Running in the Lead

When I was in ninth grade a friend talked me into joining the junior high cross country team with her. I had never participated in a sport before (the joys of being an oldest child) and thought it might be a fun way to stay in shape.  Haha.  Fun wasn't quite the word for it.   I slogged my way through that season and vowed never, ever to run again unless someone was chasing me.

During the next summer, however,  the high school cross country coach contacted me and encouraged me to run for the high school team.  I'm not sure if it was a problem of selective memory or me just enjoying feeling wanted, but somehow I agreed to do it.

In the next three years I never rose above being a middle-of-the-pack runner, but somewhere along the way I grew to love running.   I loved the people on the team, I loved the exhilaration of finishing a race, and I loved the time it gave me to think.  My senior year, I was elected to be captain of both the cross country team and the distance team in track-and-field.  It was an honor for me and I wish I had more pictures of that time of my life, because I look as exhausted as humanly possible in the one picture I could find.  (I am with my friend Mia)

I never did run competitively after high school, but I have since used running as the main way to keep in shape during my adult life.   Although it is clear from looking at the extra pudge that has made its home around my middle, that I have not been running as often as I should lately, I am pleased that my family seems to have caught the running bug from me as well.    Not only did I introduce Glen to running, which has led him to run 4 marathons and several triathlons, but my kids also seem to enjoy it.  Cami runs on her high school cross country and winter track teams and Emma and Adam participate in their elementary school running program.   Ellie's not quite old enough for it yet, but she's already let me know that she's excited to join next year as well.

A couple of times a year one of the schools my children attend will host a race.  In the fall, it's the elementary school.  In the spring, it's their high school.  My kids insist on running in both.  The high school race was about a week ago.    Ellie and Adam opted to run in the one-mile fun run, a high spirited race that winds around the school grounds and ends with a lap around the track.   Here they are taking off at the starting line...

Adam got a cramp in the middle and ended up finishing at 8:29, which although a tad slower than last year's time, is still considerably faster than I could run a mile these days.
 

Ellie, as you can remember, has a broken ankle. I tried with every last ounce of my motherly persuasion to convince her that she should sit this year's race out and rest her foot instead.  She, being the stubborn Goold that she is,  would have nothing to do with it though and attempted to run anyway.  It was a very long mile filled mostly with walking, but she persevered the entire mile and even managed to cross the finish line in a hobbling sort of run.   Sadly, instead of being glad that she finished,  she ended up disappointed with her "almost last place finish".  I was quick to remind her though that she was first place in the broken ankle division.


 After the fun run, we went to cheer on Cami and Emma in the 5K.  Emma was nervous about not having a running partner, but she did fabulously without one and ended up very pleased with her 29:40 time (a PR for her).

Cami didn't set any PR's, but still managed to finish respectably...

And  look cute while doing it...

I'm so proud of my little speedsters...

Now it's my turn to follow their lead and lace up my running shoes too!

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Time Still Flies...

I've always heard that time seems to stand still when you're in a crisis situation, but after almost a month in our own crisis,  I believe that that statement is only partially true.  Although nearly four weeks have passed since Spencer's diagnosis, I still find myself reliving some of those early moments (like hearing my pediatrician say the word, "leukemia" for the first time) over and over again.  It's not that I'm dwelling on the past, more than I still feel like I'm trying to wrap my brain around it all.  

For the most part though, other than those quiet reflective moments, I've discovered that time still flies!  The days blur together and I can hardly believe that we hit our month mark later this week.  Here are some of the things (in addition to taking care of Spencer) that are keeping us busy: 

Temples and Tombs:  Third Grade Musical--Glen attended this very cute performance of the third grade musical at the elementary school.  I had helped Adam put together his costume for it, but never actually got to see him wearing it, so I was grateful for a friend who thought to take a couple pictures of him, since I always have the camera with me (whether I be at home or the hospital). 

Can you name that costume? 

He's an Egyptian rapper of course! 

District Indoor Track Meet--As a fellow runner, I was so excited when Cami decided to join her high school cross country and indoor track teams this year.  It's her first year of running  (other than a year of Girls on the Run in elementary school), and I'm so proud of how hard she's worked through the season.  It seems that almost every race is a PR for her and I look forward to watching her continue to improve in future seasons.  

This was another event that happened on my night at the hospital, so Glen was there to cheer her on.  Thank you again to friends who took pictures for us. 

Pinewood Derby--I have a confession to make and I hope you don't think less of me for it....

For as much as Adam loves everything about making his own car and racing it against his friends in his scout troop's Pinewood Derby, I find everything to do with Pinewood Derbies to be insufferably painful.  Not only are the actual races somewhat anticlimatic in that it takes 2+ hours of sitting, while each car races for a total of 10.2 seconds over 4 or so races.  But I find the actual process of making the cars about as tortuous as cleaning my fridge and for anyone who's seen the inside of my fridges, knows that that's really saying something.  So although Spencer's diagnosis came a mere two weeks before the Pinewood Derby, we honestly hadn't even given making his car a second thought at that point. 

Thank goodness for awesome friends!  I'm fairly confident that without the help of Garrett and his dad, Scott, that there's no way Adam would have been able to participate this year.  They had him over for several hours over the course of two Saturdays and helped him to create this fine looking masterpiece (probably much finer than if we'd been leading the charge).   It finished very respectably in all the races and Adam was thrilled!  This was the only one of these events that I actually attended and I can say without a doubt that it was the least stressful Pinewood Derby I'd ever been to!  Thank you to the Woodhouse family!     

 

Winter Beginning Band Concert--This is Emma's first year of playing in the school band and I won't lie and say that I was not disappointed when she followed in her big brother, Spencer's footsteps by choosing the clarinet as her instrument of choice.  Not only do I love the music of the clarinet, but it also meant we didn't have to rent or buy a new instrument. 

By pure fluke of the calendar, once again this event fell on a night when Glen was home with the kids and once again I am grateful for a nice friend who snapped these shots for me.  I guess people know me well enough, to see if I'm not there that I'll always be grateful for a picture.  Someday I hope to think about our calendar well enough in advance to actually leave the camera at home for this kind of event, but then again, that would require brainpower and forethought, two things that happen to be in pretty short supply right now!

Now if I could just figure out how to fit a few more of these into our schedule....

Ellie snuggles make everything seem a little better!

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Today's Update:

Same old, same old.  Waiting for his blood counts to go up, so we can take him home.    He's still feeling pretty good comparatively speaking.  He's still on a gazillion medications.  He's still waiting for the county to send over some school work.  We're going to start some home study seminary pretty soon.  Watched the Super Bowl with Glen tonight.  They're both happy with the outcome!

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“God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities." 

Jeffrey R. Holland