Catching up

So, I feel like I need to give a refund of everything you’ve ever paid as a reader of my blog. Your satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back, you know…but please don’t tell me if you are satisfied when the blog goes silent. I don’t want to know. 🙂

Easter dawned with hope, the beginning of spring vacation. I envisioned one-on-one dates with each daughter and Elaine, family time, a light work week. But we were hit with sickness, Aubrey and me the worst. It was long, nasty, and brutal. So the visions turned into mirages, and the blog went silent. I’ve been relatively healthy for a little over a week, but digging out at work has meant neglect-o-blog-itis.

Much to catch you up on, of course, as I’m sure you are dying to know the minutia of my life. Due to the sickness and much pain in my calf and shins, the training for the big 40th birthday run has taken a hit. I’m still going to try and do it, but my leg may not let me. Nothing like setting a goal to not feel so old, and having the goal painfully remind you how old your body truly is. Not to mention the way it reveals a warped personality that borders on mental illness. Elaine quite reasonably suggested tonight that I could very easily try to do the run in May. I looked at her as if she were insane; I literally could not comprehend NOT trying to achieve this ridiculous goal that no one cares about except me. And that says more about me than I care to delve into at the current time.

Unlike her aging, limping father, Talli is off and running well early in this new track season. Her first meet was last Thursday, and she had a good case of the nerves, as did her good friend and partner in crime, Savannah:

As they anxiously awaited the start of the 1500, Talli’s favorite event, one of the girls from the other team said, “Sorry to say this, but we’re going to win. There’s four of us and only two of you.” Because that’s how track works, you know. It’s not about how fast you are, but about the numbers. Talli started to breathe easier, and when Savannah asked their best time, the answer was almost a minute and a half slower than Talli’s best last year.

They started slow. Let me re-phrase that. They started SSSSSSSS——–LLLLLLLLLLLLL———–OOOOOOOOO————-WWWWWWWWWWW. Their first lap came in at 99 seconds, about 10 to 15 seconds slower than Talli usually did last year. There was never a doubt that Talli was going to win the race, and her last two laps she looked so smooth and strong, I knew this year is going to be good for her. She won by a huge margin, with Savannah in second:

I’m really learning to enjoy track, and I especially love the group of friends Talli has. They are great people, and three of the best run with Talli on the 4 x 400 relay. I got this picture of them right before the race, and I love it:

I suppose nobody except my parents (hi mom! hi dad!) really enjoy reading about me gushing about my kids, but hey, like I said, ask for your money back. It’s my blog, I can do what I want. Talli’s going to get some more blog time here, simply because there’ve been lots of cool things going on for her. And just to be publicly on the record, I love all my kids very much, and this is in no way me picking favorites with my kids. Ok? Got it? Good.

So the track meet was Thursday, and she won the 1500 and the 800 and they came in second in the relay. Then on Friday, she went to a festival with the Advanced Jazz Band from her school. She had a trumpet solo, and the clinician told her she did a great job. This all came in the midst of state testing and extra homework; we’ve not seen her quite so exhausted as she was Friday night.

When I was younger, I didn’t dream much about being a parent. But I suppose when I did, I pictured something like what happened on Sunday afternoon. Talli and Stevie planned a huge water fight at our house. They spent hours planning and calling people and filling up water balloons and buckets and collecting squirt guns, all the while trying to coerce me into joining them. They included all the younger kids in the neighborhood, including Hayley and Aubrey. I ended up running around our back field hucking water balloons with 14 middle school and elementary girls (me and poor Jacob were the only males in sight). We were in teams, but somehow my team turned into a bunch of Benedict Arnold traitors, and every single person on that field doused me at some point.

I have to say, it’s the most fun I’ve had in a very long time. It’s the kind of dad I wish I could be more often, laughing and teasing and getting ganged up on. I like knowing my kids’ friends. I thanked Talli for giving me a dad moment I’ve dreamed about for a long time. I just never dreamed that I’d be this tired and sore…