Summertime

It is difficult to believe that the summer is already half gone. I am never left unsurprised by the rapid passage of time. For all those days that seem to drag on and on, there are so many more days that fly by at the speed of light, never to be seen again.

Our summer has been a busy one thus far, but I think it has also been a generally good one. We returned to the "joys" of All-Star baseball, with both Casey and Abby have busy baseball schedules in July. The All-Star season is always short and sweet but insane. Abby wrapped up mid-way through July, which was perfectly fine by us. She had fun and worked on improving her skills. Casey's team had a berth at the Provincials Championship, but they could not field enough players to actually go. Despite the team's poor showing at the Valley of Champions tournament, Casey played very well and impressed his coaches immensely. We heard many great compliments about Casey. Of course, we are always proud of him, but it was good for Casey to be injected with a boost of self-confidence.

Sam left town for two weeks, arriving back home last night. He had travelled to Creston and Cranbrook with his friend, to hang out with his friend's grand-parents and do a lot of fishing. They did do a lot of fishing! Sam brought home his frozen big rainbow trout. I thought it was huge in the photo he emailed to us, but it is even bigger in the flesh. Sam had a good time. Still, I am glad that he is home. I missed him.

Two weeks ago, Kane, Casey and I were all sick for several days. It was nasty, hit suddenly, and lingered. During that time, I saw the doctor about the continuing pain in my right calf, which turned out to be a strain. So much for my husband telling me to run past the pain! A break from the running was required for healing, and I had my first run just the other night. I took it easy and slow, but I still managed to run 2k without too much effort. It was good to get back to the running, and I cannot believe that I actually missed it. Those sick days disrupted my daily 100 crunches though, and I have not yet got back into the habit of doing them every day. I had done so well up until that day I was hanging over the toilet! I just need to crack down and get back to it. Just goes to show how quickly a good habit can be broken.

And now we are into August.

Sam and I checked his recently posted final exam marks online last night. He had only one final exam to check, but it was the most important one. His final mark for Socials 11 was a 47%, prior to the final exam. This course was required for graduation, and we were already anticipating the need to do some course changes at the end of this month, in order to get Socials 11 into his schedule again. But, Sam did better on his final exam than either of us anticipated, scoring 70%, which was enough to raise his final grade to a C-. It is by the skin of his teeth, but he passed!

In a couple of weeks, I will begin my serious training for the 5k, which is an 8 week program. I don't think I will have too much difficulty with the program. Up until my rest break, I was in already in the habit of running several times per week, and I had just recently increased my endurance to slightly more than 3k. The program starts with slightly more than a 2k run and gradually increases the distance each week, so that should be no big deal. I think the harder aspect will be doing the cross-training.

Back-to-school supplies are now lining the shelves of Wal-Mart, which means thoughts must soon turn to the prospect of another school year. I am both eager for the start of the school year and dreading it. Sam is starting grade 12, his final year of high school, and I feel at odds with the fact that he is reaching these milestones. It makes me feel old in a way that another birthday has yet to do.