It's Dega Baby!

Talladega Half Marathon! It's a good one. We live about 20 minutes from The NASCAR Talladega Super Speedway. We are very familiar with "race week". It's part of our Southern culture! It's Dega Baby! 

Every September one Sunday in the month The Super Speedway becomes a race venue for runners! The Start & Finish lines are located on the track at the beginning and end of the 'straightaway'! It is so awesome to run on the track past turn one then up the brutal ramp thru the grandstands and around the outside of the venue! The course takes you through the main entrance straight down the tunnel that the NASCAR drivers come barreling through then back onto the track at mile 10.5 for the Grand Finish on the track! There are only two words to describe the whole day: totally cool! 

In spite of the race being on foot there is SPEED! Today the Top male finisher took the checkered flag at 1:13:18. Top female finisher clocked in at 1:33:40. In anybody's result book that is fast! I honestly don't know how anybody can run 13.1 miles that darn fast! For the record we were no where close to that kind of speed! We were more in the caution flag category! CAUTION:Slowpokes on the course! 

In spite of the track being cool it's a fairly difficult course! The track is hard to run on. It's not flat! Even at the lowest shoulder it's on a little bit of a slant. There is no passing on the high banks. You can't stand up! You quickly realize it is sheer speed that keeps the race cars on the road. If they ran slow they would fall in the turns! The asphalt is hot in the Alabama sun! It felt like 100 degrees when I hit mile 11. No shade! Sun & Asphalt on an unlevel surface! I was definitely out of gas at that point! 

My favorite part of the track is the Alabama Gang Stretch right before turn 4! There is a huge banner sign that seems to stretch from end to end that says This is Talladega! I love it! You can just feel the thunder of the race car engines when you see it! I've been to a few NASCAR races there. You can feel those engines as they fly by! 

Today was our halfway point in our marathon training. We were both disappointed! I was slow! I struggled with the first mile and then again with miles 11 & 12. I don't know why. I just did. Johnny had a great run starting out then struggled at mile 9 with cramps. We have a long way to go to get to mile 26. We have a lot more miles and a lot more training and a lot more running ahead of us. We will get there though! The Pace Cars were looking really sweet to us today! It's so much easier than running! 

But today is in the books. It's a done deal. It is what it is! It's Dega Baby & it was still totally cool!  I'm sure we will see ya next year at the track! 

Peace out! Grandmary

Happy Grandparents Day!

My favorite role is Grandmother! Nobody calls me that though. It seems like I'm Grandmary to the whole world! That's a good thing! Today is Grandparents Day. It's a day I celebrate every day but I have never officially celebrated Grandparents Day with my grandchildren!  Every year I say I'm going to change that! I'll set a new goal for next year now!

I love being a grandmother. I have always wanted grandchildren.  I had this vision of a houseful of the little darlings waiting for me dressed  in my apron to pull a pan out of the oven of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! The same little darlings would gush in between chomps & smacks about how wonderfully awesome their Grandmary is! It's pretty much like that when they are at my house! I cook a lot! They like to eat! haha

Being a grandmother lets you bring the memories of your own children back to life! Not the summer vacation memories or the she did this at age 10 and he did that at age 12 memories. The memories tucked away in your "mothers heart", those are the memories that come back. You see them in your grandchildren. The way he smiles when he is being silly. He looks just like his mama when he does that. Just like her! The way she twirls her hair. It's so blonde in that one little spot. Her daddy's hair was that color when he was little. The way she looks when she is most competitive. She has no way of knowing her mom still looks like that as she crosses the finish line. I see them everywhere in my grandchildren. Memories of my children.  My grandchildren are so familiar to me! I recognize them! 

I wrote this poem a long time ago for a scrapbook page. I think it will always be the truth even when there are great chandchildren. I am so looking forward to those days! " Children of my children how fast you will grow. Familiar faces seen again from babies long ago. You bring back sweet memories from days far apart. Children of my children. Heart of my heart".

The moment I saw my first grandchild I remember thinking my life was complete. If I never had another grandchild or even another thing my life would be no less complete. Mason was a perfect bundle of boy! He was quiet and content with his eyes wide open just looking around taking everything in and going with the flow. He is still all of those things today. He has always been Pawpaws on the go buddy. He has a gentle spirit and is a true gentleman. He is the perfect first grandchild! I'm sure it's a lot of pressure being the first! He has to deal with our grandparent overzealousness with each new thing that he does! He's always the first grand kid to do anything! Bless him.

Our most precious grandchild is in heaven. He came on our 20th wedding anniversary. God blessed me with one memory of Elijah. I will never forget how it feels to hold an angel. Every year my anniversary is a little bittersweet. I cry a little as I wish heavens sweetest angel happy birthday. I miss him. 

1999 was a busy year for grand babies! Three more. Emilee was born in May but we would not know her for a few years. My son adopted her when he married her mother. She is a perfect addition to the grand kid mix! She is a pretty girl and has a sensitive tender heart. We like to sit on the back porch and chit chat! It's my way of keeping up with her busy world! She calls me a lot now just to chat and ask for my recipes! I love that she thinks of me when she's trying to learn to cook! Smart girl! 

Lindy was the first girl born on my side of the family since my youngest daughter was born some 24 years prior! The hospital room filled with pink everything the minute she was born! She was absolutely gorgeous! Her eyelashes touched her eyebrows and everything about her was so pink and feminine! But in the first few minutes of her life as the nurses took care of the logistics of being born she cried louder than any baby has ever cried! Making your opinions known to the world is a good character trait to have! She is still gorgeous and her eyelashes still touch her eyebrows! There is nothing about Lindy that I don't love!

Chapman came 9 weeks later! He was a few weeks early and spent his first weekend in the NICU. I got to hold him and feed him because his mom was having a rough time herself. It broke my heart for him to be struggling but I fell head over heels in love with this snuggly little boy. He is the reason I am a runner. When he was 8 & I was 53 he told me running would be good exercise for my health at my age. I could not resist those big brown puppy dog eyes and the sincerity of his heart. Without ever running  a step I registered for my first 5K! I still can't resist those eyes! At my age!

Mary Alyssa is my namesake. She is my Syssa girl! When she first started talking I asked her if her name was Alyssa. She said very matter of factly No it's Syssa!  So she will always be Syssa to me! She is just a sweetheart. There is no other way to describe Alyssa. She Is the one who always finds her way to my lap! Even now! She always checks on me and always has an extra hug or two just for me! She lives in her own little world and sometimes she lives in Crazyville but she is always happy and her smile and sparkly eyes light up the room! Every time! 

Justin is the youngest grandson! He's surrounded by sisters! He is all boy and has always been a little creature of habit! Just like Pawpaw! He is intelligent. I'm always surprised at the depth of conversation they have just talking about normal things! But don't make any impulsive changes around either one of them, it throws them for a loop. I guess that's why I adore Justin. I understand him!

Izzy is the last grandchild. She took our breath away when she was born! She looked just like our son. I know everybody says that but seriously she did. She still looks  Just. Like. Him. Except that she's a girl! It's amazing. She will tell you she's not my girl because she's not! It's not so much that she is her Pawpaws girl it's that He is her guy! She absolutely loves everything about him! That's amazing too! She tells me all the time I don't know everything in the whole wide world! Yes I do Izzy because what I do know is that she is complete cuteness and sass rolled into one! She's the perfect last grandchild! A cute little mess! 

I have to give credit to our kids for being so generous with their kids! They have always allowed us to completely enjoy our grand kids! We like to be together. We all look forward to the annual grand kid trip. Just us and them. No parents! It's several days of total chaos full of fun! But we  can't tell all the stories! What happens on the grand kids may or may not stay on the grand kids trip! Here is just one example:

In our defense we had no idea a hurricane was coming! I mean who goes to the beach in the middle of a hurricane!! So we just dealt with it and made the best of it until the storm passed! Surely the hot tub outside was safer than being stuck indoors in that high rise hotel room! Good times! Fun memories! 

I really love being a grandmother! And I love Johnny being a grandfather. He's a good one! Happy Grandparents Day! 

xoxo Peace Love & Grandmary!