The invitational meet is really quite stressful for we parents - especially me. I got to organize the main dishes and salads for the potluck for our visiting teams. It was so stressful that I was crying the morning of - the last straw was when I was arguing with the facilities people that they needed to open the room where the warmers were because we didn't want to give everyone food poisoning. They were worried that a parent volunteer would fall into the pool....sigh. So, that meant I had to stay at the pool the whole time - or until the lifeguard got there. I just lost it. I dearly love to see my kids run; even after all these years. That makes me sound like a baby, I am sure, but there was a whole lot of other stress between the landlord stuff and just the end of a project with students kind of stuff, and just, you know, life - on top of no sleep.
I broke down in tears in front of the coach, which was embarrassing, but I think it got through to him that - hey this team mom thing is pretty darned stressful - even if it isn't from him but this big tradition that comes from the girls' team, actually. At the end of the potluck he came to say thank you and all that good stuff - and then "So, you'll keep doing it for two more years, right?" I told him I am sure there are other moms who could do it better than me, so probably not - or not without someone else doing the potluck. I don't mind doing the fundraising and the snack thing and stuff like that, but that potluck was a monster.
The two nice moms who were with me at the food told me to lock the door, they'd sit outside and wait while I watched the two races. I felt bad, but I still did it. They had chairs and shade and were chatting, and I told them to not hesitate to flag down a security guy to open the door and watch them put food in the warmers should any parents show up while I was gone. After the races were done, I went back.
It was worth it, because I got to spend time with my older son, who'd come to take my place as course marshal, and we got to watch my daughter run her race. In this race, this top team comes from the mainland - those girls run as fast as our boys - so it was California, California, California - one after the other. Then there were two girls from a Big Island school - and then there was MY girl. My jaw dropped, and the other parents were screaming, "Nancy, Nancy - look!!!" I couldn't believe it. She just suddenly figured out she could do it - and she did it.
My son did really well, too - he made his goal time of about a 6:30 minute mile and he caught and kept up with a couple of the boys on the team who've been faster than him this season. I can't even imagine running a 6minute and 30 second mile - even for half a mile, much less three on a very hot day.
Farm-wise, nothing much - my leafy greens in the greenhouse are loving the sunny weather we've had, which is odd, but the mint isn't liking it. The asparagus ferny growth is huge and lush. The sweet potato slips I pulled and threw in a bucket but forgot to take to the biology teacher are growing in the bucket, which is cool, I guess. In spite of the powdery mildew, my collards are growing like - well, like weeds, since I can only eat the newest leaves before they get the mildew on them. The neem isn't working on that. The sheep are being sheep. Allie is pregnant and it looks like twins because she is about a month or so shy of lambing and she's pretty fat. Cookie keeps going into heat, but she never catches, and one of the spring lambs is growing stubby horns - which is annoying because my sheep are a polled breed. I don't think any feral sheep could get in my yard, so that means there is a little wild blood back aways that is popping out here.
My husband decided to move where the ram pen corner was going to be (it was too close to the house) and almost punctured his neck when a board with a nail sprang right for him - first rolling the tractor, now this... He also helped a friend take down a cabin from a rental property - they guy said the could have the materials if they carted it out of there, so he got some metal roof panels and some plywood (the $50 a sheet stuff) for our chicken coops. Even though I was pretty darned mad he wasn't home to help me as I cooked my 20 lbs of shoyu chicken for the potluck, I am pretty pleased with the building materials for the chickens.
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