I've been a Facebook Nerd & a blogging lazy turd, this year. Jillian graduated from high school, this past June; &, we had a small party, here. We had been painting, ripping up carpet, getting a new floor & getting the yard under control. Then we had a trip to Nebraska SMACK DAB during the same time with the 4-H group.

Hannah starts her junior year of high school, this week & college credit plus classes, next week. Jillian starts college full time, next week. We (I) decided to finish the home facelift & do the girls' rooms, too. We have been purging, boxing items we intend to keep & moving stuff into the garage to get get ready for paint & new carpeting in their rooms. Plastering, sanding & ripping up old carpeting comes before all of the glory work, though. Add 4-H obligations, teaching two teens to drive, running group obligations and training a couple of new employees... & my head is spinning!

I LOVE doing it, though. Jim is excited about the new wood floors. The girls are excited that we let them make their rooms uniquely "theirs" and I'm happy to be dropping 4-H obligations & picking up different ones. 4-H has been a great experience but the girls have moved on to other interests. Jim & I are running races together & doing more together as a couple instead of "exclusively as parents." I LOVE it! The family dynamics are changing.

This past weekend Jim & I ran Cleveland's rock & Roll Hall of Fame 1/2 Marathon. It was his second, ever, half marathon-- AND-- both 1/2's were within four months of each other! We ran together & while the pace was slower than my usual pace, to experience it with Jim & talk about it with him afterwards was a JOY! If I raced, I'd be waiting for him (probably impatient, irritated or worried) at the finish line. Running slower, with him, I was able to hand him our hydration every two miles and monitor his progress, his breathing, the heat... Running with him meant we had something to talk about, together, when it was all over. Instead of me asking if he saw "XXXXX", I could point at it during the race & smile. If it was live music, we were able to talk about the exact moment we both saw it instead of our different experiences, afterwards. I could see his flush face & see happy tears at the finish as I put the medal around his neck! A strong hug at the finish then smiling, sweaty selfies are stories we will keep sharing. After years of being (truly) sad (& lonely) that I was doing this solo, I have an up & coming partner! To me, reminding myself to stay as a duo is a running "investment." I have no doubt he will surpass my own accomplishments, eventually. If he does, I'm reminding him to stay with ME! ;)

Our last 4-H obligation is coming up: the fair & fair booth. This is a BIG deal! The kids work all year in preparation for the fair. It is THEIR "race day." I have designed the booth & hope, again, to come away with an award for the kids. :) After the fair, it's back to focusing on training for Chicago in October. I'm hoping to add one last "destination" trail race at Mackinac Island at the end of October. That should take us into a short rest before promoting & training for the Glass City Marathon. Jim wants to do his first Full marathon, then. We'll attempt the training & see how he fares. He will probably do great... or decide to wait a bit longer before tackling the distance. Either way, I'm learning to enjoy the "journey" with company.