Ironman!

9 May, 2011

Dear Family,

To begin this letter, I must rectify a great wrong done this weekend.  So here it goes:

“Greg Staker, 41, husband, father of six beautiful daughters, and physician from Roosevelt, Utah.......YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!”

When Greg finished, he finished with a group and he didn’t get his own announcement.  Even then, when they said his name, they said “Stacker.” (losers) It was amazing to be there to see him finish.  I’m so glad we made the trip.  Greg raced his first Ironman on what is generally acknowledged to be the most difficult Ironman course in the world.  He  finished faster than he anticipated and managed to walk off the course under his own power.  Although I’m pretty sure that if Sadie (his three-year-old) hadn’t have been there holding his hand, he might have fallen over.  

I’m also pretty sure that this is something that Alex won’t forget.  He was starry-eyed as he helped push Greg’s bike back to the car and was showing off the grease marks on his legs like they were trophies.  I guess I’m one to talk, I’m bursting my stays so much you’d think I’d run the race.  Well Greg, we’ve seen you run an Ironman.  Although, if you want to go to Kona.....Josh has never been to Hawaii!  We’d be thrilled to be there, too!!

We got to take Ken and Alison’s girls with us this weekend.  Other than some funny looks from people when I walked into places leading six children, it was a privilege to have them along.  It actually made the trip a lot easier to have Sydney and Cami as helpers and to have Maddy to keep Alex and Ryan entertained.  We had a little glimpse of what having teenagers is like. We learned “how to Dougie” and that often a non-responsive teenager means, “Wait a second, I’m texting!” The girls were delightful.  It think it was good for the boys to be with just Madelyn for a while. I’m not sure that they get to spend enough time with their girly cousins! 

It was very nice to be with me Mum for a wee bit on Mothers’ Day.  It was actually a great Mothers’ Day.  I got to see my own mother, which doesn’t happen very often, and I didn’t go to church!  But then there was that 8-hour car ride, hmmm.  I had some very deep thoughts this weekend.  My dear friend Cindy lost her mother Thursday evening.  Pat Greene was an exceptional woman who truly earned the title “Mother.”  She spent her whole life dedicated to being a mother and grandmother, raising her children and her children’s children with grace and patience.  She was ever optimistic, kind, and loving despite facing enough challenges to bring a lesser woman to despair. Her example deepens my own commitment to my family.  

This was a great week for me to have Mothers’ Day because my little Jilly has been a complete joy to parent this week.  She comes up and gives hugs spontaneously and says, “I love you Mommy, you’re my best friend.”  She has taken to picking flowers and bringing them to me and to Josh as love offerings.  She puts them in her little teacups filled with water and leaves them on nightstands, desks, counters, and even on the washer and dryer. She loves to dance.  She puts her arms up and twirls around to show you “her ballet.”  She just seems to skip and trip lightly wherever she goes.  Somehow the baby is all gone and the little girl is getting bigger every day.  We’ve had lots of fun playing with Polly Pockets, reading Peter Rabbit, and having tea parties this week. The only way she would sleep in our motel room was curled up right next to me.  It was a pleasure, even though it made for some sleepless nights. I know I’ll need to remember these moments for the times when instead of telling me how much she loves me she wants to tell me how much she loathes me.  

We had parent-teacher conferences this week.  Ryan’s teacher simply says, “Ryan is perfect.  He’s exceeding expectations in everything. I’ve noticed a lot of leadership ability in him and if it’s okay with you I’ll work on helping him develop that over then next few months.”  She doesn’t understand why this statement makes me break out into weeping!  Alex’s teacher assures me that Alex remains an enjoyable boy, but is there anything I can do to help him understand that using his pencils and erasers as machine guns during math is quite distracting to the entire class?  He continues to make progress.  Half of Alex’s battle will be confidence.  He’s really good at math, but he just doesn’t think he is, so instead of taking the lead when they’re working in pairs, he listens to the other student tell him how to do the problems incorrectly.  His teacher tells me she pairs Alex with the kids who need help in math, but instead of leading out, he sits back and goes with the flow.  Somehow, I need a way to tell him, “Son, you ROCK at math!” in a way he will believe.

We are looking forward to the last few weeks of school, if I survive the science fair that is.  Josh and I are supposed to be tagging along on the Pioneer Trek at the beginning of June.  Although the jury may still be out on whether they will allow me to go, given my reputation as an inveterate rule-breaker!  Debbie is going to come down to be with our kids.  The kids and I are then planning on abandoning our Daddy to a future of corn-dogs and frozen pizza and spending some serious time in Salt Lake.  We are looking forward to seeing our families again and “gettin’ out of Dodge” while it’s super hot.  We look forward to seeing Jackson and Parker again, and we should be in town the same time as Sunny and the girls before they go to Texas.  Yahoo!!!  

Happy Day to All!!!

Cheryl