Exploring

Well... we're here.  Though I'm not always sure where 'here' is.  This weekend, our popular saying is  "What kind of country did you move us to, Dad?"  Kaden modified one of my comments, and since JimDad is a good sport, it stuck :)

The new casa deserves its own post, with photos.  That'll come later.  As you can tell, we've got internet hooked up now.  And I bought a new coffeepot today, so life is gradually becoming civilized.  Well, as much as it can while living out of boxes.

Church shopping officially started today.  Halfway through Mass, Kaden looked around and then whispered in my ear:  Mama, we don't know ANYONE in here.  It's true, we went from being in charge of a lot of things to being strangers...afterward, we were talking about what we liked about the church, and Kaden piped up:  "I liked it.  I like almost everything."   Which is true.

Kaden's also been over the moon about having his Dad around again.  The first night, in less than 10 minutes, he said:  Daddy, can you give me a bath? Daddy, can you put on my pjs?  Daddy, can you read me a story? Daddy, well, can you just do everything with me from now on?

Captiva Tri

This morning, Jim had another triathlon... on Captiva Island.

And when I was standing on the almost deserted beach (after the swim part ended),

I saw a dolphin swimming and thought, this tri thing is good.

 I did forget my camera, so if you squint below to the left of the cones,

you'll see Jim coming around the corner at the start of the run.

As he passed by, he told me his time was unofficial, since he blew a tire, tube AND spoke...

so he walked the bike back and didn't finish that leg.  Suprisingly, he wasn't in a bad mood about it.  And, God Bless him, instead of quitting, he said "I'm not ready to be done yet" and kept going.

The pic above is a random racer. It occured to me that there were a lot of competitors who *looked* good-- not only because of fancy/matching trisuits, but also good form on the run: even breaths, calm face, nice stride. Then I realized they were smack dab in the middle - or even end- of the pack. Hmm. 

Jim loved the idea of carrying Kaden across the finish line.

I didn't mention that the boy had a wet swimsuit.

Or that the finish line wasn't that close.



But they did it in good stride, anyway.  Kaden was thrilled to get a bottle of cold water (just like the racers, mom).... and the tri medal.  I don't think Jim will get it back ;)

Another Day, another Tri

First of all, let's hear it for middle aged, slightly out of shape women. While we don't currently have any people who fit that description on our team, I was so. very. impressed! by all the women racing in this morning's triathlon.

It was a 400 yard swim in the river, then into transition and off on an 11 mile bike race, and then a 3.1 mile run. Any one of those would tucker me out for the day. Below is Jim after the swim, getting ready to start the biking leg.

It's hard to say if he was happy or not. I'm not sure 'happy' applies during the competition. And while it looks like he's moseying along above, he's not. They have a rule about walking your bike out of the area. Tho' he is making it look easy in the photo, it (competing) looks much different in person.

But the suprising, and very cool, thing about tri's is this: there is such a wide range of competitors and people involved. There's the folks who you'd picture in your head when you say "he's a triathlete" or "she does triathlons". They're the ones who finish in the top 5 or 10 overall. Today's winner was around 54 minutes total, I think. Then there's the folks who LOOK like they should be placing: namebrand gear, special tri-suits, $3000 bikes (yes, you read that right). And then they get on the course, and they're huffing and puffing the whole way. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

There's other folks who are genuinely competitive with the field, despite the lack of fancy gear and clothes. And there's a whole heck of a lot of people who are just aiming for the finish line. Their goal is to complete their first race. To shave a few minutes off their last time. To not panic on the run, or not throw up after the race. Or even just to avoid cute pirates on the course.

But seriously? There's something to be said for all that. I got choked up cheering complete strangers on, because they made eye contact and nodded. I could see how they were "giving it all she's got, Captain." Some said thank you, others smiled. It could've been the annoying duck quacker I was using to accompany my shouts. Or maybe just that we showed up to acknowledge their effort.

Let's face it, folks. Triathlons are exhausting. I get so used to Jim's training and his teammates talking strategy, I forget that. He's done 2 sprint lengths (like this), 1 mini and a few relays. It seems like anyone could just throw on some shoes and get out there. Maybe. But did I mention the firetruck and ambulance came today? Because not everyone who starts finishes. And not a whole lot of us start to begin with.

Which is why I'm so proud of TriDad, who is spurred on each race by a little voice yelling "Go Daddy Go! Go Daddy Go!" The sweat in his eyes, the stitch in his side, the cramps in his legs: none of it stops him from finishing.

Happy Birthday JimDad!

Cards I could've bought for him today:

Don't worry about birthdays aging you.... it's being a father that does it!
***

Front: Picture of Superman flying and a guy in tshirt/jeans cleaning dishes
Inside: Not all heros wear tights.
***


Front: photo of couple under the covers, baby crying.
he says" i'll give you $100 to take this one". She says "make it $200 and a foot rub."
Inside: happy birthday to my partner in life, love, and never before seen levels of tiredness.


True story: Way back, when we had only know each other for about 60 days, and with less than 6 hours notice... Jim woke up at 3am to drive me to an airport an hour away, and he didn't even know why I was going.


True story: Today, around 7:30 am, I said to Jim: Good morning, happy birthday!
Kaden jumps up and says "I eat birthday cake now"

Happy Birthday to my favorite husband :)

May your day be peaceful, joyful, and full of love and laughter...

Snapshot of a Mini Tri

Jim- and six others from our church- finished a mini triathlon today. Six out of seven received ribbons for placing in their age group. One finished second overall... he was the only one who had done this before. Three were teens. One was the oldest competitor (at 69).
Two were middle aged women. Between 10 weeks ago and this morning,
three admitted they weren't sure if they'd finish.




Every single one was inspiring.


Afterwards, over lunch, their coach asked what each of them learned from the experience in terms of spirituality. Their answers?




Humility.
All things are possible-- even those that you believe are impossible.
The energy in helping others, like Simon who helped Jesus with the cross.
The "feel" of the Spirit drawing them together as a team.
Being inspired and encouraged by each other.
Getting out of their physical body and drawing on God as fuel.



If you were only there for the race, you might not have seen this. Well, except that our support team (also 7 folks) cheered louder than anyone, even the home club. But other than that, the day was filled with SAND and SWEAT and CONFUSION and PAIN and EXHAUSTION.

Sometimes, inspiration is hard to see.

Even when it's swimming/biking/running right past you.

A decade?

It never seems possible, but here we are: Jim and I celebrated 10 years together this past weekend. We celebrated at the beach:

Which was Kaden's first visit-- and he has his father's love of adventure. The waves were "rough" by Gulf standards, but he totally enjoyed them crashing into him (and sometimes over his head too!).

We also visited a zoo, where these two "general" lions entertained us a bit. Know what we learned? Because their genetic history is undetermined, it's a risk to breed them. So the lioness was sterilized... but the King of the Jungle? Not so much. Turns out their MANE is directly related to their testosterone, so a sterile man lion looks like, uh, a lady lion. (Insert thick hair jokes here).

That whole conversation with the keeper was over Kade's head, thank goodness (we have a few years to prepare for THAT talk). But he did seem to enjoy watching the animals... especially the monkeys, who were the most active. They got a high pitched screech of appreciation, which was the exact type of noise we were told to avoid, as it could aggravate los monos. Can't you just see the headline? "Local Baby Incites Monkeys to Attact Boat of Tourists: Warning! Gruesome photos inside!"

No, the entire visit was very nice and mostly calm- heck, it was so hot out both the animals and the peeps were fairly laid back! Here's to another 10 years of calm and adventure :)

Daddy Quotes

1) I'm in bed reading, and Jimdad's asleep next to me. He lazily reaches over and pats my hip a few times. The second time he does it, he says "I got you, buddy". At which point, I ask "Excuse me?" He opens one eye, looks at my suprised expression, looks down at his hand and then chuckles. "I was dreaming about holding the boy" he says and goes back to sleep.

2) Overheard during the bedtime routine: "Lordy, Lordy, give me patience. (pause) Or just let this boy sit still for TWO minutes so I can put on his PJs."

3) From the kitchen "Well, I can find you by following the path of destruction, huh? A spoon here, a -- hey, is that your drawer? Get out of there!" Then, after picking him up, Jimdad holds him up to the ceiling and says "One of these days, I'm going to velcro your back and just stick you to the ceiling" At which point Kaden laughs, and they have a manly hug.