RIP Peanut

Hard, sad lessons are part of life, even if you are only eleven years old. Today, Maddy's little hamster passed away. He had been acting sick for the last few days. It was heart wrenching to watch him look like he was in pain, disoriented and suffering. The adults had many texts, quiet conversations and moments of, "My gosh, what do we do???" Maddy knew he was sick and she cried herself to sleep the last two nights. In the scope of life, it is easy for adults to pass this off and not get so upset. I mean, it was a hamster, not a cat or dog!! But, here's the thing. She loved that hamster and we love her! Her pain is our pain. As any parent knows, watching your child suffer is one of the worst things imaginable. You desperately want to take away their pain and often cannot. You feel helpless.

When her dad got home from work today, he confirmed that Peanut was gone and proceeded to take care of him. I found a beautiful box that I had no idea why I was saving, but today I knew why. It was the perfect size and shape for a tiny coffin for Peanut. Pa and Sean both agreed that the sooner we buried him, the better for Maddy's sake.

 Every time I hear the Charlie Puth song "Only One Call Away", I think of my husband. In the song, Charlie sings:

I'm only one call away
I'll be there to save the day
Superman got nothing on me
I'm only one call away

Well, that's our Pa in a nutshell. He rescues all of us on a regular basis, both big and small. Here he is digging a grave, making sure it is deep enough and placing a block on top so no animal can dig it up. Maddy's girlfriends heard about the hamster and came over for the "service", complete with flowers in hand! Such a sweet gesture. Maddy learned another lesson today. Girlfriends get you through a lot of things that happen in life. Maddy couldn't speak, so she asked me to say a few words. I hope I said the right ones. We thanked God for the joy he brought Maddy and that he was no longer suffering. We shed tears and we hugged each other.

Marley even showed up for the funeral. He may have only been looking for lettuce, but I want to believe he was holding vigil for one of his own animal brothers! Now here's a pet! This tortoise will live to be over 100 years old and will surely outlive us all.
No need for his funeral. He can show up at mine!!
RIP, Peanut

The Mystery

Throughout the school year, I help the kids with their homework most afternoons. It can be a trying time. There is a lot of it. Everybody needs help at once. They all talk at once. Maddy's math is just about beyond my helping abilities and I make Pa step in and work on it with her. Don't even ask what I think of this "common core" way of teaching! They use terms I have not heard and they seem to meander down the math road rather than the direct approach we used as kids.
Sometimes, however, especially with writing and language, they get an assignment that I love. Recently, Jack had to write a mystery, We discussed possible story lines for days. We talked about writing a good mystery by making it appear that one person did the stealing when it was actually another person who did it. His teacher loves lots of description so you really can see the room, know what the characters look like, etc. Jack settled on a story about a skateboard being stolen. It was a good story for a 9 year old boy with a plot twist. The title was "The Case of the Stolen Skateboard". When he brought home the story, written perfectly, it was in a folder with the title and this photo on the outside, I couldn't help but smile.
Jack, this photo should be titled, "The Boy that Stole His Grammie's Heart". This kid makes me laugh every day. He says things that are wise beyond his years. He makes me think.
You have my heart, Jack.
Please keep it forever!

Our Gymnast

When you're in the kitchen preparing dinner and you hear, "Help! Help!" I didn't expect to find #3 twisted up in a bar stool! She has jumped with both feet (pun intended) into gymnastics and is always trying something, most of which makes me cringe! She can flip, jump, and do moves that I fear will injure her tiny, little body. Our gymnast is fearless and head strong. Add a dose of perfectionism and you get our Abs!
Look out world!!

Old/New Friends

 Running a race is a perfect excuse for travel. Last weekend, I ran the San Luis Obispo half marathon. Our high school friend, Michael, has lived up in Los Osos for a long time and we got to stay at his house and visit while we were there for the race. How do I describe Michael? He has this crusty, foul mouthed exterior with a heart of gold. He loves to grouse about life and all it's trials and challenges. He is one person I hold on a very small list that I could call, in the middle of the night, and say, "I need help!" He would ask where I was and be on his way. He is a loyal, true friend and has been for more decades than I care to count. We tease him that we have stood by him through a couple of wives and countless girlfriends, which brings me to the lovely lady in his life, Nicki. We had met her only briefly once before, but this weekend we had a chance to really get to know her. She is a gem! Smart, funny, kind and yet, takes no nonsense. She is perfect for Michael. She tends to see the good in most things and tries to help him see it too.

 We were fed like royalty while there, with Nicki and Michael preparing two amazing dinners for us. Saturday they made sure I was "carbo-loaded" for my race the next day and then Sunday, they barbequed steaks that were perfection. Sitting at home, sharing a meal with friends is far better than going to a restaurant. We laughed and talked and drank and ate the night away. I will cherish these memories for a long time.

Yes, we are older. Who knows if we are wiser, but we are smart enough to know the value of lasting friendship and love. Time goes by, sometimes too much time, but when we are together, we pick up where we left off.
What a blessing!

Mr. VIP

When you walk into your office and find this!! I laugh every time I look at this photo. Trying to find the right caption:
"What?! I'm working here!!"
"My feet don't stink!"
"I'm busy. What do you want?!"
"Can't a guy relax once in awhile??"
Love you, Jack!!

More than a Game

 This past weekend, we had the pleasure of going to San Jose to watch our grandson and his teammates compete for the state championship in ice hockey. Lots of kid are involved in sports and lots of parents and grandparents watch. Nothing new there. However, every once in awhile, something magical happens. The athletes come together, with the leadership of excellent coaching, and they grow and excel and achieve things they never thought possible at the beginning of the season. The team becomes more than a team. They become a family. This is what happened to this team.

 There is lots of time, money and energy spent on travel teams. We put more people in a hotel room than is probably allowed. Some sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor. Thank goodness their bear, Rusty, was there also!

 The siblings have lots of time to bond with the other kid as well. The girls all gravitate to each other and become fast friends. Memories are made for them also. After a weekend like this, many sentences are started with, "Remember when we did...." They store up these memories and will cherish them later more than they will ever know when they are happening. We call them "hockey sisters".

My husband stayed behind this weekend because he had so much work. It killed him not to go. He is at everything for the kids. After we won our two games on Friday, I called him and said, "Please fly up here tomorrow night for the championship game on Sunday." Mind you, this man has not flown in over ten years! He HATES to fly!! He said yes! Thanks to our dear friend, Jason, who helped me book the flight, checked him in remotely, picked him up at the airport and delivered him to the hotel. The plan was for Pa to be sitting there Sunday morning when Jack woke up! When he arrived, Amber, Mark and I were talking quietly in the living room of our hotel room because Jack was asleep. Suddenly, we hear, "Pa! Is that you???" He was so excited to see him! That alone, was worth the price of the ticket. The next morning, before the game, Mark found our "other" hockey grandson and surprised him as well. "Pa, you're here!!" Our goaltender lives in San Jose and has flown down to the OC to play with this team all year. This "away" tournament for us, was his first "home" tournament!! He was beyond happy to have all of us in his home city. There was a crazy amount of family and friends cheering his every move. His performance didn't disappoint. He was a rock star!

We are so lucky that the hockey parents welcome us with open arms. We have come to know and love some of them more than we can say. (You know who you are!) We laugh and cry together, making our own set of memories along with the boys.

 Coffee in hand, my son-in-law walks to the bench before the game. He is a fierce competitor and wants to win, but he never loses sight of the true goal. He takes a skater, wherever they are, and moves them along. He helps them fine tune their abilities, creates a team atmosphere where everyone feels welcome, and never lets them accept less than their best. He doesn't just coach the mechanics of a game he knows so well, he coaches them on life skills that make them better people. He lets them know he truly cares about each and every one of them. He becomes their "hockey dad".

I love this photo. Even though I have no idea what he is saying to them at this moment, I see that all eyes are on him and each of these kids is "all in" at this point. It may sound biased, but they were all so lucky to have him as their coach. Some know it now, some may realize it later.

 Here we all are, basking in the victory and loving the moment with the people we love. So happy for these kids and their coaches, even happier that we get to share some of their sunshine. They make us proud!

 

Setting Goals

Everyone talks about setting goals ~ losing weight, advancing at work, even relaxing more. We often fall short or stop thinking about the goals we set. We disappoint ourselves and fear disappointing others as well. Experts say, when setting goals, the path to success is to set smaller goals within the parameters of your bigger goal. Last year, I got the lofty idea in my head that I would like to run 65 half marathons by the time I reached my 65th birthday. For me, that is a lofty goal. It means absolutely nothing to anybody but me. I think, God willing, with no major injuries or health issues, I just may be able to achieve this goal. We will see. I am on number 32 and counting. It is still a long way off, which brings me to my smaller goal. I told myself that in the month of March, I wanted to run a 5K, a 10K, a 15K and a half marathon. As of yesterday, I am happy to report I achieved this goal!! Crossing that finish line yesterday, I felt such personal pride and was mentally patting myself on the back. Again, it means nothing to anybody but me, but it felt like such an accomplishment. Running has never come easy to me. It still doesn't, but when my body says, "No more!", my mind whispers, "Just a little farther, a few more steps." Step by step, block by block, mile by mile, I see the finish line in sight.
Running, like life, has good days and bad days. The trick is to just keep going forward, no matter what!