The Roller Coaster of Life

I heard a talk once where the speaker equated life to a train ride. 

I would say life is more like a roller coaster....with an invisible track. 

 Why do highs in life always seem to be followed pretty closely by lows and just when you think things are straightening out you're in for a curve you didn't expect...especially with teenagers in the house...but more on that later. 

Right after my birthday Jeff was preparing for an anticipated fishing trip with work people. It was an overnight boat ride into Mexico to fish for tuna and all sorts of "big ones". He borrowed an assortment of poles, got gear and hats, packed and even made sure to buy some ear plugs in case of snoring. He did research online and was in awe of all the pounds of fish that these boats would pull in on a trip. He prepared me for possibly having hundreds of pounds of fish in the freezer...we talked of inviting people over for a fish fry...and he loaded the car with ice chests to bring them back in. 

Right as he's walking out the door he found out that one of the guys going with them bailed, he offered the spot to Taylor but an hour's notice and a day off school made him pass. So he went with one man down.

The night he had fun hanging out with the guys and putting money in a pot for whoever caught the biggest fish the next morning.

Well the Biggest Catch fantasy was met with reality when only 

one fish was caught

on the whole trip 

and it wasn't by Jeff.

Looked like the guy who won the pot of money had no contest. 

To add insult to injury his camera stopped working at the beginning of the trip 

(these are the only pictures he got)  

The upside was Ashley was very happy that no fish made it home. She hates fish and was lamenting that our house was going to smell like fish when we cooked it. She didn't have to worry. 

I have a good friend who is into eating healthy. She has dropped 10 pounds over the summer and has telling me about these green smoothies that she has incorporated into her diet.  She drinks like 32 ounces for breakfast and all her kids drink like 16 ounces a day. It's full of spinach and fruits, greek yogurt and healthy stuff. I watched her two youngest daughters drink it like it was juice it up.  

Hmmmm...I thought.  I was not too sure about it at first but she had a few of us over to see how to make them and do a few taste tests and I thought it was good enough that I would try it at home. 

So I blended it up and told the kids about it so they could try it. 

They tried it and actually drank some...but only after they added some cool whip  (guess my kids are already ruined from too much sugar).  Taylor took a taste after running but the rest of his ended up down the sink...guess  he's too old to think it's anything like Juice it Up :)

Jeff didn't want anything to do with it.

The rest of was all mine...ALL mine.....

thats a lot of green smoothie

I guess next time I'll have to make a mini version since the rest of the family equates smoothie with the likes of Cold Stone and such.

This last week or so the roller coaster has taken me to one funeral and then curved before I could make it to the other one I've had highs like lunch with a friend and lows like Ashley's $45.00 doctor's appointment that ended up being 2 hours to look in her ears and say "Yep they're fine". I've driven here there and everywhere all over kingdom come to get kids (and their friends) where they need to be...and back again. I've swooped into the 2nd of 3 back to school nights flying into Junior High classes for 10 minutes a pop to get quick impressions of teachers and their expectations and I've had my first sick child of the school year stay home on the day when I was planning to do all my errands.

This night we were at the Stake Center to tie quilts for a humanitarian aid project. 

Ashley came with me because Jacob was at scouts, Taylor was finishing at Cross Country and Jeff was going to bring him later so she would've been alone. 

She got to learn how to quilt that night even though she didn't meet the "12 and up" requirements. I was so proud of her.

She liked it until I flipped over the blanket after about an hour and showed her that all her stitches weren't going through to the other side...then we had to cut them all out and start over again...

just like life huh ;) 

It's funny because the ladies at our quilt were commenting on how the ladies on the quilt next to us got through 3 quilts before we could even get through one. Well they were the white hair veterans and I was the only one who had ever quilted before at our table we were slow going but we at least finished our quilt before the evening was over. 

Saturday we had too many things going on at once so Taylor was sent off on the bus to go to his Cross Country meet in San Diego alone. He didn't really feel like we needed to drive all the way down to see him...they'll be lots of other races he said...

or so he thought....

and so we thought (but more on that later). 

I found out this morning as I was packing his lunch for his long Saturday alone that "he doesn't drink Capri Suns". What?? I've been packing them in his lunch for years. What do you do with them? I ask. "Throw them away" Pictures of quarters being tossed in the lunchroom trash went through my mind. Couldn't he at least give them away? This prompted questioning about every lunch item I was putting in the bag...1/2 of it got left on the counter. :(

Then as we were walking out the door to get him to the bus he asked "where are my trainers". I don't know, where are your trainers that I drove out to Redlands for and cost us $100. He had them last night....at practice....next to his bag....

he left them at the school the night before on the grass....

I was hopeful that they would be there this morning

 but no such luck they were long gone, so he wore his old beat up ones that we had to retire last year

Another $100 in the trash :(

Meanwhile while Taylor was in San Diego Jacob was working at the Middle School at his band car wash.  We dropped him off for a shift and then came back to get our cars washed.

Of course the day dawned foggy and cold and the High School was doing a car wash at the same time but that's OK.

When we got there I commented that Jacob looked too dry....hmmm...I know Jacob and this teen would rather be the funny guy then get his hands dirty...or soapy as the case may be.

He said he already dried off.  

"Uh huh" I thought.

He was right, he did some car washing but then he got to stand on the corner and do advertising which dried him off, he even had the teacher confirm this to prove it. (I really believed him)

He had fun and said the morning went fast! 

In the middle of the day Ashley had a birthday party and Jeff and I did errands and made sauce for our ward spaghetti cook off. I always like cooking with Jeff, we've done it more recently then we used to do in the past and its fun to work together.  Just as we were ready to walk out the door we got a text from Taylor that the bus was back from his cross country meet. 

So here's the remains of Taylor's lunch that I packed...don't you love the now rotten banana....included is the ibuprofen I carefully packed and reminded him about because he had shin splints and was complaining about them. On the way home he called and complained about his shins and said he ran slower because of them I asked him about taking his medicine. He said he didn't know where it was (I told him like 3 times it was in his lunch). I told him that he could take his pills right then but when he got home they were all right there in the baggie just like I left them and of course his shins still hurt. 

This last Monday we got to have my aunt and uncle Larry and Renae come over for dinner. They were in town from Las Vegas taking a little mini-vacation. It was fun to see them and we got to hear all about their son who is a Senior and an artist, their other son on a mission and Larry's experiences as a driving instructor. It was nice to visit with them. 

As we were in the middle of dinner it was time to pick up Taylor from Cross Country Practice...

I got there and he couldn't walk.  5 miles into his run he pulled something in the back of his leg. He heard popping noises and couldn't step on his leg without a lot of pain. Coach made him run back to the school and then when got there he couldn't walk afterwards.  Larry and Jeff gave him a blessing but the next morning he woke up in more pain so off to the doctors we went. Luckily Jeff stepped in and did all the school drop offs for me and brought the food I was supposed to bring to the funeral over to Kristen Paiges' to take (good thing because I never made it back until the funeral was over).

After 5 hours of sports clinic, pediatrician, x-rays and such we found out....

nothing.

They pretty much ruled out a stress fracture (though it doesn't really show up on an initial x-ray) and the only thing the pediatrician said "Don't hurt it more, use crutches and come back in 2 weeks" 

Frustrated at his lack of concern I asked what it could be. "I don't know, maybe a torn ligament" as he walked out the door. 

Grrrrrrrr

So a lot of pain literally and figuratively and no answers.

As I was sitting in waiting room after waiting room that day I thought of

deja vu for the 3rd time (just get into a season to be out the rest of it on injury)

I just bought my cross country "bling shirt" where do I wear it now??

I volunteered to sit on the cross country booster club committee....all year guess I'll be going alone

I think it's pretty altruistic of us to help fund the cross country and track programs, pay bus fees and fundraising fees, buy uniforms, shoes and racing flats, gear and paraphernalia and then not participate....such a warm fuzzy feeling that we're helping the economy that way.

Seriously I'm just sad for Taylor. If it's a rollercoaster for me I can only imagine what it feels like for him. He's sitting on the sidelines at todays league meet with the kid who broke his toe and can't run.  Someone opened a door on it and he's out for 6 weeks. They are looking forward to sitting in misery together. 

I told Taylor at least he wasn't out for something as silly as a broken pinky toe. He then said "I would rather be out on something silly rather than something that could be serious"

Good point.

Sorry Taylor