Goodbye, Summer

I have been very reluctant to accept fall this year, even though it may actually be my favorite season. I'm not sure why. Maybe it is the near perfect weather we have had lately. Maybe it is because I taught summer school this year and it seemed like summer was so short. Or maybe it is just because October is already here and life just seems to go so fast. It might even be because I haven't slown down enough to realize it is fall.
Rachel has almost made it through her first high school sports season and is looking forward to her first Homecoming experience. Alex is enjoying his first year of football immensely and will be turning twelve in nine days.
Maybe that doesn't seem strange to anyone else, but I have one year and then both will be teenagers. No "little" kids for me. Not that he's a little kid, but I still cling to the fact that he still goes to RAs and not Youth at church. He is in Mighty Mite Football, 12 and under baseball and the little hand picked basketball team he has played on since kindergarten. Soon he will be doing all the big kid stuff such as Youth and school sports. While I was shopping for his birthday, yesterday, even the gifts and parties are different. In many ways I am very cool with all of that, but when I look at old pictures of birthday parties it just seems like yesterday we were buying dinosaurs and GI Joes. And even though we told the kids no big birthday parties anymore, I can't say no to friends coming over for a sleepover. Yes, the parties are different then when they were seven, but I am still clinging to them for as long as possible.
Speaking of yesterday, my nephew, Sam turned twelve yesterday. By the way Sam, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ( Last night when we were on the way to the football game we were discussing how your birthday was going to be Sunday- thinking that was the third. Didn't realize until you were talking to Grandma Charlie that yesterday was the third. Hope you had a fun party!)
Drew will be turning eight soon and Sydney will be seven and it's just amazing how time flies. It is hard to accept they are all getting so grown up. I am determined to enjoy whatever stage all the kids are in. Just a word of advice to Sarah and Stephanie-- enjoy your "little" ones (even though they aren't really little). I know you both will because you love your children as much as I love mine and you realize that they truly are a gift from God.

As previously discussed on this very blog, I am a procrastinator. Having said that, I knew when I made my "To Do" list for this weekend that there were some things that should have been written on a "I Should Do" list because I am not sure I ever really intended to do them. I wanted those items to be done. I knew they needed to be done. Some of those have been on a mental to do list for up to three months. With Friday out of school for the festival, there was my opportunity to cross items off the list. I started the list Monday and added throughout the week.
1. Mow.
2. Replace and repair van tires.
3. Go to the bank to sign onto an account.
4. Buy Alex some jeans.
5. Decorate for fall.
6. Buy groceries.
7. Clean out the refrigerator.
It didn't seem like an insurmountable list. Especially for a three day weekend. Although it didn't actually include housecleaning, laundry or the big festival. Alex, Jeff and I actually took care of the mowing Wednesday since there were no activities and it was nice out. There was something off the list before the weekend. But by Thursday evening (after being at the festival for four hours), I had already decided I was not going to do some items on the list and I was perfectly okay with this decision.
Then came the next morning. I did sleep in a little, but Rachel had practice so I knew I could still accomplish something on the list. I would shop mid-day and be home quickly to get some house work started since I was abandoning most of my list. I dropped her off and then went to the bank to sign some papers I had put off for about six weeks. I had one more thing off the list and suddenly I didn't feel so bad if nothing else was accomplished. Especially since I should probably have made an appointment for my van, I could definitely scratch getting the tires. I could still do the rest of the list easily and only be putting off one item!
This whole procrastinating thing was really working for me. Until I went to pick Rachel up from practice and the tire that was in need of repair was low. I could have just aired it up again, but Larry said he'd follow me to the tire shop. What could I do? There was no way to get out of acting on my list because of course I couldn't have them repair one without going ahead and replacing the other one. Thirty minutes later I had three things marked off my list. After a quick trip to Bolivar I had Alex's jeans and another check on the list. For two more days it looked like I was at a stand still. My mom came to the festival with us Friday night and stayed for the parade on Saturday. My house was still messy, but sadly I was okay with the decision not to clean it.
Now it is Sunday. Rachel and I selected some pumpkins and mums to add to the mums Pauletta sent me for my birthday. We are slowly decorating and marking another item off the list, leaving only two items. I will be able to grocery shop later leaving only one item on the list. Even though I easily could be finishing off my list, I have decided to skip cleaning the fridge. Instead, I am watching a movie with Rachel and Jeff called The List. I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty hilarious. My weekend is going to begin and end with a list. One that is finished and one that is not!

QUICK UPDATE: Just wanted to let you know that I wound up with two finished lists tonight. When I returned from the grocery store, I had to clean out my refrigerator in order to put all of the food away. So much for procrastination! At least my house is still pretty messy!

Catching Our Breath

The past two months have been exactly why this blog has its name - The Race is On. And what a race it has been since our vacation down south. It is hard to believe that the last time I blogged we had just celebrated Sweet Marie's 100th July birthday party and were on a sunny beach in Destin. In what seems like just a few days later, it is a cool day with leaves turning for autumn. A lot can happen in two months.
Just a few days after I blogged from Destin, our family went to visit my sister, Sarah, in Alabama. While we were there we went to a Braves game, shopped, and went to the emergency room. Isn't that how everyone spends their vacation? Fortunately, we weren't there long and it did not interrupt our regularly scheduled program. I went in took my shot, passed my kidney stone the next morning and we were off again! Thankfully I didn't have to miss the ball game and felt like shopping, too!
When we came home I had one short week to recover from vacation and prepare for school. At the end of our first week of school we suffered the loss of Jeff's 100 year old grandmother. Marie was dearly loved and it is impossible to feel badly for her in any way. She had a great, productive life and did not have to suffer. I truly believe she was ready to be done here and spend eternity with her Creator. My pain is in the selfishness I feel because I won't get to see her for a while.
Since then, we have had dozens and dozens of football practices and softball practices and games. It has been fun to watch Rachel play high school ball and Alex play football. These are both new experiences for us so it has been interesting as well as busy.
On top of all this I turned forty something a week ago and Jeff bought me a new camera for my birthday. Let's just say that I have had a week in which there were a lot of things to take pictures of and I have taken advantage of it. The new digital has some fun features and I have spent the past week trying to figure out all of the buttons. For the future, this means more pictures and less text! You are all sighing in relief right now I'm sure!
Because of the craziness of our race, I actually started this blog Sunday afternoon, but I couldn't finish it until today (Monday). Alex had a couple of just for fun baseball games in Stockton (scheduled for Springfield, but rained too much!) Sunday afternoon. Now I can't describe how exciting this was for the families of these boys because they have not played baseball in their hometown for three years. We were thrilled when the "city boys" wanted to come up here to play. It was so fun and of course I had another chance to play with my new toy!
Quite possibly the most exciting part of our race in recent weeks is taking place tonight. Rachel's team is scheduled to play and Alex has football practice. I got up early this morning to make chili for the concession stand and we had everyone packed up and ready to go. It was beautiful and sunny outside, just like every day has been for the fall sports, which has made them all the more enjoyable. About 2:00 this afternoon it turned black, the wind picked up and a deluge of rain (which hasn't yet stopped) came. I called the high school secretary to have her tell Rachel where her equipment would be for practice since it looked like we couldn't have the game. She could see Rachel from her desk at that moment when her coach was telling the team that not only was the game cancelled, but so was practice. Rachel must have taken the news well, because Christy said she was jumping up and down. Just a few minutes ago Jeff called to say Alex's practice was also cancelled. You should have heard the cheers. Alex wasn't the only one excited. I was thrilled because I also have the chili I made for tonight. Not only will we be home together, we already have dinner made. Right now my house is quiet except for the rumble of thunder outside, the gutters gushing and the pattering of rain on the windows. We have candles flickering everywhere and the kids are relaxing in their rooms. As much as runners love a good race, even the best have to stop and catch their breath every once in a while. That is what we are going to do tonight. Thank you Lord for the race, but thanks for letting us catch our breath , too!

Greetings From Sunny Florida

Normally I wouldn't be blogging until after I had returned from vacation, but I'll make an exception tonight. It's raining right now in Destin, Florida so we ordered pizza and will delay mini-golf until tomorrow. Since I'm in, I thought I would blog. Besides, I have to keep up with Rachel you know. (As if that's possible.)

We actually arrived close to 5:00, checked in and the kids got almost two hours in at the beach before it began to rain. Alex's arm had to be twisted because he thought he'd rather watch tv than go to the beach. He even tried to tell us that he wouldn't be tempted to get into the water. Well, he was right--for about ten seconds. Jeff and I really enjoyed watching the kids play. Because of the storm rolling in, there were some pretty good waves. We have already had a great time. It would be hard not to with the beautiful water, soft, white sand and my awesome family.

Speaking of family, we had a wonderful time over the weekend for Sweet Marie's 100th birthday. We enjoyed seeing Jeff's extended family and were blessed for an extra day with the Gables family. Call me tacky, but I even invited our family to caravan with them to Birmingham and to stay overnight at Kenny and Jennie's house. K.C. was great entertainment for the evening and this morning he and Jennie took us shopping. Rachel and I had a great time hunting for bargains and hated to say goodbye. A special thank you goes out to their sweet family for being so kind.

The next family to fall victim to my tackiness will be the Zumbiel's. While I am totally going to enjoy the beach, I am also looking forward to seeing my sister and her family. Again, I have invited my family to stay overnight with someone else, but I don't think they'll mind. Rachel and Alex are looking forward to seeing their cousins and seeing some new things. We'll see what they have in store for us sometime Thursday.

Well, I am getting a little tired so I will be wrapping this up. No promises will be made about whether I will post again while on vacation, but I can promise you this--we will definitely be having fun!

Unofficial Minutes

We ate. We laughed. We cried. Then we passed around the Caladryl.


These are the unofficial minutes of the Heagerty Family Reunion submitted by the unofficial secretary, Michelle Wheeler, daughter of Charlotte Wright Meeks, daughter of Pauline Heagerty Wright, daughter of Clarence Heagerty.


We did manage to squeeze in a few other activities during this past weekend as my mother, her cousins and their families gathered for a reunion loaded with genealogical fact hunting and sorting, family lore, childhood memories with a few shaky details and I'm pretty sure just some out and out lies. My mother's mother is a Heagerty and over the weekend my mother, her brothers and their cousins through the Heagerty line met to reunite.

You know how the words "family reunion" can send fear into the hearts of people. Well, I will admit that my family was a bit nervous when I told them of the plans. They knew they were not acquainted with most of the family members to be present and I don't really think it helped when we warned them there may not be anyone their ages there and that these people had really loud, booming voices. I had butterflies of my own. What would we talk about? What would we do? The invitation didn't list very many activities so how would the time be filled with these strangers? Even from my own memory everyone seemed older than me. What could I possibly have in common with them? Apparently, it only took having some Heagerty blood in us to thoroughly enjoy ourselves with these people who we call family. Any real doubts we had about whether we would have fun or not were shed quickly on Friday afternoon.

For me, it was clear that this weekend would be special as we were trying to leave Friday. I had a book that Uncle Howard had loaned me and I wanted to give Debbie. When I went to retrieve it from the basement, I found a file folder marked Heagerty family. I grabbed it because the invitation said to bring old photos and such to share. That is, sadly, all the thought I had put into my "sharing", but I honestly didn't think I had anything important to add. That is, until I began looking through the folder on our way to Mt. Vernon. I pulled out the pictures and tried to give my family a quick family tree. There were a few other little items--neat stuff, but not spectacular. But then, there was what appeared to be a handwritten letter. I opened it up and there was a letter from my great grandfather to my great grandmother before they were married. Now realize, I did not even know that this was in my possession. Even though this was in a folder that I clearly marked and filled, I don't think I have ever read it. I was truly amazed and excited as I read the lines he had penned while he was in Europe during World War I, telling about what he was doing and seeing and how he cared about her. I felt like God himself had tucked that letter into my file folder. When I finished it I looked back at the top and the letter was dated July 4, 1918. Then I was pretty sure God must have tucked it in there. What a special gift to read this as we were celebrating the Heagerty family and Independence Day all on the same weekend.

When we arrived at Mom's, Debbie already had her laptop and scanner buzzing and there was a load of pictures already there. After everyone else arrived, there was a mountain of pictures, letters that dated from 1865, newspaper clippings and even the hat and gas mask of Grandpa Heagerty's from WWI. Everyone just seemed to dive right into the pile and the chatter. Jeff brought my mom the letter her grandpa had written and the tears began. The tears came off and on during the weekend. Tears of laughter from old home movies. Tears of pride and joy from letters, newspapers, pictures and memories. Tears for the parents the cousins have lost.

After the memorabilia session we all packed up and headed for the Heagerty farm. Throughout the afternoon we took some detours into family cemeteries, fought off killer chiggers and looked for childhood homes. Each of these activities have tales of their own that this unofficial secretary does not have the space to document. These will have to be relayed orally through the generations. This should not be a problem for the Heagertys.

As mentioned before, there was plenty of food. After an evening meal at the Red Barn in Mt. Vernon, the family was once again seen frequenting a cemetery and fighting off insects. This time, however, we were there to enjoy the fireworks which Rick thanked the city for providing for the Heagerty reunion.

Into the wee hours of the morning the female cousins watched family movies and laughed and cried. We watched Brandon learn to ride his bicycle and listened to Debbie as she reported which relatives and friends and pets have gone on to glory. This unofficial secretary will also go on record as officially saying that she will not wear short shorts or bend over in the presence of a working video camera at Heagerty get-togethers.

Charlie, Sam, Rachel and Alex slept in the backyard fort overnight. It must have been too late a night for everyone because the scheduled noon barbecue took place at about 3:00pm Saturday. After sharing a family prayer to thank the Lord for Christian grandparents, family and America, we broke bread together. There was some good food and laughter.
The women folk were entertained by Sydney Zumbiel and her "pet" dog. She also explained to Sonya where roosters come from and later collected DNA from a tree. Jeff and Alex talked baseball with Rick, Dave, Scott and Sam. We know how the Heagerty men have always loved baseball so there were plenty of Mickey Owens stories. Even Alex has his own connection with the Heagertys as he has a love for the game and played there for the past several years and even attended camp. Rachel had her camera and was a busy girl between snapping pictures, slapping mosquitoes and slathering Caladryl. Shyly she made friends with Sonya who seems to have one of the quieter voices and all the possible remedies for itching bug bites. Again, under the shade trees of Mom's backyard we ate, laughed and I cried as I read a story Mom had written after Uncle Hollis passed away. And again, we passed the Caladryl around the circle under the shade. Eventually, people began to drift back to their abodes and Mom's family plus Debbie were all that were left. Debbie took a break from scanning to eat and watch the kids' (actually Scott's) fireworks show.
Later Debbie, Mom, Rachel and I walked through the streets of Mt. Vernon watching the most beautiful fireworks display I've ever seen. It was beautiful in its simplicity. It wasn't a magnificent, choreographed masterpiece. It was spontaneous and random. I loved that they completely surrounded us in every direction. Sometimes we'd see the whole display of color and sometimes just a glimpse of the glittery fallout tailing through the trees. I loved the sound of the firecrackers and the kids shouting and laughing with their families all over town. I loved that I was with my family in a quiet conversation in the middle of booms and cracks and thunders. Literal thunders, too. Intermittent, was a lightning show and thunder ,which reminded us that God has the best fireworks show ever. We made it home before the rain to load up and say goodbyes. It was midnight and Alex and Sam were chatting up a storm, Sydney was sleeping peacefully and Rachel was helping Charlie pack up leftovers in the kitchen. Sarah and I got to say goodbye very differently this time. I said, " We'll see you in couple of weeks." Alex picked up on it right away. "That's not what you usually get to say," he interjected.
It's true. We usually part ways knowing it will be a year or so before we see each other again. In a few weeks, though, we will get to spend some time at their house. I am looking forward to it even more now than I already was. I am excited that our children are building memories together during the summers with us and their grandmother and other cousins just like Mom, Rick, Dave, Sheila, Dale, Sonya, Debbie, Ronnie, Donnie, and Bill did when they were our children's ages.
I guess I really do need to be careful about what I wear in all video camera footage because someday when these kids decide to have a family reunion, Sydney may be saying my outfit isn't a good look for me. I hope and pray our kids will stay close like the Heagertys so they can sit around late one night and laugh at our hairstyles, wedding dresses and point out all the people who are already dead. Maybe they will even eat and laugh and cry. If they do, we'll know the Lord has answered our prayers like He did for Grandpa and Grandma Heagerty. I truly believe they prayed for their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren to know the love of God , family and their country.

A New Inspiration?

Inspiration finally came this evening to blog. It was about seven this evening. There was a nice, cool breeze without the sticky feeling we had earlier today. The frogs and bugs and owls and birds were singing together as a choir that I have enjoyed immensely the last several nights as I sit on the deck. Jeff was carefully planting the last of the bushes and plants he had selected for our landscaping that he has been looking forward to doing. The kids were playing and I had just begun my first blog in over a week.
It was going to be very sentimental and nostalgic as I have been slapped in the face during the past two weeks. Obviously, we all know that Rachel will be a freshman in high school this fall and it's no secret that this fact is very disturbing to me and I have tried in every way possible to avoid facing the reality of it. What wasn't obvious to me when school ended was that Rachel is actually beginning high school right now. You can't even imagine the adjustment that I went through last week and I finally had to just accept it. I knew things would be more hectic in high school-- just didn't know it began one week after eighth grade was over. I was going to reminisce about her childhood and her friendships and our family and how blessed we are.
Just as I had typed my first sentence, Jeff came to me at the computer with this whitish looking object covered in dirt. At first glance, I pulled away,asking what it was, fearing it was something that had once been alive or even worse--still was. To his great pleasure, it was a rock that had been carefully chipped, carved and used by someone as some sort of tool. I immediately looked more carefully and cleaned it for closer examination. Maybe nobody else would be excited like we were, but it began a conversation that lasted with our family most of the evening and turned out to interrupt my original blogging inspiration.
Jeff had dug up the tool while he was planting something near a tree in our yard. For those of you who have been on our property, you know that our deck has a view of a bottom and on the other side of our fence line is a creek which eventually feeds into Sac River. Last fall we had beautiful, black dirt hauled from the bottom, near the creek, to use as topsoil for our yard. We don't know if the tool was brought from down there or if someone from long ago left it exactly where Jeff found it, but I do know how awesome it is to think about a family or families living on our place anywhere from decades to hundreds to maybe even thousands of years ago. All evening my thoughts drifted to the person who crafted and used the tool. What did they use it for? When did they make it? Who made it? Was it a Native American? Was there a whole group of people? Did they actually live here for a time? The questions were endless, especially knowing that not far from here is a site that was excavated on the river by actual archaeologists and featured in National Geographic once. It is so exciting to think of children laughing and playing in the bottom and creek like Rachel and Alex do with their cousins, Jacob, Drew, and Tate and friends, Jake and Josie. Did their mothers enjoy the stars and the chirping frogs and bugs like Stephanie, Christy and I do? Did their fathers work hard like Jeff and David and Chad do? Did they scout the turkey and deer like these men do? Did those families enjoy each other's company like our families do? Did they choose this sight for the same reasons we all did-- because it is beautiful and quiet and peaceful?
As my new inspiration came over me to blog, I realized that at the heart of my new inspiration is the same one for almost all of my blogs--my husband, my children, my dear family and friends. Even with a three inch artifact carved out of a piece of rock I can still get nostalgic and reminisce about those I love the most. It's just that this time I also get to dream about the possibilities of a people and lifestyle from the past. I don't know anything 100% for certain about who made or used this tool, but I'm 99.9% sure they didn't have to worry about their daughter starting high school.

TGIF (Thank Goodness It's Finished-- school, of course)

It's is Tuesday. I have looked forward to this day for a long time. Not because there is anything special about this day, but precisely because there is not. At 9:57 am my children are still in bed and we don't have to go anywhere. My house is mostly clean, we have enough food in the house for several days and I get to go to a ball game tonight that I can just sit back and enjoy. Life is good. It's called summer vacation! Maybe for everyone else it began Friday or maybe even yesterday, but for me it is really today that I get to begin relaxing.
As Rachel and Stephanie have already stated, the past month has been really hectic. Each day I thought would get better, but somebody always wanted a slice of my time (and my checkbook).
Don't get me wrong, we have really enjoyed the end of school activities and I like my job and the kids I work with, but everybody needed a break. That is why I am enjoying this morning so much. I am not going to "plan" anything (other than going to the high school boys game tonight- but that's different you know!) for today. I am hoping to enjoy many more days like this one and many of the days filled with plans as well.