oh Hayull No.

I saw on this evening's national news that a Crowd-Fund has been set up to help raise money for the Patriots to pay their one million dollar fine for deflate-gate. 

Wait. WHAT?  Say this out-loud so you truly can understand me: OH. HAY. UHLL. NO.  now, faster.  OH HAY UHLL NO.   faster faster.  OHHELLNO. 

I may go off on a bit of a tangent here. Just bear with me. Or don't.  Up to you. 

Even if you are not a sports fan, surely you have caught wind of "Deflate Gate" and the newly-imposed fines on the New England Patriots and the suspension of one very well-known quarterback, Tom Brady.  (If you are not aware of this situation, you may live under a rock, or never ever see TV or newspapers, or never access anything but Candy Crush on your SmartPhone and/or internet). 

And in all fairness, yes, I am a Patriots fan. I am not, however, a Tom Brady fan. (I know my cousins and aunts and uncles are probably cursing me).  But for this post, none of that matters. 

People are raising money to help the Pats pay a fine. The Pats. This franchise probably clears one million dollars every time Tom Brady, Gronk and Robert Kraft exhale. This franchise probably clears one million dollars every time the words "MVP" and "Super Bowl" are uttered. This franchise does not have a money problem. At all.  

There have been life-altering storms in the past 48hours all over the middle of the country.  Ever heard of Nepal?  The massive earthquakes happening there? Or just right in one's own back yard.. the homeless and battered men, women and children.  The sick lacking adequate health care.  Schools lacking in supplies for students.  These people need money. The Patriots do not. 

I'd like to think that these fans are just making a point about their loyalty. I'm the one with the Sox tattoo on her wrist, so yeah, I get loyalty.  And surely Mr. Kraft will be donating the money that has been raised.  

That's my little reality check.  If you have money to spare and/or choose to donate, I'm fairly certain a donation to the Pats is NOT a write-off. 

Ok. I'm done. Just had to get THAT little tid-bit off my chest.

Much Ado About Nothing...

Which is to say.. I have little to tell. No news is good news right? It can be frustrating to feel like I want to write but don't have any topics of urgency or great humor. 

I'm at it again. Training. Running. Mostly because I can't stand to NOT be running, and usually I just like to have some sort of end goal. And being sidelined for six mos last fall about sucked the life out of me (in addition to sticking lbs on me). 

What race you might ask? St. Jude Marathon, in Memphis, in December. As much as I'd like to get another full distance under my belt, I know I won't be able to pull that off this year. The half though, I can do.  Having been over a year since I've raced, I'm incredibly excited. And seven months to train is also a comfort. 

AND even better two of my ladies from here are running too. Watching them get geared up is motivating me in all sorts of way.  And the three of us will have smoking fitbits before this is all said and done. This is a good problem to have. 

And then if we're lucky, in 2016 my cousin and I will run a 26.2 together! ("together" being a relative term, because even though he's WAY older than me I will be eating his dust). 

12.5.  Two work weeks and 2.5 days. (Monday - Friday) x2 + 2days and a half. Say it any way you'd like. that is all we have left of this school year.  Now don't get me wrong. I love our school, I love our teachers and administration, and I love our kids. But for the love of PETE I don't want to do any more projects or Handwriting Without Tears or figure out Common Core Math. I don't want to get up early and have to force bedtime. (Apparently I just want to be 8 and play all day in a pool). Plus it is already good and warm down here and everyone knows this girl just can't have it hot enough. 

Speaking of school.. second grade. That is what Eileen is just about to wrap up. Second grade is a huge year in Catholic School. First Reconciliation and First Communion - those two sacraments that separate the Little Kids from the Only Slightly Bigger Kids. 

And cursive. I am 99.9% sure it was middle to late 3rd grade before we started with cursive. She's starting now.  I still can't decide if Cursive is really a tool needed any longer (seriously y'all .. I had to look up how to make the lower case "b" the other day). I'm not against it, knowledge is knowledge, it just seems close to being obsolete (kind of like when I had to take Latin in High School instead of typing. That seriously got me far in life, that Latin..)  

And braces. Yes, braces.  Actually these days being 8 or 9 with a grill is not all that unusual. And actually she doesn't have a grill, at least not yet.  She does have one of those things in her mouth now to spread out/make bigger the roof of her mouth.  She got it Wednesday. And it has been a long couple of days.  And we just won't discuss the amount of ice cream and smoothies consumed. This kid was super excited to get orthodontic "stuff".. and within 24 hours she firmly stated "I DON'T WANT TO GET BRACES!"  (I can't say enough though about our doctor who lets his patients call his cell phone on his day off - that is a modern day housecall!)

Eileen will get her driver's license next week. 

K. not really, but some days that is how it feels. 

The Elephant in the Room: Mothers Day. I won't lie, I'm a little bit dreading it. I was out buying Mother's Day cards early this week for friends and family, and I was lucky to get out of Target before having a meltdown. I managed to avoid said meltdown by talking myself out of it. But still.  This will be the "first" of firsts this year I guess. I have plenty of support - I don't discount it. But Mom is mom is mom, and she's not here now. I can't say I am sad, because I know she is in a place none of us can imagine, she's with HER mom, and she's healthy and happy. But I miss her, sometimes I am lost without her, and on this Mother's Day, I really don't know what to expect. 

So, aren't ya'll glad I didn't have much to say?