Family, Fall, Football And Hayden

Winchester Battlefield Invitational

Hayden's Personal Best

 Faces Of Exhaustion

After The Race

It's now 8:00 and finally someone else, Drew is up.  Evie and Jill are still sleeping and the the girls are at sleep overs so it's going to be a quiet morning.  It's cold here in Virginia, 27º, colder than Chautauqua's 34º degrees and what they call a wintry mix, meaning rain and snow.  We have clear skies here in Virginia despite the cold and we look forward to a nice sunny but cool day.

Cross Country Invitational Site

Yesterday began early as we left at 8:00 for the Winchester Battle Field Cross Country Invitational, about an hour and fifteen minutes away.  Basically, we retraced the last hour of our drive on Friday back to Winchester.  It was a great morning, with a bracing half mile walk through the woods to the battlefield where all the tents were set up, all the teams in different colors, warming up and getting ready to cheer each other on.

Hiking To The Cross Country Meet With The Bissells

Hayden's group, the freshmen teams, were the first off at 9:45.  It was an amazing beginning as 250 girls took off at at the gun, running towards the narrow opening in the woods.  Once the race began, spectators would take off, hoping to get a glimpse or photo of the runners from various venues.  I missed Hayden both times she passed me by, alas.  She finished 34th out of 250 and knocked a minute off her personal best which was great for her.  Her teammates were all excited after the race, hugging each other, being congratulated by both coach and fans, before cooling down with a ten minute jog.  We stayed for another half hour, long enough for Hayden to get an Invitational tee shirt and give us a final hug as we said goodbye.  She had another three hours ahead of her, waiting for the various girls and boys teams to run.   Fortunately, it was a beautiful day for runners and the hundreds of fans.  That was only the beginning of her day.

It's Over

Happy Teammates

We were home around noon and had lunch, vegetable soup and sandwiches, and settled in for an afternoon of relaxing and football.  Both Drew and I watched the Michigan/Michigan State game and the unbelievable ending after all of us but Evie took naps.  Hayden was home around 3:30 all excited about the fun she had at the meet and looking forward to the evening.  She got something to eat, then showered and got her dress and other things ready for the Homecoming Dance at Patriot HS and a sleep over.  At 5:30, Evie, Jill and Hayden went over to one of Hayden's friends house, where Hayden and her girlfriends would get ready for the dance, Mom's were invited as well to help, sip wine, enjoy a buffet, and talk.  

Ava and Hayden

The Five Freshmen

They were back by 7:15 when Drew and I had just returned from picking up the take out from an Asian Bistro.  We ate our dinner quickly, all of us were hungry and then watched a movie Drew recommended, 42, the story of Jackie Robinson's life.  It was well done and made clear how courageous and strong Jackie had to be to break the racial barrier in Major League Baseball. We forget how racist this country was after WWII and still is in some parts of the country.  We watched a little of the Ohio State game but soon got bored and tired and all of us went to bed around 10:30.  

And Halle!

Today we will enjoy the sun, watch football, perhaps take a walk, if we can get the tired girls out of the house.  I doubt it.  They both will be exhausted from their sleepovers and Hayden has had an exhausting 24 hours with her cross country meet and homecoming and sleepover.  Ah youth.  It makes me tired to think about it.