Bloggin' from baseball

(Reminder: mobile blogs subject to typos and blatant poor spelling - deal with it)

So after a week off for Memorial Day, my son has decided that his baseball team is the best thing ever. He was literally bouncing off the walls this afternoon in anticipation of tonight's practice and game. The trick is getting all parts of the uniform on the boy (why is your hat in the recycle bin?), gathering the bat, glove, water bottle, etc., packing snacks and crap to keep the little sister occupied, and feeding everyone dinner in time to be at the field by 5. We were doing well and were going to make it until I realized that, on the way to the field, we had to get past an office park at quittin' time. Rrrrr.

Nonetheless, here we are. Thank you to my wonderful husband for grilling up a steak for me to reheat for dinner. I don't get to watch as much of my son's baseball as I would like because I end up at the playground with the little one but it is all very cute. All 15 kids play the field at the same time and all 15 kids get up each inning (only 3, thank God). No strike outs. After 4(ish) good pitches from the coach the tee comes out. No score is kept. And fun is had by all. The kids are all so excited. The enthusiasm is so fabulous to watch and I am trying to soak it all in before they get too old and too serious about it all.

My favorite part is the bubblegum. The Raptors' have a fabulous coach (and a fabulous coach's wife - which we all know is equally as important) who has a pail o' Double Bubble. Before the start of the game, each player loads up because looking the part is just as important as any emerging athleticism. Now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, the choking hazard at the average little league game is greater for the cheering fans than it is for the grassing pulling, pant fidgeting, nose picking players. For example, my son batted last today (15th for those not following along) so he got an automatic homerun (run those bases to end the inning - AWESOME!). By the time he reached third he was in a slow jog which quickly deteriorated to a skip and then the need to be reminded to touch home plate. There was more urgency in the regular 2nd inning sprint to the woods after a half inning pee-pee dance.

Those of you who know me, know how much I hate baseball. Living in Boston, you can lose friends by saying that but it is true. It is like watching paint dry. But when it is your own child and they are having such fun and being so nice to each other, it is a whole other story. His teammates are adorable and all the parents are great, especially those helping with the coaching, raffle, and sibling entertainment. Maybe somehow I will begin to appreciate the sport?

That might be pushing it.

14 miles tomorrow, another baseball game and then the DMB concert and Fenway. Maybe I will catch the bug there.

Thanks for reading. More later...

Sad News

This morning, one of Sherri and my colleagues, Bob Mitchell, passed away from an aggressive form of melanoma. I talked about Bob in my 5/3 post "A Lot to Think About".

There was so much sadness in the building today but there was even more love and laughter as his friends, students, and coworkers celebrated his life. We really have an amazing community at NNHS. Bob had decided early that he would fight this battle quietly and privately. As it progressed, he opened up to the idea of not taking it on alone. The NNHS community was there immediately. A schedule was created where faculty and staff signed up for 2 hour shifts to be by his side in the hospital. Another group signed up to create audio recordings of his friends and colleagues reading from his favorite literature. Cards and emails poured in, letting Bob know his impact and importance. Former students sent notes to let Bob know how he had and continued to be important in their lives; in their futures. Bob's legacy is in the knowledge he has given his students. Nothing can take that away.

The Frenetic Pace of Spring

I don't know about you, but this time of year is enough to put me over the edge.

As a parent, it is nearly impossible to coordinate all the places your kids need to be and the things they need to do...simultaneously, mind you... the practices, games, dress rehearsals, recitals, trophy days, birthday parties, play dates, school activity nights, homework, projects, etc.

My son is also in some sort of superhuman growth spurt where he has literally grown 1.5 inches in just over a month (according to the doorjamb). Should the average 6 year old be able to eat nearly a 1/2 pound of pasta in one sitting? The end of the school year is also hard for him as transitions are not his forte - and he has an AMAZING teacher this year and is in class with his best buddies for the 2nd year in a row. The boys know that they will be in separate classes next year, and leaving this teacher is going to be tough for all of us.

My poor boy also did not make the age cut off to play on the "peanut " baseball league with said buddies. He is in the younger league and no self-respecting 1st grader wants to get stuck on the "baby team" with all the kindergartners. "Why couldn't you have just had me a little bit earlier?!!?" he sobbed. Are you kidding? You were 8 days late and ten pounds - I'd have given an eye tooth to have had you earlier! Needless to say, my house has been meltdown central as of late.

Then there are all the end of year expenses. Teacher gifts, coaches' gifts, $15 ea. recital tickets (rediculous), $50 dance costume (worth every penny - hysterical!), $25 dance photo package & $40 recital DVD (you are only allowed to take pictures and video on your own at the dress rehearsal - it's forbidden on the night of the show), Little League raffle tickets (b/c I have already hit up everyone I know for the 3-day and blogged about kidstuff fundraisers - so now I feel like I cannot ask folks about the raffle...$5 ea - want one?), gifts for my teaching assistants, birthday gifts, a 7th birthday party...minigolf, summer clothes for the kids - and me (5 sizes smaller than last year - yeehah!), graduation gifts, wedding gifts, and cases of Advil and Claritin.

At work, the madness never ends as my sophomores deal with MCAS anxiety, my seniors demonstrate "regression in the face of transition" (a colleague said that today - doesn't he sound smart?), my juniors think about college and freak out about the SATs/ACTs, and my freshmen...well, they're freshman! I am eyeball deep in progress reports, paperwork, phonecalls, emails, and student teacher assessments.

So today, afterschool, as I was emptying my son's backpack, making a To Do list, cleaning up from snack, and watching the kids in the backyard from the kitchen window, I caught sight of my daughter. She was heading across the yard toward her favorite tree. I kept watching because sometimes she steals our things and squirrels them away behind the tree. She marched right over, picked a comfy spot, and lay down with her arms behind her head to watch the helicopters fall from the branches. I dropped everything and went out onto the back deck. When she saw me she said, "Come in the nice shade, Mom." And that was exactly what I did. My son joined us, and we just lay there enjoying the day. Want to know what happened next? I fell asleep. It wasn't long, maybe 2 minutes or 10, I don't know, but it was all I needed to remind me to slow down. I am grateful that there is a carefree 3 year old in my life to remind me to take a little time to lay in the grass.

Off to find the Calamine lotion...

I'm so sick of cancer!

Found out today that another friend (under age 40) has cancer. Melanoma this time. WTF? It makes me so angry! The good news is that his surgery went very well today and there was no lymph node involvement. They will know more in a few days when the pathology reports are back but they are feeling good about how things went today.

Please pray for Tom and his family. I will keep you posted.

Luv ya, Tom!

CHALLENGE

Fundraising is never easy. Asking people for money can be awkward - especially in this economy. What is most ridiculous is that it is always easier asking people to support the 7 thousand crappy things my kids have to sell for Little League, preschool, PTO, soccer, etc., than it is asking people to support me on this walk. It is obviously easier to ask people to support your kids than to ask them to support you. I need to reframe the way I think about this. This is about helping families, improving and saving lives, and curing cancer. This is only indirectly about me. That makes it a little bit easier to ask for help!

Some of you received a follow up email from me recently. I issued a challenge.

IF YOU HAVE NOT DONATED YET...there is still time. Please follow the fundraising link on the right. No donation is too small. Your support means so much to so many - especially me.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO DONATE AT THIS TIME...you can support me in many other ways. I will keep everyone posted on how you can show your moral support by coming to a cheering station. For now, the greatest moral support comes in the form of comments on my blog. Visit often and comment to let me know you're reading.


For those of you who are still a little technophobic, TO LEAVE A COMMENT just click on # COMMENTS beneath the day's post and type your message. You do not have to sign in to leave a comment. You can use "anonymous" from the drop down menu and just include your name in the messages (or don't). You can also use "Name/URL" from the drop down menu to enter your name (you can leave URL blank).

Here is the big challenge which I am extending to every single one of you:

PASS IT ON!!!
TELL SOMEONE WHO HAS TOUCHED BY CANCER.
TELL SOMEONE WHO WILL SOMEDAY BE TOUCHED BY CANCER.
I challenge each of you to send out an email today to at least one person. You can copy and paste the message below. Help me raise money and awareness. It is your turn to take a stand.

Dear ,

Did you know that a woman's chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some point in her life is about 1 in 8? I know someone who is participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk in July and she needs our help. She has issued me a challenge to recruit others to help in her fundraising. This is an important cause and I encourage you to visit her blog and if you can, make a tax deductible donation. You can read her story and join her in taking a stand.

Just go to:
http://tracys3day.blogspot.com

Thank you for your help.

I am hoping that because you are not asking for yourself, but for someone else, this will be an easy thing to do. Maybe I should throw in some gift wrap or Girl Scout cookies for you if someone you recruit makes a donation. I can arrange something. Make it happen and we'll chat.

Thanks for helping! More later.

Quick (and smug) Update

Just a note to let you know that I did indeed make my miles for the week...in fact, I was actually over by about a mile and a half because I got lost on a new route today. I managed to make it home thanks to the mapping app. on my Blackberry. What was it they were saying about no phones allowed?

No Crappy Excuses

Here, it is our job to make progress, not excuses.

My students have heard these words countless times from me; a sort of mantra, I guess. So I am going to live by my own words and despite a crappy week, I am going to meet my total miles for the week as determined by the 3-day's "Suggested 16-Week Training Schedule". However, that does not mean I am not going to kvetch about the crappiness that has kept me from a good training week.

Monday, I got stuck at work and only had time for a crappy 2 mile walk. This happens sometimes and I love my students so it is most often not a problem - but on Monday, I got held up because of crappy paperwork. Paperwork makes me cranky.
Tuesday, I managed 3 miles. Not great, but not bad.
Wednesday's training was replaced by a visit from what seemed like the entire Framingham fire and police departments (see my last post). This was the crappiest day of the week.
Thursday, continued the stomach bug which also started on Wednesday - I decided to spare you that crappiness in Wednesday's blog.
Today, I barely squeezed in another crappy 3 miles.

So, if I am going to make progress, even though I think I have plenty of legitimate excuses, I will need to get in the suggested 10 miles tomorrow and 6 on Sunday. Crap.

Tomorrow is a pretty full day. My son has baseball practice, a baseball game, and baseball team pictures. I am also chaperoning the Jr. Prom tomorrow night (what the crap was I thinking?). Therefore, I may need to switch up the days and do 6 tomorrow and 10 on Sunday. Crap.

If nothing else, this blog has helped keep me honest and accountable and I am hoping that now that I have posted this crap, I will actually follow through. If so, by the end of the weekend, I will have completed the 5th week of official training and will have walked 95.5 miles. Holy Crap!

I'll be back on Sunday with either news of my progress or some really crappy excuses.

Thanks for reading. More later...

The Irony of a First Aid Kit

So I was going to try to keep this post light and cheery since I am still waiting for Kierkegaard and Nietzsche to comment on that last one. Tonight, I was going to tell you about how funny my daughter is. I was going to share stories about a recent trip with her to the mall and tell you how a three year old can really put you in your place. Here is a little of what I was going to post…We were walking through the mall and she was telling me about all the things you can do and see there, like Julie your cruise director.
The conversation went like this:
A: [passing Sephora - with a flourish] “…and this is where you can go to get your make up done.”
Me: “Oh yeah?”
A: “Yes. You can come here to get a new look.” [pause] “You should go there.”
Me: “To get a new look? I thought I already had a new look.” [posing, showing off my new figure.]
A: “Yes. But you don’t have a stylish look.”
Me: “Reeeally?”
A: “Yes. Really.”
Then she gave me the head shake and shrug that says, “sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but…” Do you believe this kid? Conversations like this happen all the time when she is around. She is quite a character. She is also a very good girl. She has always been our “easy” one.

This goodness and easiness may have led to today’s 911 call. Let me first say that everyone is fine but we did have a bit of a scare. Today after school, my son had a friend over. They were playing ball in the backyard. I had been pushing my daughter on the swings and chatting on the phone with my son’s friend’s mom. My daughter and I headed into the house. Like I said, she’s the easy one. She’s always been able to entertain herself and I never worry about her getting into things she shouldn’t. I do get flashes of nervousness when she gets too quiet and I also hide scissors because of the fear that she will one day give herself a “stylish new look” – but for the most part, she goes off and plays and I do my thing.

So I am straightening up in my room, still on the phone, and I hear her start to cry a real cry. Moms know what I mean – not a fussy cry, but a something’s really wrong cry. So it turns out that she has gotten into a first aid kit that my mother-in-law brought over for me to put in my car. In it was an ammonia inhalant capsule – you know the kind you snap to activate for revival purposes? Well, she activated it all right – with her teeth!

Here is what I want you to ask yourself right now. Do you know your local poison control number? As a new parent, we had all those important numbers posted in perfect penmanship on the side of the refrigerator. Now, even if it had still been posted on the fridge, I would have had to find it under layers of alphabet and Leap Frog magnets, baseball schedules, birthday invitations, and artistic masterpieces. 911…9-1-1…9 - stay calm - 1- should I make her puke? – 1… “911. This call is being recorded. What’s your emergency?”

Here are a few more questions to ask yourself. Do you live in a town where they send an ambulance, a police cruiser (or two), a fire truck, AND the fire chief (you know, the guy in the red SUV?) when you call 911? Do you have a lot of caring neighbors who are home at 4 pm? Have you ever had to call a parent to say, “Sorry to end the play date early, but I just poisoned my daughter. Do you mind coming to pick up your child?” Awesome.

So what is most important is my daughter is perfectly healthy. She did have some irritation on her lips and in her mouth and her top lip was also a bit swollen from the pop of the capsule. Mostly she was scared and embarrassed. She kept saying, “Don’t tell them what I did.” So I told her that Mommy made a big mistake leaving that there where children could get to it. She thought this was funny and asked if I thought Daddy would be mad at me. I do need to reflect on why this type of stuff happens on my watch and not his.

Needless to say, I really had to think today about all the other dangers around my house. Because we have never really had to worry about the little one, we have become a bit complacent. Not good. After the dust settled and I apologized to all the neighbors (“Thank you!” wave. smile. “Nothing to see here!”) and promised my son’s friend’s mother that I would only try to poison my own children and it was safe to come back another day, I began re-childproofing the house. Luckily the other mom is a friend of mine who has 3 boys – she totally gets it – and my neighbors did not ask the police to further investigate my shaky parenting. We have had 911 calls in the past but it has been almost 5 years since our last one – another stellar parenting moment – when I locked my keys in my car on a 90+ degree day, with my then 2 year old son strapped into his car seat (the keys were on the seat, not in the ignition with the AC going). I actually drove to the hospital on the day that I shut my daughter’s finger in the public bathroom door at the craft store – so no 911 that day. We didn’t have to call later that afternoon either when she removed the cast herself. “Here, Mama. I don’t like this.”

So as I file away my Mother of the Year Award, I hope that you will take a look around your house and just make sure you are keeping your kids safe. And if your kids are friends with my kids, don’t worry. I am better with other people’s children. They even let me be a teacher.

Again, my daughter is just fine. My son and his friend continued playing ball in the back yard and were unfazed by the whole fiasco, and with some counseling, I will be just fine too.

In case you were wondering, I DID NOT train today.

A lot to think about

This week finds me thinking a lot about life…it’s beginnings, how we live it, and how it ends. (anyone want to bail now? this is a long one and it only gets deeper from here.) On Monday, my new niece, Emma Grace, came into the world. She is just gorgeous, with cheeks that absolutely drip off her face and the fullest head of hair I have ever seen on a newborn. This is child number two for my husband’s brother and his wife who also have a little boy. My kids just have the two cousins so they were excited to meet the new baby. My daughter loves babies and was over the moon – despite a few days of disappointment when she learned that Auntie Mimi and Uncle Kevin did not name the baby Rainbow Sunflower as she had requested.

This week I also learned that friends of mine from work are expecting. I was able to see the pictures from their first ultrasound and we talked about what fruit size the baby is this week – a lime? a lemon? Amazing. I am thrilled for them and welled up a few times watching their excitement and joy. They will be remarkable parents. Of this, I have no doubt.

I also chatted, this week, with another dear friend who is pregnant with her second child and on bed rest. (This is my friend who ran for the bus with me…see “Peas & Corn” 3/17/09) Her son was born prematurely and there have been some signs of possible preterm labor, so she is on bed rest and doing her best to stay pregnant. She is incredibly optimistic and enthusiastic about this pregnancy and I envy her strength. I also question, knowing her inability to not be busy, whether she is actually in bed right now. Rest up, DG! ; ) You’re remarkable!

Also this week, I have needed to take pause and think about the end of life. On Thursday, I learned that the mother of two of my childhood friends passed away last weekend. Their family owns the greatest pizza place in my hometown and I have the fondest memories of her, seated at a table, greeting all the regular customers as they came by. I always loved the way her kids called her “Ma” and can picture her daughter standing behind her with her arms draped over Ma’s shoulders. She would reach up and hold onto her daughter’s arms but would not miss a beat in the conversation. When I was 8, her oldest son, a teenager at the time, promised to marry me when I got older. Ma winked and gave her blessing. Years later when he did get married to his beautiful wife, I reminded him of his broken promise and my broken heart. We still laugh about it sometimes. I am thinking about you, Georgia and Harry, and I hold your mom in my heart. Rest in peace, Zoe Triantafilles. You will be missed.

This week also brought news that an esteemed colleague is very ill. Bob is, perhaps, the smartest, most intriguing man, I have ever met. Often I have been intimidated by his brilliance, but once you get to talking with him, you find out quickly how gentle and kind to the core he really is. I would describe him as eccentric, extraordinary and a real cool cat. He has wispy, white hair which lands at mid-neck; he walks quickly, has a broad chest, and is clearly physically fit; he wears shorts through the winter (a colleague told me he does it in deviance of winter – a refusal to let winter win); he always has stacks of books near by, if not tucked beneath his arms; and his desk is an absolute avalanche of paper. He is an award-winning teacher of Latin whose students adore, respect, and miss him. Another colleague recently visited Bob in the hospital and he shared some of Bob's thoughts. He asked us to “focus on doing what you can for each other.” He also wanted to know if people were thinking of him. We are.

I think because this week has brought a lot of news about births, illness, and death, I have also been thinking about Bridget. For those of you who do not know her story, Bridget is a college friend of mine, who lost her short but courageous battle with cancer in August, not long after the premature birth of her second child. If you have followed my blog, you have heard me mention Bridget and the strength of her friends and family. Bridget’s husband, Steve, has really been the inspiration behind my blog. He has kept a blog since shortly after Bridget’s diagnosis (nearly one year ago). His blog has been many things to many people and I thank him for sharing.
You can read more about Bridget here: http://www.evening4bridget.org/Homepage.html

Evening for Bridget raised money for Dana Farber and for Bridget’s daughters’ schooling. Here is an excerpt from a letter sent by one of the organizers:
We are very pleased to report that we have donated over $47,000 to Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the name of Bridget K. Slotemaker. As a reminder, these funds have been earmarked to Dr. Ann Partridge, who founded the program "Young and Strong". Ann is a remarkable woman who is incredibly committed to the fight against cancer, especially for women 40 and younger. In addition to the clinical research components that Ann leads, this program also serves as an incredible support resource for patients and their families. We believe the Young and Strong program is a very fitting recipient from monies raised from "An Evening for Bridget", as we support the brave and courageous young women and their families battling this horrible disease.

I encourage you to read more about Dr. Partridge and the Young and Strong Program.

Speaking of Young and Strong…this weekend also marks Sherri’s 3-year Cancer-Free anniversary. Her diagnosis, surgery and treatment sometimes feel like they happened yesterday and sometimes it feels like a million years ago. But one thing is for sure, I am grateful for every second of these 3 years. I am thrilled to be taking this journey with Sherri. You rock, girl!

All these things flooded my thoughts today as I walked my longest training walk to date. Our training schedule called for an 8-mile day yesterday and a 6-mile day today. Since I wanted to attend funeral services yesterday, I walked just 4.5 miles. Therefore, I decided to make it a long one today. Tommy and the kids dropped me off in Newton Lower Falls and I walked the Boston Marathon route back to Framingham. A whopping 10.5 miles! I’m sore, for sure, but feel great.

The thing that kept me walking today was not just the thoughts of birth and illness and death and survival – but about the choices we make when we are able. I feel blessed to have my health and so I am trying to make the most of it. I am blessed with a beautiful family and so I want to be around for them and I want to enjoy them totally. I want this for others too. I had on my “training my butt off” t-shirt and a woman who was out running with a jogging stroller, stopped at an intersection to ask what I am training for. “It’s a good thing you’re doing,” she said. “Keep going.” She’s right. I thought about Bob’s words. It is important to focus on what we can do for each other. It is also important to let others know that you are thinking of them. We all want to know that others are thinking of us. Bob was brave enough to wonder aloud. So tell someone you are thinking of them. You don't have to walk 60 miles to make a difference. It's the little things.

Thanks for thinking of me. It makes a difference.

Tracy runs on Dunkin

I just had a terrible thought. How am I going to walk 20 miles per day without any Dunkin Donuts? I have got to talk to Sherri and find out how we can make this happen. I got up extra early this morning to walk and it's raining pretty hard. So I went to DD, got my coffee, and I am now sitting in my car waiting for the gym to open. (YMCA does not open until 7 on weekends-a pain in the butt).

In all that I have done to get healthy, the one thing I was not able to stick with was giving up the caffeine. I did at first and went a whole 6 weeks without coffee. I guess I should take the time now to publicly apologize to anyone whose head I may have inadvertently bit off during that time. Even after the initial freight train headache laden withdrawal time was up, I still could not manage the addiction and I am enjoying a turboshot-ified cup of liquid bliss right now. I know that coffee is not good for hydration and I should be drinking water, water, water but I NEED coffee.

Sherri, I can manage the 60 miles, the sleeping in a tent, and even showering in a truck. I am looking forward to the 3 days of bonding. But there must be coffee and can it please be Dunkin Donuts?

Gym's open...gotta go.