5K Weekend

I have had quite the action-packed few days, so here's an update!

-We finished harvest on Thursday afternoon, in the third day. I have to say, there is nothing like the feeling as soon as the last load is dumped. It feels like summer officially begins in that instant! I am glad that my parents have a small operation and that we can get done quickly. We got done early, and my mom and I decided that we didn't have it in us to cook supper, so we headed to town to get some supper. We had our hearts set on Papa Murphy's pizza, but we got there just to see that they are temporarily closed. We were pretty bummed, but we decided to pick up some burgers from Braum's since we also needed to get some milk. Turns out that that was just as good, so it was an alright trade.

-Friday was the most eventful day for me. Mom and I went about tying up loose ends for most of the day. However, my main event of the day was a vigil held in Tyler's memory. Friday would have been his 20th birthday, but to make things more ironic, that was also the day that his body was recovered from the lake. I am glad that he has been found so that he can be put to rest, and so his family can gain some closure from the situation. The vigil was nice, with about sixty people in attendance. Afterwards, there was a get-together at Tevis's aunt & uncle's house in honor of Tyler's birthday. I happened to go, as did Tevis and his brother. I have to say, I think that those two are having a pretty rough time coping with the tragedy. I really am trying my best to just "be there" for Tevis, although I know that part of being there for him means giving him the time and space he needs to process his grief and spend time with his family, because he isn't the type of person to talk about these things. I guess the only reason it is harder for me to understand this is because when I grieve, I do better with people around to shower me with affection and good thoughts, otherwise I get down on everything. As I have found, this is also how I help those who are grieving. Regardless, I am trying to be as supportive as possible without hovering. I am unsure about when the funeral will be, but I know that it will be soon.

-Yesterday was my big day, and much happier, too! I participated in my first-ever 5K race! The race was the Red Dirt Run of Honor, held at Woodring Airport. It was held to help raise money to get a permanent Vietnam memorial wall in place at the airpark. I had a great experience from beginning to end, so I'll regale it for you! Gina came by bright and early to pick me up so that we could get there in adequate time to find our way around. When we got there, we picked up our timing chips and t-shirts. After taking our things back to the car, we happened to find a couple of people we knew, namely Tevis's stepdad, Richard, and our friends from church, the Bledsoes. The Bledsoe's grandsons were running, but we nominated Diana to be our official race photographer. Also, Gina finally got to meet Richard, who we had a nice chat with pre-race. When it finally came time to line up, we set ourselves toward the back of the pack and headed out. For whatever reason, the first mile or so was downhill, which is a bad deal all around. On the way out, going downhill, you end up going much faster than you think, only because of momentum. When I got to the first turn, I finally had to succumb and walk for a little bit. I was toward the front of the pack, but that wasn't what I was after. For most of the rest of the race, I alternated jogging and walking, although it felt like I mostly walked. When I finally got back to the dumb hill I mentioned earlier, I decided my best strategy was to walk as much up the now-uphill slope as I could until I got to flatter ground, so that I still had something left for the home stretch. I was almost done, and I happened to hear a conversation from the ladies behind me that lit a fire under my feet, because I heard them talking about picking up their pace, and my competitive nature kicked in. Also, this was at the point that there were people on the curbs cheering, so I suddenly broke out into a dead sprint for about the last fifty yards, and I made it in a time of 38:30! I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face, with the satisfaction of accomplishing one of my lifelong goals! Shortly thereafter, I almost keeled over and puked, because I really wasn't in proper condition to sprint like I did, but I caught my breath and got some water, and I was alright. A little while later, Gina crossed the finish line with her newfound walking buddy, Jalynn (spelling???), an adorable little third-grade girl, whose mom was also in the race. But wait, it gets better! I got some really good news, because I ended up placing second in my age division!!! For going into the race with little training and not aiming to place, I was pretty pumped about it! Owen (one of the Bledsoe grandsons), got third in his division, and Richard got first in his division! I ended up getting a cool medal out of the deal, which I gleefully accepted. I am so proud of Gina and myself for doing what we did, and I can't wait to do it again!!!

-I could've gone to the lake today with my parents and Gina's family, but I really didn't have it in me this year. I was still pretty tired from yesterday, and I just didn't feel like sitting outside all afternoon. Also, it doesn't help matters that the lake is still down, so there isn't much swimming to be done either. Emily and her family decided to stay home this weekend also, due to Emily's allergy flare-up and the difficulty in herding a five-month-old for that long. After spending the afternoon doing some dishes and generally lounging around, I went over to the Moody house to eat supper and watch the Thunder game. Scotty was nice enough to grill pork burgers, which were absolutely delish, and Emily made a coleslaw with a mustard dressing. I usually don't care for coleslaw, but I liked her recipe. Cody and Kyle were more than ecstatic to see me, asking me why I couldn't stay the night, among other things. The night ended on a low point, because the Thunder pretty much got shut out in the last quarter and lost by three points. (Told you I jinxed them by getting a t-shirt) Oh well, such is life, and besides, it was only game one of seven, so there's still hope! Go Thunder!!!

-I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow yet. I'm sure I'll go to the cemetaries at some point, but other than that, I've got nothing on my agenda. After tomorrow, I will begin my next venture of babysitting Cody and Kyle again until July. I'm not sure what all we will do, but I hope that we will have fun!

Happy Memorial Day to all, and thank you to all of the brave men and women of our armed forces, past and present, who have sacrificed so much for our freedom! You are appreciated tomorrow and always!