while playing the game. So, the conclusion was that parents are indeed, right. Video games do numb you up and turn your brain to mush.
Friday there were the district finals for Track. I only took a few pictures because I took VIDEO so you can see the speed demons go.
And this time McCade stayed focused!
Woot! Woot!
He was super-helpful when it was time to put out the hurdles.
Dallin continued his tradition of pacing, nervously.
Dallin ran the 4x200, anchor leg. He likes anchor leg mainly because he doesn't have to worry about handing off the baton.
He wasn't really excited about running the 100, but the coach put him there. He was the fastest 100 on the team, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to place in the race. He would have rather run the 200. But he did what the coach asked and showed himself to be a great team member.
There was even a false start. Dallin was oh-so-very-glad it wasn't him. A false start is an automatic disqualification.
And the real race. . .
McCade ran the 800 for the first time, EVER. He had only 3 running events and they like them to have four, so they stacked everyone they could in the 800 and 1600. McCade wasn't overly excited about it, but then he started running. You can see the moment he realizes that he doing pretty darn well. In the end, he came in 6th, first for the Shelley team.
Yeah, makes me wonder what amazing things he will do if he focuses and tries his hardest.
Dallin in the 400.
McCade in the 400.
And the 4x400. McCade ran the third leg and Dallin the anchor leg.
Sometime in the next few days their medals showed up. Both of them were in a relay that took third so they both got Bronze medals. I was thinking that was super-cool, but Dallin was pretty upset. Last year they gave ribbons all the way to 6th, and he had placed in the top 6 of every race he ran so he was pretty upset that they stopped at third.
We will pretend it is a sincere smile, not one put on for Mom.
The next day was PROM!
Tacey went off on a fairly cold, windy morning for her day-date with Nick.
That is Nick's friend Josh in the back.
They date in style: Rocking the family mini-van.
With a Sun Roof.
Shane made sure she had an amazing dress and Nick tried to look like the missing Downton Abbey cast member. Other people at the dance said they looked like a Disney Couple.
THIS WEEK brought Tacey to the final leg of her campaign or Senior Class President.
She didn't win, but her speech was AWESOME!
AND it took Dallin behind the wheel of a car in Driver's Ed.
I will soon be paying more in car insurance than I do in House Payment.
That is a very, very scary thought.
-danielle
