Leader of the Pack

I am one proud mama.  But then again, every mom thinks their kids are exceptional, and so, as a rule, I try not to brag on my kids too much here or in real life ~ well, except maybe to their grandparents ~ but this time I just can't help it!  I am just so proud of Mack and her performance at her first-ever track meet!!

 

Now, Mack LOVES to run (figure THAT one out, geneticists!!) and had signed up for virtually every single running event available.  Obviously, we encouraged her to aim to win, but because it's ALL the Gr. 5-8 students from the entire division meeting to compete, I cautioned her a little to be prepared to lose, too, especially since this is the first time she's ever competed in anything like this.

 

Well, whatever preparation she may have done for losing was somewhat moot, because she placed in every. single. event!!!!!  The pictures pretty well tell the story of how her races went ~

 

easily competitive in the shorter distance events...

 

...but virtually alone out front in the distance runs.

(The Man and I scoured the above picture for the second-place runner because we didn't think it had been THAT much of a spread, but we can't see one.  The one 'figure' at the top left-hand of the track that appears to be running is actually a wooden cut-out silhouette, so it doesn't count!)

We know speed isn't her greatest strength, but that kid can run
F-O-R-E-V-E-R without any noticeable change of pace, so her placements came as no surprise:

3rd place:  4x50m shuttle relay
2nd place: 50m sprint, 100m dash
1st place:  4x100m relay, 2x400m relay, and 400m

Unfortunately, she didn't get to run the 800m, which I sort of suspect might have been her best event.  It ended up being cancelled due to scheduling issues, but since the 4x100m relay was immediately after the 800, it's probably not an all-bad thing.  She was disappointed to not be able to race twice around the track, but I think it would have been much worse for her to run it, and then not have enough juice left for a team race.  She's very hard on herself, especially if she knows other people are counting on her.

In any case, we are just bustin' our buttons and Mack is already plotting her strategy and planning her training regimen for next spring.  She's really hoping the snow will melt earlier than it did this year so she won't have to wait till just two weeks before the meet to start training.

Seriously, whose kid is this??

Practicing Gratitude

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I'm so grateful the weather is FINALLY starting to feel like it SHOULD feel this time of year!  The grass is getting quite green and the trees are covered with buds and seed pods, so any day now, the colour will explode!  I can hardly WAIT!!

And I know I've said this here before ~ probably several times ~ but I'm reminded over and over again how fortunate it is that my girls are each other's best friends.  I am SO THANKFUL they get along so well.  I'm also grateful they're developing into responsible, trustworthy young women, too.  Mack's old enough to handle being in charge for a couple hours here and there and it's just so freeing to know that our instructions will be followed even while we're gone, and that they won't get into all sorts of things they shouldn't.

Haha, I wrote all the above stuff this earlier in the week and then last night we had a bit of a trustworthiness issue while The Man and I were at a meeting at the school.  We'd brought the girls and their bikes to town with us so they could hang out with some of their friends from town, but the ONE rule we made, they broke!

All is well... and I'm thankful my "missing" AJ ~ who was SUPPOSED to stay together with her big sister ~ appeared after only half an hour of cruising around town.  It seems she and her little friend decided to pay her friend's grandma a little visit.  While they HAD actually told her friend's dad (he'd told them it was okay, but just to pop in briefly to say hello), he seemed to have forgotten or just assumed they wouldn't still be there, because he was biking around town looking for them, too!

I'm grateful The Man and I decided together beforehand what the punishment should be, how to carry it out and that we calmly, rationally delivered the sentence together.  I'm also thankful Mack has the kind of conscience she does ~ she ended up getting the same punishment her little sister did because after sitting in on AJ's sentencing, Mack tearfully admitted she'd actually broken the rule earlier in the evening as well.

In talking with them, we realized, and had to admit, the rule had maybe been a little unrealistic and not well thought out, but, we reminded them, it had still been the rule.  So while punishment was still necessary, we promised to try and make a better rule the next time we happen to have this situation.  I think it was actually a good exercise for all of us.  Not a FUN exercise, but probably one that will stand us in good stead in the long run!

It was a rough evening, but I'm thankful the sun is shining this morning and the girls woke up happy and cheerful.  (we'll see how happy and cheerful they are when they get home from school and remember which customary privileges have been removed for the next several days!)

What are YOU thankful for today??

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My Kids Don't Make Sense

As mothers, we tend to assume (and usually take some pride) that we KNOW our children. Like, inside and out.  I mean, we LIVE with them, right?  We've been with them since birth.  Of COURSE we know our children!

I don't.

Seriously, whenever someone asks what Mack and AJ would like for their birthdays or Christmas, or as an activity to enjoy with an aunt, stuff like that, I inevitably say the wrong thing.  I'm constantly thinking they'll like or dislike the wrong thing.

Their likes and dislikes simply do not fit their personalities!  It's downright maddening.

AJ, my younger, random, hyper daughter always chooses the GT Snow-Racer when daddy's pulling them behind the quad in the snow.  She wants to be able to control where she goes.  Mack, my older, quieter, calmer daughter chooses the toboggan because she prefers the randomness and chaos of NOT being able to control her ride.

That same thrill-seeking older daughter chooses newer, scarier rides at the fair every year, but won't dive off the diving board at the pool.  The younger one ~ the one who has to work on herself the entire day at the fair to try the new ride her sister did ~ didn't ever have a first "attempt" at diving.  She just did it.  And looked like she'd always been doing it.

The calm, quiet, bookworm Mack has a hard time sitting through more than one TV show and prefers to go play in the toyroom or outside.  Wired-for-action AJ could sit glued to the TV or computer screen for HOURS if we'd allow it.

Gentle, sensitive Mack doesn't want to have anything to do with butchering (we raise rabbits for meat) while rambunctious AJ is right in there like a dirty shirt, helping her daddy.  But it's Mack who loves wandering around the yard, shooting birds with the BB gun while AJ ~ who constantly asks her dad to bring her along the next time he goes hunting ~ mourns grievously over the death of each one.

So don't ask me if my girls would like this or that for their birthday, or if they'd like to go somewhere for a fun outing, because chances are, no matter what I say, I'll be wrong.

I just don't have them figured out yet.

A Tale of Two Mondays

Long story short, here's Monday, April 29:

 

 

Roughly four inches of snow, temperatures hovering around freezing.
I wore a heavy sweater under my spring jacket, my mitts, and my winter boots.  The roads were slushy and looked like this on my way to work:

And here's the same spot that snowman stood just yesterday, Monday, May 5, a week later:

 

It was 29.5C/85F out there yesterday.

I broke out a pair of shorts and a tank top to rake the lawn.

Innocent drivers were blinded briefly by the glare of my bright white legs as they drove past our yard.
But it. felt. AWESOME!

The end.

Practicing Gratitude

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Looking outside, you'd hardly believe it was the first week of May, but here it is, nonetheless!!  We have had a VERY long winter and things were just starting to look spring-ish when we got hit with another snowstorm over much of the province.  We were lucky and only got a couple inches.  My sister-in-law who loves three hours east of us along one of the big lakes got about a foot and a half!!

Nevertheless, I am thankful:

• that the songbirds have arrived once again (haha, with the fresh snow -- poor things!)
• that the aforementioned fresh snow that arrived Monday and Tuesday is half gone again and should be ALL gone today or tomorrow
• that we FINALLY have the kind of forecast we've been waiting for since about a month ago!!

(for the Celsius-challenged, that's temps ranging from 43-72F)

• today is my last day of work.  Tax season is over for another year, and now it's just a matter of finishing up the last of the printing.
• I actually got a day off yesterday for the two people after me in the client tax package assembly-line process to catch up
• I got a LOT done!  My whole to-do list PLUS a raid of my closet and dresser drawers to get rid of much of what I don't wear because it's either too small, doesn't fit right, or has been taking up space, unrealistically waiting for repair.  (let's face it, I'm not gonna do it, I'm not really willing to pay for it because I feel like I SHOULD be able to do it, and so it's never gonna happen.)
• for a visit last weekend from an uncle and aunt, together with a cousin and his wife, who've never been to our place before
• for simple, no-time-to-cook meals like chili with chips or buns, and ice cream cake!

• a bike ride and visit to the horses a mile south of us with AJ last Saturday when it was T-SHIRT WEATHER while Mack was away at a birthday party.  I felt like I really didn't have time, having done no housework for almost 2 weeks due to almost full-time work and expecting our guests for lunch after church the next day, but I'm really grateful I took the time anyway.
• SUNSHINE and the promise of summer, no matter how desperately winter seems to hold on!

What are YOU thankful for today??

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