Summer, Day 22
I'm writing this a day later because last night, hell, I was tired. A good tired, but tired nonetheless. The boys were exhausted, too. It was a busy, fun Monday.
The boys had swim practice in the morning, with Michael following that up with dive practice. Ben and I ran to Smith's Marketplace to buy a new basketball and replenish or sunblock stock. We picked up Michael and came home, where we tried out the new basketball on the new hoop, which Lori and I raised to 10 feet. We were practicing because Michael started basketball camp that afternoon.
The camp, held at nearby Highland High School, was for third- to sixth-graders. Michael, now a third-grader, looked taller than all the other third-graders as well as all the fourth-graders. Ben and I stayed and watched for a little while, went home, then picked him up later. He looked like such a big kid, and he said he had fun -- so much that we are going to sign him up for another week of it next week. We returned home and prepared for the next sport: the boys swim meet.
This was Ben's first meet, and he had so much fun and swam pretty well, at least for him. The pool that hosted the meet gave all the 5- and 6-year-olds a participation ribbon after finishing their races, which made Ben so happy. His better event is the backstroke, and he took second in his heat (I'm not sure where he placed overall; the little kids don't score points anyway). He might have won his heat if he hadn't started the race, stopped, looked at Lori and asked hurriedly, "What stroke am I doing?" He also veered into the lane line, which slowed him down as well. He didn't care. He came out of his first meet perhaps more enthusiastic about swim team than he had before.
Michael swam so much better than in any meet last year. He led off the medley relay that won his age group by half a pool, swam a P.R. in the 25 freestyle, swam a P.R. in the backstroke (though he hit the lane line, too; he might have won his heat if he hadn't) and led off a freestyle relay that took third. I'm hoping he's seeing that practice is paying off. The meet hosts made root beer floats for all the swimmers and the parents, and we grabbed some and went home. I took Popcorn for a walk at home and wrapped it up for the night, though I did get sucked into "Death Race" on cable for a little while.
The day wasn't all fun -- I visited a doctor about my left knee, which I still can't straighten out fully. He suggested shutting it down but was going to refer me to an orthopedic surgeon. I had X-rays taken, which confirmed I didn't tear anything. I think it's a Baker's cyst, which I might be able to run through at least for this weekend. I was so worried about not being in good enough shape for the Wasatch Back, but I'm just hoping I can run it, period. The knee was feeling better as the day progressed, but damn that dog, she pulled on the leash a wrong way that caused me to plant on my left leg, making me howl in pain. I'm going to ice, take Advil and hope for the best.
And now, for Day 23.
The boys had swim practice in the morning, with Michael following that up with dive practice. Ben and I ran to Smith's Marketplace to buy a new basketball and replenish or sunblock stock. We picked up Michael and came home, where we tried out the new basketball on the new hoop, which Lori and I raised to 10 feet. We were practicing because Michael started basketball camp that afternoon.
The camp, held at nearby Highland High School, was for third- to sixth-graders. Michael, now a third-grader, looked taller than all the other third-graders as well as all the fourth-graders. Ben and I stayed and watched for a little while, went home, then picked him up later. He looked like such a big kid, and he said he had fun -- so much that we are going to sign him up for another week of it next week. We returned home and prepared for the next sport: the boys swim meet.
This was Ben's first meet, and he had so much fun and swam pretty well, at least for him. The pool that hosted the meet gave all the 5- and 6-year-olds a participation ribbon after finishing their races, which made Ben so happy. His better event is the backstroke, and he took second in his heat (I'm not sure where he placed overall; the little kids don't score points anyway). He might have won his heat if he hadn't started the race, stopped, looked at Lori and asked hurriedly, "What stroke am I doing?" He also veered into the lane line, which slowed him down as well. He didn't care. He came out of his first meet perhaps more enthusiastic about swim team than he had before.
Michael swam so much better than in any meet last year. He led off the medley relay that won his age group by half a pool, swam a P.R. in the 25 freestyle, swam a P.R. in the backstroke (though he hit the lane line, too; he might have won his heat if he hadn't) and led off a freestyle relay that took third. I'm hoping he's seeing that practice is paying off. The meet hosts made root beer floats for all the swimmers and the parents, and we grabbed some and went home. I took Popcorn for a walk at home and wrapped it up for the night, though I did get sucked into "Death Race" on cable for a little while.
The day wasn't all fun -- I visited a doctor about my left knee, which I still can't straighten out fully. He suggested shutting it down but was going to refer me to an orthopedic surgeon. I had X-rays taken, which confirmed I didn't tear anything. I think it's a Baker's cyst, which I might be able to run through at least for this weekend. I was so worried about not being in good enough shape for the Wasatch Back, but I'm just hoping I can run it, period. The knee was feeling better as the day progressed, but damn that dog, she pulled on the leash a wrong way that caused me to plant on my left leg, making me howl in pain. I'm going to ice, take Advil and hope for the best.
And now, for Day 23.
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