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.

E-R-E spells Everything

Our toddler can read. Sure enough, anytime he wants to correct you, he points to a written word and says "E-R-E. King" or "E-R-E. Cousins" or "E.R.E. Tomorrow". It's his answer for everything right now.

We also have the first (documented) incident of the child working the parental circuit. The other morning, he walked up to me with some clothes: 'Mama, do these match?' I mentally noted that he was ahead of the game by caring if they matched, then told him that he need a pair of green shorts. Ten minutes later, I see him fully dressed in the original clothes. Er?

Turns out Jimdad had sent him in to request the matchy-matchy service, and then Kaden returned to his dad, saying "it's good". Jimdad, slightly incredulous, "Mom said it matched?" Kaden: "yes, see here (pointing to a logo) and here (holding up shorts). It matches." I'm not sure if we should be impressed with his powers of reasoning, impressed with his ability to run around the parentals, or just dismayed at it all.

Oooh- see the stingray in this pic above? We saw some at the beach the other day. I stayed in the water long enough to snap the blurry pic, then headed for some sand castle building.

This pic is of a baby gator (head toward the left, about the middle of the pic). This was slightly MORE exciting, because we were on a boardwalk and not actually IN the water with the little guy. We hit the swamp and the beaches when some family came down- loads of people and loads of fun. And a great excuse to adverture in our amazing wild 'backyard' too!

A long time ago... and right now too

The pictures in this post are from a while ago. We took Kaden to his first real "carnival" - a local night time fair with expensive rides and crazy eats and new! things! everywhere! We went with some friends (his age and ours!) and had a blast. He was totally blown away by every ride, and only a little apprehensive at times. Otherwise, a real pro at adapting his reality to this new, fast and furious life.



So tonight, some relatives arrived for a visit. As I type, there's six kids sleeping all over the floor in one bedroom, 2 parentals with a one year old babe in the other, and Jim snoring on the air mattress. We have plans to go to the beach, to church, to find wild alligators. I imagine this weekend will be just like that fair: a lot of noise, a lot of excitement, a lot of fun, and passing by in a blur, over way too soon.



And isn't that Holy Week, too? Things that aren't that different somehow seem exciting because of the light we shine on them, the attention we give to symbol and detail, the way we dive to the bottom of our own personal and communal suffering barrels... all to have it end in a mad rush of excitement and celebration on Sunday. It's a blur, but it only feels right, makes any sense or is any fun if our friends are nearby. And then we go back to normal life, except sometimes we have to adjust 'normal' to somehow include an understanding of this latest stuff.

But maybe that's not it at all, and maybe it's just where my head is right now. A very close friend of ours lost her mom last week. I can't stop praying for her. Thinking about everything- palm sunday, old fair visits- and trying to make it fit her new reality. How the life of our relationships are stretched and gathered and let loose... it may be that everyone else has or will someday go through this... but we are caught up in the newness of it all, along for the ride in the dark of night, looking for friends to help us through the apprehension.

Fire Trucks, Treasure Maps and Puppet Shows

Today was a good day. Fridays tend to be my favorite days, mostly because I rarely work on Friday. Sometimes I plan on cleaning or running fun errands, but some days we just play. We had lots to play with today. Earlier this week, Grandma and Pop sent Kaden an awesome little fire truck. It's loud, but not annoyingly so :)


Then yesterday we came home to a package on the doorstep. "For meeeeeee?" Kaden asked? Yup, it's all yours little man. Turns out a cool uncle and his family sent a great envelope stuffed with kaden's favorite things: superheros, pirates, coloring and stickers!

There was one very intricate drawing from our nephew with lots of pirates on a boat. First, our boy ran for his sword and tried to find his 'pirate hat' (a bandanna). Then, he studied his cousin's creation for a while, before declaring it his treasure map. It was awesome, as he pointed out who was who (here's Tali, and here's me and here's you Mommy).


We had another fun playdate today, with 3 friends coming over. I had bought some cute foam-y Easter crafts last night, when I realized I hadn't prepared any cool recycling ones :) There were stick puppets, which resulted in hilarious "shows" - one or more kids hiding behind the chair, shouting somewhat recognizable phrases and then falling down laughing. They were pretty good at taking turns, and I think the 20 second actual show time helped!!

Oh, and here's Sir Kaden, knight of all Florida and Pennsylvania too. You can see his knight hat, his sword, his trusty steed who is apparently named "My Turtle" and his maniacal laugh and he rides to rescue someone.

Here the 4 kids are crafting nicely. Hey, maybe I should plan ahead for when the 6 cousins all come to stay, too :)