Track

Gosh, how I love to watch my boys run at the track meets. Who knew that I would become such a fan, but I love every minute of it. I understand track. It's easier than soccer. Participants run until they cross the finish line. There is no one to thwart your efforts like there is in soccer. It's just the runner and his determination to run. I regularly get "misty" watching a meet; it typifies the strength of the human spirit. I'm a cheering mom; that's my role. I jump up and down and yell for them to keep pushing every time they pass by. I celebrate with them when the race is over and encourage them even if they don't get first or don't get a better time than they did at the last meet. I learn who the other runners are on the team, and I cheer for them too. I love the determination that I see on their faces and the guts that they show as they press on in spite of the fact that every muscle in their bodies are crying out for them to stop. I never see my boys break their stride even though quitting would be easier. They push themselves to their physical limits and then push further, and it makes me so proud of them - so in awe of them.
This week has been a banner week for the Harp runners.

Josh ran his personal best 800-meters at today's relay meet. He ran the 800-meter leg of the 1600-meter medley relay. He had a strategy for how to beat BJ (a runner from a neighboring town that he's been running against for years), and he went out there and did it. He ran his persoanl best time at 2:05 and beat BJ by one second. Oh, how fun it was to see that unfold - to watch him push himself beyond what he thought he was capable of - and succeed. He hugged me; I hugged him and kissed him on the forehead and told him how proud I was of him.

On Thursday, Jesse ran his personal best in both the 1600-meter (5:28) and 800-meter (2:31) runs. He was hoping to skip the 1600-meter run at this meet so that he could see what kind of time he'd get in the 800-meter run if he was fresh (the 1600-meter run always comes before the 800-meter run). But, his coach wanted him to run both anyway, and even though he was disappointed, he pushed through the disappointment and ran both. He ended up running his best times yet in both races. I hugged him and kissed him on the forehead and told him how proud I was of him.

My life in four words...

I COOK A LOT! Quite literally, much of my time is spent feeding my boys. Between planning for meals, shopping for food, preparing food, cleaning up food, and occasionally re-purposing food, I cook a lot! For this one all-consuming task, all of my boys (big and small) depend on me. Jesse now considers it an especially good day if he knows that he's NOT "on his own for dinner." In fact, he no longer cares what we are having as long as he doesn't have to prepare his own meal. And NO, he doesn't have to fend for himself often, but even having to warm up his own leftovers or make himself a sandwich constitutes being on his own for dinner to Jesse. You can hear the "Yes!" under his breath when I answer his almost daily question with, "Yes, I'm fixing something for supper."

All of the boys - including Chris - just generally feel loved and cared for and well, happier, when I prepare their food for them. I make their lunches and they feel spoiled. I cook a pot roast and they're grateful. I bake a dessert and I'm the best mom on the planet. I do these things fairly regularly, and yet they continue to be happy and grateful with almost every new feeding opportunity. Shoot, I can make grilled cheese sandwiches, and as long as I make them and serve them up to them on a plate, they're thrilled!

Just knowing I have a plan for their dinner quite literally makes them feel more secure. If someone asks me, "What's for dinner? and I reply with "I have no idea," I can actually see them deflate right before my eyes. Their shoulders drop and they start to look sad and confused and sort of betrayed. It kind of cracks me up - how easy it is to make a man (of any age, apparently) feel loved and relatively content - just feed him. I am going to try to embrace this role of "cook" for the blessings that it allows me to bring to my boys instead of resenting the endless time and effort it takes.

Jesse's Frame-by-Frame Lego Rubik's Cube Video

I have to share Jesse's latest frame-by-frame Lego video. Of course, it took him a few days to complete all of the filming. He figured out how to edit it all together and post it to youtube. I don't know how to do any of that. Josh figured out how to add the music, which makes the video even more fun. :)



Okay, I'll admit that my favorite part is toward the end when the Lego men finally solve one puzzle only to find another puzzle and the one little lego guy shoots himself in the head as a result. Haven't we all felt like that from time to time? :)