Mission Accomplished

This blog post is slow in coming, and I'll have to admit I've probably been more lazy than busy.  However, I did want to record that someone in our family actually accomplished one of their New Year's resolutions. (This may be a first for the Youngs.)  Adam made a list of very ambitious goals at the outset of 2010.  At the top of his list he wrote, "Break that dang school record (5:05.8) for the mile."  Since his previous best in seventh grade was 5:19, I thought it was possible but not certain.

He started out his eighth grade season relatively well but seemed to be stuck at about 5:15.  As I posted previously, when he ran in the meet against Sawtooth Middle, two of their kids ran 5:05's, and watching how fast they went, my hopes that Adam would be able to get his goal kind of evaporated.   5:05 is pretty stinking fast.

Amazingly enough, a week ago yesterday he did indeed "break that dang school record in the mile."  In the district meet he stayed as close as he could to the Sawtooth kids and to a former soccer teammate and clocked 5:05.72.  How cool is that?  He finished fourth, but he was thrilled with the result.  (The winner ran 4:57. . . as an eighth grader--NICE!)  Anyway, I was happy that he was satisfied. 

His success in the 1600 kind of compensated for his disappointment at the end of cross country.  The X-C season ended on a real downer when he contracted swine flu a few days before district and finished  fourth after being favored to win it.  Poor kid was crushed.  I, being more realistic, was so proud of him for running in less than top form.  He really wanted to get the points for his team.

Watching Adam run is interesting because he's relatively small for his age and has always looked like a kid running against his big brother and friends.  It was amusing to me when he looked at some pictures that we had taken of him running in the district meet, and he said to Mike, "Dad, I'm so tiny.  I always thought I was kind of the same size as everyone else."  Uh no, son, not quite.  As someone once said, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog."  (Aren't sports cliches great?)

Here is a picture of the little runner, chasing after the big boys:

We're hoping he grows in high school like Mike and I did.  If not, I'm sure he'll continue to cope.

One good outcome of my being a slacker blogger is that Mike got a copy of the video of the race from the father of the kid who is in third place in the above picture.  (Mike works with him at HP.)  We have it posted on youtube at the following address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?V=aM_8jxurdKc

If this doesn't take you directly to the video, type in Meridian School District Track Meet 1600 meter final, and it should take you to the right place.  Anyway, since this blog is mostly for the grandparents who are presently out of the country, I thought they might enjoy seeing their grandson run.  As Rachel would say, "What a beast!"

Even More Amazed

This past week I finished the second of the two quilts I'd picked up during my burst of humanitarian goodness a few months ago.  Quite frankly, I was happy to get it out of my hair because it seemed like it had taken FOREVER for me to finish it.  I whipped through piecing it, then got kind of hung up in tying and binding it.  I guess my impulsive feelings of goodwill were waning a little bit more than I wanted to admit.

Anyway, the Humanitarian Services Center is only open a couple of days a week, and I really wanted to get it turned in this week.  When work called early Tuesday morning and asked if I could come in extra, I agreed to help out as long as I could be off by a certain time.  I left close to the appointed time and went home to pick up the quilt so I could drop it off.  When I got there, a worker at Deseret Industries--the center is inside D.I.--said that the center had already closed for the day.  Just missed it.  However, I did see a lone worker through the window, sorting through quilt squares.  I tentatively knocked, and she was gracious enough to answer and come and take my quilt.

This nice, sincere sister was also gracious enough to answer my questions.  Since she was alone (busy but with no one breathing down her neck to get something finished), I figured I could ask her a few things I had always wondered about.  First, she confirmed that almost all of the materials for the quilts were donated.  The Church does buy all of the batting and will sometimes get fabric for the backing.  But most of it, she said, comes from generous donations from members.  Wow!

I asked her how many quilts were made in the Treasure Valley each year, and she mentally started to calculate the number.  She said that there are 27 (or 29?) stakes in the valley and surrounding areas and that each stake probably has about ten wards.  Each ward is asked to make four quilts a year, so she figured that that was a little more than a thousand a year.  She also said that she thought they actually exceeded the quota every year.  Good for us!

I asked here where the quilts went.  She said that the vast majority of them are shipped to Church headquarters in Salt Lake City.  From there they are distributed to needy families around the world.  I wondered if any went to needy church members here.  What she said next quite surprised me.  She stated that most of the quilts went to nonmembers all over the world.  That made me smile.  In a world that seems rife with rather negative news, it's nice to hear that good stuff still happens.

This sweet sister seemed happy to talk, and she then shared with me another program they were involved in--kids' pajamas!  She excitedly showed me the little kits that were being assembled for people to pick up and take to make into children's jammies.  She showed me one set that was partly done, and it was just the cutest little set of PJ's.  I asked her where those would end up.  She said that typically those would be donated to surrounding charitable agencies.  When the center has a bunch of them finished, they simply call an agency and say, "Could you use 300 pairs of kids' pajamas?"  Of course, the agency is thriled and snaps them right up.  Now, how cool is that? 

I wish I could say I picked  up four more quilts to do or lots of pajama sets.  However, I just dropped off the quilt and decided to take a bit of break.  I know our ward is planning a project soon, though, and I will happily participate.  It's pretty cool to be involved in such an undertaking.

One more thought I had recently:  Mike and I are closer to being empty nesters than I want to believe.  Matt had a piano recital the week before last, and as I was waiting for him to play, I reflected on just how many recitals and games and concerts I've been to over the years.  Then I thought about how few of those events I have left in comparison.  And it made me sad. . . .  It has been such a trip to watch my kids in all of their events over the years and see how much they've progressed.  There are few things better in life than watching your little ones grow into adults.  Seeing a child come into the world is always a miracle.  Watching them mature and develop sometimes seems like an even bigger miracle. 

It Doesn't Matter How You Look.  It Matters How You See.

Lucky Adam!  He got glasses last week.  After some time of his telling us that he really couldn't see that well, we finally took him in to the optometrist, and lo and behold, he was right!  He's pretty darn nearsighted.  Now I've officially passed on my poor eyesight to half of my kids--Rachel and Adam--which seems about right statistically and genetically speaking.  Karen and Matt were blessed to see more like their dad.  (Mike is still not even losing his up-close vision.  I, on the other hand, am precariously close to reading glasses.)

Adam has been remarkably even-keeled about the whole thing.  He's at an age (almost 14) that I thought it would be very difficult for him to have to get glasses.  Looks seem to be important at all ages in our society, but during the rather awkward middle school years, kids seem to be especially sensitive about their appearance.  However, Adam is so amazed by how well that he can see that he really doesn't care much about how he looks. 

Of course, his smooth transition into glasses made me think of the obvious metaphor:  it's more important how you see than how you look.  I wonder how many times I've missed out on lifting another person because I felt too awkward or wondered if I looked good enough to approach them.  Have I been too preoccupied with my own appearance that I've neglected to see how I can help someone out? 

It has been fun to watch Adam see the world so much more clearly.  I remember that feeling myself.  The world just looked so different with those new specs on my face.  I could actually see leaves on the trees and gravel on the road--WOW!  I also realized that there have been times in my life when I truly believed that I was seeing things clearly.  Then someone (or even just time) would offer me a new insight, and suddenly, the situation at hand seemed much more in focus.  That has reminded me to be a little less quick to judge and more willing to listen to what other people have to say.  And, yes, I'm still working on it.  Probably always will be. . .

From the sports scene:  Matt's team won the Performance Cup here in Boise a couple of weeks ago.  I got to go to all of his Friday and Saturday games.  He doesn't play on Sundays, so none of us went to that game.  His team lost that game, but fortunately, they did well enough in all of their other games to take the cup on points.  I was particularly pleased when they beat an obnoxious team from Montana.  Actually, it was pretty much just one player who was obnoxious, but if that kid had shoved one more of our players in the back when the refs weren't looking, I may have decked him.  (I'm obviously still working on the patience thing.)  Alas, we got no pictures that weekend because of the cold, the wind, and the rain.  I'm hoping that spring will come and STAY in the Treasure Valley soon.

Adam is also enjoying his way too short track season.  He's running the 1600, the 800, and the 4x400 relay.  He ran really well last Friday but came up against two beastly runners from Sawtooth Middle School who ran 5:05's in the 1600--as eighth graders!  Adam had a personal record but was about ten seconds back.  It's nice to see him run so well.  Better still, he seems to really enjoy the challenge and have fun.

I've held back sharing this silly little story for a couple of weeks, but when Mike, Adam, Rachel, and I went golfing a couple of weeks ago, I almost got a hole-in-one.  It was on a par-3, 156-yard hole, and I hit a lucky 5-wood into the wind.  I was surprised when the ball landed this close to the cup.  Mike watched the shot and said, "Hey, that looks good.  That looks really good.  That could be in. . ."  Well, it wasn't in, but I was still pretty excited about it.  I decided I could share my story because it's probably the closest I'll ever get to an ace, and I should enjoy the small pleasures in life.  (No, I do not carry my camera with me, but I did have my cell phone.)

Mother's Day this year was pretty stinky because I had to work 12 hours.  Fortunately, I won't have to do that again for three more years.  However, I did get to talk to my mom in Bulgaria before I started my shift, and I realized again how very much I love her and how fortunate I feel to be her daughter.  I miss her.  We also got to Skype with Mike's mom and dad in Mexico when I got home, and it was fun to wish her a Happy Mother's Day.  I'm grateful that she raised Mike so well.  I also feel grateful for the privilege of being a mom.  I've learned more doing this than in any other endeavor I've undertaken.  Period.  It's great to be a mom! 

Just Two Teenagers. . . Again

Well, my life must have gotten easier today because I'm back down to two teenagers.  Actually, I'll have to admit that I've quite enjoyed my kids as teenagers.  Yes, they do test the boundaries and can be more than a little self-centered, but they also ask really interesting questions and are quite fun to be around.  Anyway,  Rachel left her teen years behind today and reached the ripe old age of 20.   Sadly, she is not with us to party it up.  She is back down in Utah, celebrating her entry into a new decade by starting her summer job at Aspen Grove.  Welcome to responsibility, kid!

We did have a small family party on Sunday night.  We were lucky enough to have her at home for a week in between the end of winter semester and the start of her summer job.  She was super busy working on an independent study class that she needs to have finished before she can apply to the accounting program, but we tore her away from her studies a couple of times for golf, a track meet, some soccer games, and the like.  (Her little brothers "guilt-ed" her into it--YES!)

It's been fun to watch my kids grow up.  They have become such good friends over the years, and it's nice to watch them turn into adults who actually like each other.  Karen and Rachel are now quite good friends, and that transformation has, at times, seemed like a miracle to me.  (They had some pretty tense times in high school.  Just ask either one of them.)  This past week, Adam, Matt, and Rachel just hung out a lot, and I loved hearing them laugh and spend time together.

I'm grateful for all of my kids, but today I am especially thankful for Rachel.  She has a delightfully quirky sense of humor, a kind heart, an infectious laugh, and a quick mind.  I love to be around her, and I'm thankful that my sweet baby girl has grown up to be a capable, responsible adult.  I really wish I could be with her on her birthday, but I suspect that being with her on her big day will, from this point on, be more the exception than the rule.  (It's good that kids grow up, right?)  Happy Birthday, Rachel!  Love you lots and lots!