playing catch up

For someone who's stuck on her butt, I've sure been busy!

But enough about me.

Here's a quick run-down of what's been happenin' here in FunkyTown.

Dani is a senior! She's having the BEST year of her high school career, socially and academically. Thank goodness! Her SAT score came in last week, and she did great. These days, SATs are graded on a 2400-point scale. She scored 660 in math, 730 in verbal and 710 in writing, for a score of 2100. That's the equivalent of a 1390 on the old-school 1600-point system. :) She's still working for the lawyer downtown after school, but it's only 8 hours a week and she's finding that it barely puts gas in the car. She's looking for a temporary seasonal job through Christmas so she can afford to buy gifts. She auditioned for All-region choir last week and was bummed to place as 2nd Alternate, meaning she still has to learn the music for Area, but isn't guaranteed an audition time. She's been amazing while I've been hurt. She helps get the boys off to school in the mornings, picks them up in the afternoons, drives me wherever I need to go and pushed the wheelchair without being TOO horribly embarrassed, runs a bazillion errands for me, cooks dinner and cleans the kitchen more than she should have to, and does it with a good attitude. Last week, I had to be at a meeting about the auction (more on that in another post), and Darren was scheduled for a 5k race, and it also happened to be Open House at the boys' school. Dani took them, and even took photos of their work so I could feel like I didn't miss so much. To reward and thank her for her hard work and her cheerful disposition about it, Darren and I won something for her at the auction - but that's another post, too. Here she is with one of her BFFs.

Aidan started his first season of soccer this fall. He plays in the YMCA league; they play all kids at all positions at this age, but Aidan's favorite is halfback. It's amazing to watch him play. From the time he was four years old, he could dribble the ball. We couldn't believe it the first time he did it; he knew how to take the ball all the way down the field, dribbling between feet as he went! He's aggressive and FAST. I think he's one of those guys who is just naturally athletic. Speaking of... he's training with Darren again, and will run his next 5k on Thanksgiving morning. And he's growing his hair out. Before school started, he printed out a picture of (The Suite Life of) Zach and Cody and said he wanted his hair like theirs. Crack. Me. UP.

Ian is all boy. All over the place, all the time. He's been sent to the nurse twice this year after smacking his head when the legs of his chair went flying. He can't seem to keep all four of them on the ground at the same time. He loses his backpack, homework, folder, shoes..... constantly. And yet, his teacher loves him. Darren and I had a conference with her last week and she giggled the whole time. He's reading a couple of grade levels ahead of his class, and she's working on a special math curriculum for him. I've said for a long time that I'm not smart enough to raise this kid, and it becomes more evident every day! He doesn't hate girls as much as he used to, but don't tell HIM that.

Darren ran his first 10k a couple of weeks ago. His time was 58:47. I didn't get to go; it happened right after I broke my foot and I was still completely immobile. BUMMER! He's running both the 5k and the 10k at the Turkey Trot next month, and depending on where we have Thanksgiving, I don't know if I'll be here or 3 hours north in Oklahoma. I hope I get to watch him!

half-marathoner

Last winter, a few months after Darren started running (for fun - what a weirdo!), I quipped that we should plan a Disney vacation for January '09, so that he could run the half-marathon there. He laughed heartily, saying that he'd never be a marathoner, or even a half-marathoner.

Well. For the past few weeks, the man has been running 9 miles at a time. Of course, he's wiped for the rest of the day, and usually pretty sore the next day, but still. NINE MILES.

Tonight, we went walking through one of the parks he screams through on his runs. It's a beautiful park, tucked deep into a neighborhood in the heart of Fort Worth. If you're not a runner or a cyclist, or if you don't live in that neighborhood, you'd never know it's there. It follows a creek and meanders through oaks and pecans, over wooden bridges, past benches marked with remembrance plaques of loved ones lost. It was a beautiful walk, and he enjoyed taking it at a slower pace than usual.

We drove the rest of his route, through one gorgeous neighborhood and into the next, up the long hill to the top of the bluff, around Colonial, past the zoo, and back home to our neighborhood. It took forever to drive it. He runs it. It makes me hot just thinking about it. ;)

I think he could handle a half-marathon in 6 more months, don't you?

Taking donations now for our trip to Disney World.
ha.

Personal Bests

Aidan ran his 2nd 5k this morning, and Darren his 4th.

On the way to Trinity Park for the Fort Worth Bunny Boogie, I told Aidan that he was allowed to take off and leave Dad behind if he wanted. The course followed the Trinity River along the jogging trail for 1.5 miles before turning and doubling back down the trail. There was no way he'd get lost or confused about where to go. Plus, I knew that Darren's coworker Bryan would be ahead of Aidan, and would be watching for him after he finished. :)

After the starting gun, Ian and I jumped in the car and raced down the course to the 7th Street Bridge so we could see the guys running. I was able to get some awesome photos from up there.

After I snapped the photos, Ian and I raced back down the hill to the car, and sped toward the finish line. We made it with about 45 seconds to spare; Aidan was already hauling toward the finish line! He beat his previous race time by THREE MINUTES! His official time was 31:16. Darren set a personal best as well, but was about 2.5 minutes behind Aidan. (Just found the official results - Darren's time was 33:28. He pushed it at the end, because there was a 71-year old woman on his heels - she crossed the finish line 11 seconds behind him. He said he refused to be beaten by an old lady. lol!)

They started out together and stayed side by side for the first half of the race, while Darren set the pace for Aidan. Aidan was able to maintain the pace and ended up leaving Darren in his dust at the halfway mark; he even had enough fuel leftover to kick in his booster rockets at the end.

He placed 1st in his age category. To be fair, he was the only kid in his age bracket, so he placed last, too. HA! But whatever. He bested his time, and that's reward enough.

Coincidentally, Bryan and his wife Julie ran their personal bests, too.

Next race: the Fort Worth Zoo RunRun, April 19.

If you're a grandparent reading this, maybe you oughta start planning a trip to Cowtown. ;)

23.50

When Aidan was 4, Kristopher and Tristan (his best buds at Fortress) often challenged him to race. Aidan, with his short little legs, always lost. He cried EVERY SUNDAY because he so hated to lose.

My scrapbook room has windows that look out into the back yard and side yard. One day, I kept hearing the padpadpad of footsteps, so I looked out the window and saw Aidan sprinting up and down the driveway, back and forth, back and forth. When I asked him why he was doing that, he said, "I'm practicing my running so I can win." Before long, he was the fastest runner at church.

In December, he ran the Jingle Bell 1 mile Fun Run. Two weeks ago, Darren signed them both up for the 5k Run at the Cowtown Marathon, and he and Aidan developed a regular training schedule. Aidan runs with Darren and his coworkers on Sunday mornings, and with Darren on Wednesday afternoons. (Darren also runs his normal route on days he's not running with Aidan.) Today, Aidan did 2 miles for the first time. He has to take 3 steps for every 2 of Darren's to keep up. His time was 23 minutes and 50 seconds. He'll be ready for the Cowtown EASILY. I can't believe my 7-year old is a runner! I'm sooooo proud of him. (For the record, I can't believe my 38-year old is a runner, either. He clocked his first 9 minute mile last week. So proud of him, too!)

Winner

Late last summer, Darren started a training program called Couch to 5k. He ran his first race on Thanksgiving morning (the Fort Worth Turkey Trot), and his second race tonight (the Jingle Bell Run.) I'm so stinkin' proud of him for setting a goal and seeing it through, which frankly, has never been his forte. His calves are shaping up QUITE NICELY as a result, and I'm certainly enjoying THAT added benefit. Mmmm. ;)

A few weeks into the program, his coworkers got interested, and several of them started too. They all signed up as a team for the Jingle Bell Run and ended up raising $1200 for The Arthritis Foundation. It was fun watching all of them run together, and waiting at the finish line as each of them crossed.

At sign-up time, Darren mentioned to Aidan that the Jingle Bell Run included a 1 mile Fun Run. Aidan said he wanted to do it. One evening several weeks ago, the two of them ran to Aidan's school and back - an exact mile - just to see if Aidan could do it. On the home stretch, Darren said, "Let's race back home." Aidan turned on his jets and left Darren in his dust! There was no doubt that he could run a mile, and THEN some!

Tonight was the night. We didn't officially sign him up, so he didn't have a number or anything. Darren has been coughing up a lung for the better part of a week, so I didn't think we'd even go. We didn't mention it again to Aidan until a couple of hours before the race. He got so excited!

"Aidan," I coached. "You'll need to save your energy for the whole race. Don't start out too fast. And if you get tired, just tell yourself, 'I can do it. I know I can! I know I can!"

He interrupted me, saying, "Mom, I don't need to say that. I already know I can."

"Yah, but just in case...." I started.

"Mom. I'm a winner. Winners don't quit. I'm gonna win. I know it already."

Talk about confidence!

While Darren waited with him at the starting line, I hiked a half mile down the course to wait, snagging a good spot for picture-taking and for cheering on my little winner. I gotta tell ya: as I stood there in front of the Tarrant County Jail ignoring the cat calls and whistles coming from its windows, I thought, "What the heck kind of parents send their not-quite-7-year-old running through the streets of downtown with no one to watch him? No one to make sure he didn't stumble and scrape his knees. No one to make sure he didn't veer off the course...."

But before I could worry for TOO long, here they came. A few adults, a handful of teenagers, and then..... AIDAN!! I can't even express the pride I felt. "You're doing GREAT, Aidan!! Keep running! I'm so proud of you! GO AIDAN!!!" The race ran along the main streets of downtown, where cars were parked along the sides and bicycle cops weaved in and out of intersections keeping cars from entering. Aidan kept running between parked cars to jump up on the curb, then he'd run down the sidewalk a bit, then weave back out on to the street again. He was having a BALL! I think he could've shave a lot of seconds off his time if he'd just stayed on the street. LOL!

After snapping a few pics, I high-tailed it to another intersection where I could cheer him on again on the second half. This time, he was running uphill and was dragging. When he saw me, he slowed to a near-walk. "AIDAN!" I yelled. "You're a WINNER!! You're a winner, Aidan! Keep running! You can do it!" And he turned on his jets, and did it. I ran behind him, cheering him on, for about 2 blocks. When I slowed down, I had to wipe my eyes.

At the finish line, the crowd cheered him like crazy. He was in the top 30 to cross... and the first little kid. Afterward, as we waited for Darren to run his race, people kept stopping to say, "Hey! I saw you running! You did great!" Aidan said he felt famous.

9:24. Aidan's first officially-timed mile.

I'm here to tell you: it won't be his last.