You Don't See That Every Day

Growing older *can* be a lot of fun. 1. I am finally feeling more comfortable with who I am. 2. I don't mind being silly even if people are watching. 3. I have fun embarrassing my kids. Thankfully #2 and # 3 often go hand in hand. But what isn't fun about growing older is the change in my physical condition! A few weeks back when the weather finally turned sunny here in the Pacific Northwest, I was wearing flip-flops all day, which sent my right foot into hysterics. The tendons were so sore I couldn't put any pressure on my foot; I couldn't move it in any direction; I had to use crutches for the evening, and it was just incredibly painful to even touch. By the next morning, the pain was gone. My foot was basically fine - a little tiny tender, but fully functional. Fast forward to Monday morning, I woke up to a sore right arm. It hurt to turn it certain ways; I couldn't pick up my full water bottle even. Once again, the tendons were so sore it just hurt hangin...

Time for something new around here: Track season! (he's the boy in the middle) Our son had his first track meet today.  In the past he has run in city wide summer fun meets.  But the last time he did that he was about 8 years old I think. Today was a new experience for him; although we have been to plenty of track meets for the cousins, this time the Boy got to run. He took on the 200 m dash today, the 1x400 relay, and the long jump.  And I was impressed and pleased with all he did. No, he didn't get first place, or jump the farthest,  but he was out there giving it a good try, and had a smile on his face the entire time. That's what I like to see! The weather cooperated nicely - sunshine all day and no wind. What more could you ask for at a track meet?! And I love track meets. I started running in junior high, and up through high school. I even made it to the state finals in a relay at least twice. One of my brothers made it to state al...

Actually I think it's the 5th round now.  Yesterday I got to take my oldest girl to the ER after her visit to the doctor's office. The snow around here was beautiful and  ... treacherous for some. The Boy was off to school; the three girls were out playing in the snow. The youngest was nice and warm inside, keeping her snotty nose running warm. Around 9:30 the girls came in to warm up, and the oldest lays down on the floor. In pain. And she's crying. This girl is emotional (I get that) so I didn't think too much of it. I just figured she was really cold. And then Miss M tells me that S. fell and got hurt. And I asked, "Whatever do you mean my dear daughter?" or something similar to that. She told me S. fell out of a tree. Screech! What?! Now the tears make a little more sense. I asked S. directly to tell me what happened. And the more the story poured out, along with the pain, the more I began to realize there was more to this than the eye could s...