February Album

 February is somehow almost over. High school track practice starts tomorrow. It all feels so sudden. Ready or not, track season is upon us! I still have a few weeks before middle school track season begins, but that hardly matters because Jeff asked me to help with the high school team until then, so it's full steam ahead. The high school has been unable to find a 6th assistant coach. (which does not bode well for me getting an assistant on the middle school team...) I agreed to help out at the high school practices for three weeks until my middle school season begins. Hopefully spending time with the 130+ kids on the high school team will help me get used to coaching track, as well as maybe make my 41-person middle school team seem more manageable when the season starts. 

17 Hearts

Valentine's Day always creeps up on me unexpectedly. This year, I didn't remember to get valentines for Amber's classmates at school until the night before February 14th. I learned that Valentine's Eve is a scary time to be at the store in Sunnyside. I absolutely couldn't face a trip to Walmart, so I went to Safeway, which is the closest store to our house. The parking lot was jam packed with cars, and inside the grocery store was a chaotic explosion of red heart-shaped balloons and bouquets of flowers covering every surface. I walked around in shock searching in vain for a box of school valentine cards. There were none, so I settled for a bag of Hershey's Hugs (the Hershey's Kisses were sold out). I stood in line, paid for the waxy chocolate, and got out of there as fast as I could. 

Two Heads

Are two heads better than one? Time will tell. We now have two head coaches in our house. I have a new coaching job! Actually, I have a second coaching job. As of Tuesday, I am the head track and field coach for Harrison Middle School. It seems so sudden and intense, but this has been in the works for a while. 

It all started a year ago on the first day of the high school track season. It was Jeff's first day as head track coach, and one of his six assistants was out with a back injury. I reluctantly agreed to come help. I lasted part of that first practice before crazy air quality circumstances caused the schools to pause busses, which left Amber and Rose stranded at the elementary school waiting for a parent to pick them up. When I got that phone call, I left high school track practice early and never went back. My kids needed me! How could I ever be a track coach and a mom? I make it work during cross country season with great effort, much planning, and a solid dose of difficulty. But why would I want to do that twice in one year?

Rose by the dozen

Rose turned 12 years old this week! Her birthday was on Tuesday, but we began celebrating the Sunday before with a big family dinner. Four cousins, two grandparents, an aunt, and an uncle came to Rose's Sunday birthday dinner. We had Rose's favorite homemade creamy macaroni and cheese with pulled pork and salad. Since our kitchen table capacity is eight people, we ate in shifts: the seven kids ate first, followed by the six adults. The kids chowed down so much mac that the adults had to scrape a few spoonfuls off of the sides of the pot to get a few bites! Thankfully the pulled pork held out and everyone got enough to eat.

Rose and Amber used up the rest of our paper streamers to decorate the family room for the birthday dinner. They also blew up several balloons. It was a very chaotic festive family evening. I think Rose felt celebrated. 

Slow Week

 My week was a slow motion battle with my body: a slow four day recovery from last weekend's sickness, slowly easing back into physical activity, a visit to the chiropractor wherein my shoulder and hip were put back in place and we discussed the slow process of healing from the lingering side effects of these malignments. It was all very slow and maddening.

The kids had a regular routine school week. Rose did unintentional battle with the mean girls in P.E. class, and after a rude hurtful confrontation from them which later involved a stellar teacher, the mean girls left Rose alone for the rest of the week. Jay ran five miles with his friend after school one day and felt the endorphin rush. One day after school, Amber reported that "my friend freaked out and stood on the desk and started throwing crayons, and the teacher had to wrestle him down. Our class was evacuated." A few weeks ago, Amber's teacher told me how sweet it is that Amber is friends with the "hard kids" and genuinely likes and helps them. My heart was warm when Amber described the situation in her class as something her friend did--no judgement, just events. It is so Amber to see through to the heart of each human and I hope I can help her cultivate that kindness.