Finales

Even though there are somehow still 3 weeks of school left, this was a week of finales. Jay and Rose each had their last track meets of their respective track seasons. I finished my third season as middle school head track coach. Rose had her last orchestra concert of middle school. Jay turned 16 and got his driver's license. Jeff and I learned firsthand how expensive it really is to insure a teenage boy driver. My brain is foggy and sluggish from end-of-track-season fatigue, but I'll do my best to expound a little on these finales!

The War of Attrition

Track season is a war of attrition. Little by little over the long weeks of late night meets and daily practices, the fatigue builds. Add in a sprinkling of extra-intense weeks with more responsibilities and that wear and tear speeds up. This season we seem to have had a few more of those extra-intense weeks than usual. Either that or the busy weeks we had were just closer together?  We are one week away from the high school district meet and two days away from the last middle school meet, and let me tell you, we are feeling it. All of it: the fatigue and readiness for track season to be over, but also the fun and satisfaction of the whole season of coaching coming together. It's a potent mix of emotions and energies. 

Pleasant Mountain

On Saturday, May 10th, we stayed in Buena Vista as long as possible before driving the 3.5 hours back to Washington DC. I went on a glorious morning run and then we had a decadent large breakfast at our Bed and Breakfast. After that, we went back to the mountains for one more hike, this time down nostalgic Wiggins Spring Road to the Pleasant Mountain loop trail.

SVU Day 2: Graduation and Bluff Mountain

Friday, May 9th was Laurs' graduation day! It was so special to be there for her as her only friend and family member in attendance. I love my dear friend. 

Devil's Marbleyard

The first thing Laurs and I did together on our first morning in Buena Vista, Virginia was our all-time favorite hike: Devil's Marbleyard. We used to hike this natural granite boulder field at least once per semester. Freeform bouldering and sweeping vistas: sign us up! We loved this hike back in our younger college days, and we were realistic enough to wonder how it would hit our almost-forty-year-old bodies! Thankfully we managed it just fine without any injuries beyond a few scrapes.

Those gentle green Appalachians have a hold on my SOUL.

VA, BV, SVU, BFF

I have told this story before, but here's a brief backdrop: I met my friend Laurs as randomly assigned roommates as freshmen at SVU in the fall semester of 2004. We both ran cross country and track for SVU, and we quickly became good friends. After Jeff and I got married in 2006, Laurs had a different, non-Shaina roommate for a semester before she left SVU to serve a mission. Laurs did not end up returning to SVU due to marriage and moving and life. Fast forward 18 years: Laurs recently finished her degree!! 

Blue McNuggets, Sardines, Fried Asparagus, etc.

If "you are what you eat," this week was even more interesting than usual...

I. Blue McNuggets

On Monday, April 28th, Rose had her second middle school track meet of the season, a 70 minute bus ride way out in Naches, at the edge of the Cascade Mountains. Which meant as the head coach, I had my second middle school track meet of the season too. Several miniature headaches popped up here and there as we neared departure, with a kid wanting a last-minute grade check so he could be eligible to compete (athletes have to be passing all classes to compete). The procedure is supposed to go like this: grade checks are done every two weeks. Kids who are passing can compete; kids who aren't can't compete until they get their grade up. But it's bad form to do it all last minute and the athletic director does impose a deadline for grades. That's what the grade check is for! Anyways, all of the kids on my team but one were eligible to compete. This kid really wanted to come to the meet, so he went into desperation mode.