Well, we’re off into a new decade, and it doesn’t feel a bit different! haa haa. I know there are many people that get excited about a new year, new resolutions, and fresh starts, but the start of a new year has never really been a thing for me. Be that as it may, time is flying, and I feel like 2019 went by in a flash. I’m sure to expect much of the same for 2020, but trying not to wish away time and just enjoying the present helps me make the most of the time even as it’s passing quickly. We did get to do some of that after Christmas and before school started back up. We intentionally didn’t plan a lot and just let the kids enjoy the time being at home, sleeping in (if you’re Nina), making crafty projects, and hanging with friends.
Nina is our resident artist and lover of creative things. She has started teaching herself digital art and over the break made this cool digital depiction of Cayenne. She also took to painting/designing her own shoes, and she created tons of shrinky dink pins. Lyla really got into the pin making as well, and they both spent hours designing their pins, coloring them, cutting them, baking them, and then attaching the pins so they could decorate their mini backpacks.
Cayenne of course enjoyed having the girls at home because that meant she had someone with her almost all hours of the day. Normally she’s home alone when the girls are at school and I’m teaching, but since the girls were home while I was teaching my classes, she wasn’t often without attention. She always finds a way to get as close to her humans and get the very maximum amount of attention as possible!
One random thing that the girls had on their Winter Break bucket list was a trip to Sheetz for fries and a milkshake. We had heard on the radio awhile back about people raving over Sheetz’s milkshakes and fries, and ever since then, Nina and Lyla have been asking me to stop at Sheetz every time we pass one. So, over the break I told them we’d finally go get all the junk they were craving from Sheetz. I have to say, it was probably a highlight of their week to not have to eat “normal” food for lunch but just fill themselves on french fries and milkshakes.
The last weekend of Winter Break was the only time we travelled over the holiday. Nina had her indoor track season’s first meet in New York City at the Armory. We were there last year for the very first track meet of her life, and when we returned this year, we definitely felt a bit more comfortable although she was still nervous to be back at it again. She and I made the trip up as Lyla and Mark both had indoor soccer games and practice to attend here at home.
This year she ran hurdles, high jumped, and ran the 200m. She ran her best time in hurdles so far (yet was not happy with her race), was disappointed with her high jump performance, and was happy with her 200m. Track is a tough sport.
Take hurdles and high jump for example - she has spent the lead up to the start of this season tweaking both. In hurdles, she is adjusting her steps in between hurdles from 4 or 5 to 3. It requires a different strategy and some risk at her size because it looks and feels like you’re too far away from the hurdle when you take off. She was so happy that she was nailing her 3-step in practice, but in the meet she started off with her 3-step, lost her concentration a little, and then got an extra step in between hurdles which threw off her take off and lead leg. While she finished with her best time to date, she was frustrated that she lost her concentration.
In high jump, she has been tweaking her technique A TON in the off season. She has so much in her head - a million things to think about in one jump. She was frustrated that she didn’t put it all together and jump how she knew she could. All that to keep it real by saying, it’s a big physical game and it’s a big mental game too. We had a good talk about how you can feel physically prepared, but factoring in the mental game is a whole other issue. Then, dealing with all the changes and tweaks she’s taken on, she has to realize those changes are going to take a little time to really settle in to where it becomes something she does without having to think too much about it. I like track for this reason. She keeps challenged, she’s learning good life lessons, and she’s having to train herself both physically and mentally.
Her last event was the 200m. and she was super happy with how she ran that race, so it was a good note to end on. We got a late start out of the city once her events were done, retrieved our car from the hotel, and made the trek home. It was a long day, but it was great spending that time with Nina and watching her do her thing!
One of her jumps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=xnxNzjDWfnY&app=desktop
After that jump, she wasn’t very pleased (as you can see in the pic), but it’s all part of the process - developing and growing in a skill.
The 200m. is a fast and furious race. It’s one lap around an indoor track, so the strategy is just to run for your life! It must be an exciting race to run. It’s certainly exciting to watch!
loved the pics and can't believe Nina is getting so tall!!!
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