double rainbow

double rainbow

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Still Rugged :)

What can one second mean?

Well, we had another great Rugged Maniac and wonderful visit from Mom, Dad and Paul.  The course was definitely harder this year and it was cold, especially when wet, which was pretty much all the time, but freezing when submerged.  Becky ran with me, but certainly could have left me behind b/c I struggled more this year.  Dad did AWESOME!  John wasn't quite as fast as last year, but let's face it, last year his time was ridiculously fantastic. 

Dad:  46:54.1
John:  37:52.9  last year: 36.20
Becky:  51:11.5  last year:  52.10
Me:  51:11.6  last year:  52.09

We loved spending time with the family. Mom tried to teach Loretta to sew and fixed their puffy skirts for the 2nd time (or third?).  Paul got Sam a Knight costume for King Richard's Fair (but we got rained out).  John and I had to work more than we would have liked, but I did get a Daddy Daughter day of my own when Dad and I went to a Red Sox game.  Paul got a wicked cool tattoo by the same artist who did my last one and it was just so nice to be able to catch up with mom and talk about books and laugh at the kids.  I try very hard to keep them informed of all the kids do and see with pictures and videos, skype and Facebook, but nothing compares to real life. 



















 




 


Thursday, September 20, 2012

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Cupcake to Tough Cookie With a Little Tri

Some people are the type to dip their toe in the water before taking a swim.  Others walk to the edge and hop right in.  Loretta's more the type to take a running leap from 5 yards out, blindly flying through the air imagining the cannonball splash touching the clouds before checking to see if the pool even has water in it.  I love her sense of adventure, but my biggest hope for Loretta is that there is always water at the end of her jumps.
 
This is the way it was when we talked to her about doing her first triathlon a few weeks ago.  Her initial response was to leap right in and if the tri had been at that moment there would have been no hesitation.  However, there were several weeks in between the first time we talked about it and the actual event and that time was full of self doubt, fraught with worry and "I can't".  This resulted in many, many conversations about having a positive attitude, believing in herself, and at one point after an unsuccessful brick attempt followed by an overdose of "woes me" I told her she couldn't compete at all.  She was being a complete cupcake and I was fed up.  Fed up, because she was sucking every ounce of fun out of it.  Fed up, because there was no doubt in my mind that she could physically do this, but no matter what I did or said I couldn't convince her of that.
 
That same weekend Loretta attempted another brick with John and that one went much more smoothly.  She knew if she didn't prove to us that she could adjust her mind to match her ability that she wouldn't get her chance to compete.  Thankfully, she got out of her own head just enough to convince us that she should try to tri.
 
In the end, Loretta was amazing.  She went from cupcake to tough cookie and I mean serious tough cookie.  She had a great positive attitude the day of the event, pumped up and excited to be a part of it all.  She did not waste any time worrying or stressing.  I think she slept better the night before than I did.  The distances were a 50 yard swim, 3/4 mile bike ride and a 1/2 mile run.  She killed the swim, second out of the pool.  She was held up a bit on the bike in the wrong gear, but once she was done with that leg she attacked the run.  She slowed up about halfway through the run, but never stopped to walk and finished strong, passing several competitors and giving it all she had at the finish line.
 
We couldn't be more proud of our girl.  She did so well, but most importantly she proved to herself she's capable and you could see the pride of her accomplishment on her face.


 





 


Awesome Pictures Taken by Becky Howie

 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

First Days and Crisp Nights

I love this time of year.  I love the excitement of new beginnings and fresh starts.  The nights are getting cooler and you can just start to feel a touch of fall in the air.  Some eager leaves are turning and fall sports are kicking off.  New backpacks and lunch bags.  Back to school shopping.  Loretta and I now wear the same shoe size.  She's 7.  That's just crazy.

This year Loretta is in 2nd grade, Caroline is in full day Kindergarten and officially riding the bus (still seems nutty to me that kindergarten kids ride the bus, once she gets in she's so small you can't even see the top of her head over the seat backs) and Sam is in Pre-K 2 days a week.  Each of the kids were so very excited to start school.  Caroline was a tiny bit hesitant to get on that big school bus the first day, asking Loretta to go first, but Caroline being Caroline plastered a smile on her face and hopped right on.  She's such a quietly brave girl because half the time you don't even know when she's scared to begin with.

The mornings are so busy and usually end in John and I doing a fair amount of yelling about teeth and shoes and not missing the bus.  But then there are a couple of minutes of calm, as we wait at the end of the drive and watch eagerly for the bus to come around the bend, when we can encourage them to have a great day and give knuckles and kisses and make heart shapes with our hands. Hopefully, in those few minutes, they forget the crazed yelling from a few moments before and just know how proud we are of them and how much we love them.

Because there should always be time for silly faces