Beating Fast Tracks - Absolutely Normal Chaos: My Personal War - (Mom) plus (Five kids) minus (Dad in Iraq) plus (one year) = chaos

What a long week. Finally Alix's camp on the other end of the world is over. Driving a total of 2 hours (1 hour each way) for a 2 hour soccer session for 5 days straight is really insane. I don't know why I do these things!

But the plus side of this is:
1) I got to go to a nearby Starbucks everyday and do school w/ Andrew. We knocked out a lot of phonics that way (and I downed lots of mood enhancers at the same time).
2) I earned a free Tokyo Joe bowl. I think we ate at that place (Teriaki bowls -- chicken and veggies and even brown rice if you're so inclined) 3 days last week. Luckily, they have frequent eater cards, and w/ my horde, I filled up that card pretty quickly.

I have been so tired, tho. Even after 3 doses of Prednisone, my bronchitis is hanging in there. Cough Cough Cough. Hack Hack Hack. Can't stand it. And when you've had as many kids as I have. . . .well, I'll just not complete that train of thought. But today, I had to give myself albuterol (rescue inhaler) 4 times already in an attempt to ease my breathing and get rid of the wheezing, but that really didn't do much to help.

So today. We all got up at 6 so that we could get out of the house by 6:45 -- track meet an hour away. We didn't leave until 7, tho, but I still got there on time by busting butt up I-25 and hoping the cops wouldn't nab me for my speed.

It is now 3:45, and we just got home from the meet, only after stopping at Subway for a late lunch. A very long and hot day and a blast from the past. I remember back in my day when I'd while away my weekends at track meets. I don't think there's a more numbing spectator sport. Except, perhaps, watching swim meets (which I'll also get to experience very soon).

Alix ran the 800 (1/2 mile). She was also supposed to run the 100, but her legs were really fried after a week of soccer practices w/out a break and first running the 800. She did okay in her race -- ran it in 2:58 which only earned her 5th place in her age group. But that race is kinda a tricky one, one in which you really do need to think and strategize. Alix just sort of ran it. She wants me to train her to run it so next time she can do better.

Arianna ran the 100 and 200 and did the softball throw. She did average in all of them.

Anastasia ran the 800 and 400 and 4 by 100 relay (a 100m leg). She did not do very well in her 2 individual races (tho I give her lots of kudos for finishing them), so getting a 3rd place w/ her relay team really rose her spirits. She had the 3rd leg of the relay and kept their third place and even narrowed the gap for second place by a little.

Now I think we're going to go to an arts sidewalk type thing in the Highlands area of Denver and rent a Blockbuster. While the kids watch the DVD, I think I'm going to take a ride on my mtn bike. All that running and jumping and various nervous energy around me made me feel very lazy and slouch-like. Not to mention observing countless parents screaming at their kids to: "Push it!" "Dig in! Dig deep!" "Catch that girl. Make your move NOW!" whilst simulaneously shoving extra cheese nachos down their gullets that they purchased from the concession truck. Makes me never want to eat again.

I went to the chiropractor twice this week. He said that my back is all jammed up again; my right leg was nearly an inch shorter than the left! It really has been hurting me a lot lately, particularly after the trip to NM. I don't think all that time in the car w/out a break is good for me. He says I need to lay off the running again for a while and bike (or swim). This is okay, I guess, seeing as I've traded wheezing for breathing these days. Yesterday, I ran 5 miles, and I thought I was going to die on the road. My chest was rattling the whole time, and I had to stop several times to cough (I think I worried more than a couple drivers who passed me). So, it's prob best that I give myself a little break until everything settles down.

HOWEVER, there's this 6 mile trail race I want to do Tues. evening in Golden, so all this back and lung stuff? It had better be gone by then!

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What happened to Andrew's blog?

Sun 19-Jun-2005 18:49
Posted by:Kris

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