#26

#26 is a book club book ~ the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky.  It's really weird.  As a mother of teenagers, it made me very uncomfortable...where are these parents that this boy is out all night ~ drunk, stoned...? Who are these people who befriend this shy quiet wallflower and then right away totally trust him with their feelings and secrets?  That part didn't ring very true to me.
And then the whole truth comes out ~ and my heart breaks for this little boy ~ and I wonder how many of these little boys are out there?
Did I like it?  I didn't dislike it...but I don't think I'd recommend it.
Favorite Quotes:
p26: "Then, I turned around and walked to my room and closed my door and put my head under my pillow and let the quiet put things where they are supposed to be." ~ I liked the idea of personifying quiet...
p66: "And I think they knew.  Not anything specific really.  They just knew.  And I think that's all you can ever ask from a friend."  Even though he totally didn't get it in the story ~ I really like this definition of a friend.
p211: "I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons.  And maybe we'll never know most of them.  But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose wher we go from there.  We can still do things.  And we can try to feel okay about them."
p212: "That was the amazing part.  Things just keep going.  We didn't talk about anything heavy or light.  We were just there together.  And that was enough."
ff: Dear Friend, I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have.  ll: And I will believe the same about you.  Love always, Charlie

Busy Weekend ~ Part Two

 
The Historical Society asked that our house be included on the annual Home Tour ~ so of course we said yes.  Not totally realizing the ramification of it being the day after the Akron race.

The Historical Ladies were two amazing women with lots of charm.  They were fun to talk to and they seemed to really like our home.  They even decided to put it on the front of the flyer and recommended it be featured in the News-Herald article. It was really a fun and interesting process.  The only funny thing was the garden club lady who didn't like my tablecloth, so she brought her own along with a BEAUTIFUL flower arrangement for the dining room. 

As the day drew nearer ~ I became a little more tense.  Our house is not a showcase.  It's our home.  Where we live.  Where we are ourselves.  Where you're likely to find dirty socks without really looking.  The chaise chair has a dog hole in it, fancily covered by a sheet.  The carpet is old and, even after we cleaned it, showed its wear.  But we love this house and we love it's history and we like to share it.

So Sunday we loaded up the kids and the dogs and off we went to look at the other houses on the tour.  The first one we went to was the Mayor's house.  And it was a showcase.  Granite.  Furniture showroom rooms.  Beautifully faux painted walls.  Luxurious carpet.  And we both felt small and ashamed to have our house on the tour.  I have never felt such shame ~ knowing I shouldn't feel that way.  I was a little panicked ~ and I wanted to run home and tell everyone to leave.  But, knowing we should be proud of our humble abode, we toured on.  The rest of the houses were just like ours.  Great character.  Lived in.  Homes.  Seeing them reminded me of why I love my house, of why I love old houses, they all have something that makes them special and they are all filled with years of families and memoies and fights and love.  I'm not one of those crazy "aura" people, but I think homes have a type of soul.  It was a great day.

Busy Weekend ~ Part One

To add to the craziness that is Barton Fall, we just HAD to run in Akron this year.  So we jump in the car Friday night to drive to Akron to pick up our race packets.  Because I am cheap, we drive back home (as opposed to getting a hotel room which just sounded like a waste of money when Mike suggested it back in June).  Therefore we were up and out the door at 4:00 am Saturday morning to meet my "Runners are Funner" marathon relay team at the Cracker Barrel on 91 at 90.  We drive to Akron and, because we were so early, we parked REALLY close!  We spent a very fast hour and a half waiting at the start.  I have to say that Akron was SO MUCH BETTER organized than Cleveland.  Port-o-Johns lined the start ~ I don't think there was ever a crazy line...and they were RIGHT THERE so there wasn't any chance of missing the start because you were in a bathroom line.  Mike was very excited/nervous to run his first half...on a hilly course...with Dodd hoping that he couldn't beat his 1hour 51 minutes...and Mike hoping to finish...and me hoping he did well...and a little bit hoping he wouldn't beat my 1:55:04 time.

We watch Jill (Bissler's friend) and Mike at the start and head over to the first relay exchange to see Kimi start her leg and Mike run by at about the same time.  That was the last I saw of Mike, but I got a few more text messages as he passed over the timing mats.  The first one said he was on pace for a 1:48:17 finish.  The second said he was on pace for a 1:49:49 finish.  During this time, I got on a shuttle bus to head to relay point #5 ~ and we rode that bus on a highway for a really long time.  Even though I'd driven the course back in July, I was still a little nervous about how far we were going from the finish!  As I was waiting, I was standing next to a guy in a Mount Union t-shirt.  We started talking just to pass the time.  As we were talking I was watching the race clock get closer and closer to 1:45:00.  I mentioned that my wrestler husband should be finishing soon.  Then I got the text.  1:47:29.  AMAZING.  If he was going to beat my time I'm glad he did it by such a HUGE margin.  Then I got this picture text from Terri (she and Bill, our amazing pit crew) ~



Mike's amazing finish ~ 1:47:29

And I hadn't started running yet!  Sometime after this I to the call from Brynn that Cheryl had started her leg, and was headed my way.  I started my warming up and 27 minutes later I started the last 7.9 of the Akron 2011 Marathon.  It was a great run.  I felt great.  The weather was great.  The scenery was great.  The blue line running the whole marathon was really cool.  There was a really steep hill at about mile 3 (of my leg) and all I could think of was Emily (8th grader on my CC team) yelling, "ATTACK THAT HILL, MADISON."  Took me right on up and past lots of people!  What a feeling of strength to power past someone on a hill.  Then at mile 23 we started the decent into downtown.  We ran two miles downhill.  I just loosed up and let it go.  (and I still can't believe the number of people WALKING downhill)  Entering that stadium and seeing that finish line was a thrill ~ and I had a cheering section pretty much straight ahead of me :)  We are now medal winners and marathoners.  I ran my 7.9 in 1:06:20 (that's a pace of 8:23) and our team finished in 3:50:05, good for 18 place out of 164 women teams.  Pretty rock starish if I do say so myself.

My "amazing" sprint to the finish ~ 3:50:05 marathoner(s)!

riding with F&G

Minus my finger...this is a great shot of my parents at the end our our 16 mile trip.  If I had taken a picture at the beginning of the trip, it might not looked as happy!  This was the first time they had ridden together ~ and I wasn't sure they'd make it.  Mom couldn't stop laughing and Dad couldn't get mom to get balanced.  "Grace, stop moving around." ~ But they got going and made it to the lake and back.  Much to my brothers dismay, they might even want to start riding the bike at home.  (It has spent its summers at his house where he and his daughter can use it.)
We had a great time hosting Frank and Grace.  We spent Saturday at sporting events and Sunday working in the garden, riding bikes, and watching the Browns win ~ and Joey's for dinner, of course.  Monday Mom and I tried to find new dishes for my birthday present...and I'm still looking for the perfect ones.  (And I have been looking for a few years now.  My goal is to have them picked out before Christmas ~ they are my birthday present after all.)

Double Wide

Let me tell you about Camp Stigwandish.  #1 ~ It has the coolest name EVER.  Go ahead, say it out loud, "Camp Stigwandish."  Just rolls off the tongue, no?  #2 ~ It's a pretty cool place to run.  I'd never run trails before and I really enjoy running at Stig.  The MMS XC runners seem to enjoy it too.  They are excited for their first home meet tomorrow.  #3 ~ I have my own key for the gate.  This just makes me feel cool and coach-like.  #4 ~ oh, #4 ~ you deserve your own paragraph.
#4 ~ I walked into one of the outhouses, and to my surprise, there were TWO seats on the bench.  REALLY?!?  Who goes to the outhouse with their friend?  It's a strange concept...and I can't fathom a time when you would want to sit in an outhouse next to someone...  The team decided that we must be high class because we have double wides.

#25

I almost wish I hadn't read book #25 firefly lane by Kristin Hannah.  I couldn't put it down ~ as it followed bff's from the 70's to the 80's to the 90's and into the 2000's.  I couldn't wait to find out what happened next ~ and then (I have to throw in the spoiler ~ even tho' I don't usually do that) one of them died. 

Here it is: 9/11 ~ full of emotion anyway ~ watching the Browns lose their season opener ~ reading about a character dying.  Not a good day.  I've been out of sorts since I finished the book.  Too true to life and not the happy ending I usually appreciate in a book.
But it was so well written.  A beautiful story.  Life if short ~ make yours beautiful.

#24

Book #24 was Harlan Coben's Promise Me ~ part of the Myron Bolitar series.  I know I've said this before, but I really like how Coben lets time pass for his characters as well as the reader.  He doesn't pick up the series with the next week or month.  Things have happened in their lives that the reader only gets glimpses of.  For me, this makes the characters more real.  Sometimes we don't see people for a while and we really don't know all that they have been through ~ I appreciate that with Coben's series.

Myron questions his actions in this story, as I think we all question our actions and contemplate our path in life.  Another enjoyable story.

fl:The missing girl--there had been unceasing news reports, always flashing to that achingly ordinary school portrait of the vanished teen, you know the one, with the rainbow-swirl background, the girl's hair too straight, her smile to self-conscious, then a quick cut to the worried parents on the front lawn, microphones surrounding them, Mom silently tearful Dad reading a statement with quivering lip--that girl, that missing girl, had just walked past Edna Skylar. ll: And now, at long last, he had.

sporty day

Friday, September 2, 2011 may have been the most humid day I've ever had in a classroom.  Even the floors were sweating, literally.  So when today rolled around I was glad that the cross country meet was at 9:00 this morning and not this afternoon!  It was still humid, but it didn't reach 90 until after the kids ran.  Even so, I was, to quote Audrey, "moist and uncomfortable" just walking the course.  But we had a great race.  Jacob ran 16:02 for his first meet ever and I've so proud of him.

Then we left Garfield Park and drove to Lyndhurst for Patrick's 1:00 soccer game.  By this time it was over 90 ~ but I was already sweated through, so it really didn't matter.  We sat in the stands in the sun on the blanket and some were under umbrellas.  It was just hot.  They even stopped the game twice for water breaks. Soccer boys are tough and they played on.  Patrick (#18) was unofficially named the defensive player of the game by a parent in the stands.  He was always there running the guy to the outside.  He played a great game, too bad they lost 3-0.

Run Log: August 2011

What a great running month ~ I began my cross country coaching career (that's rather alliterative) ~ and am having fun with a great group of middle school runners.  My patience is not so long for kids who stroll along, walking the course, laughing and joking with their friends...but it's not so productive to yell at kids and MAKE them run.  It's quite a mental process to gently motivate and encourage and find success with kids who really don't enjoy running...it's like getting a reluctant reader to read for fun, so it's quite similar to what I do all day anyway.  But then there are the kids who are working their butt off and are able to run 7 minute miles.  Totally amazing to me.  Our course at Camp Stigwandish (love to say Stigwandish) is tough.  Just past the mile mark there are two hills on a washed out gravel road that are really rough to run and that second hill doesn't end.  The hill itself peaks at the camp office and then the course turns left up a less steep, but much longer grade to the woods turn-in.  I'm dying when I get to that turn-in ~ and I have a kid running the two mile course (after a hill workout) in 13:05.  We've had four weeks of practice and our first meet in Saturday.  It's time for a meet ~ the kids need to see what we've been preparing them for.  Wanting to improve times is a great motivator!
And my running:  I have been running with the kids, so I'm not logging the most miles during the week (SOOOOO hard now that school has started to squeeze in my own runs) but it's been rewarding to share something I love to do with kids.  But I've worked up my long run to 8 miles (so ready for that 7.9 Akron Marathon Relay leg).  I've gone up to the bike path and then continue to run the strip in GotL and wind through a trailer park ~ then back down the strip and the bike path.  It's a good 8 mile run because it has lots of turns and different terrain.  I like that 8 mile long on the weekend and would like to keep that in my schedule (and now we start the cc meets and soccer games on the weekends...best laid plans and all)
I logged 72.5 miles in August for a 2011 total of 340.5.
I only biked that one trip to the towpath for 27 miles and a 2011 total of 354 on the bike.

Best running month of the year!