Randomness that I Will Attempt to Make into A Coherent Post

Perhaps a list will work? I have little scraps of things to say. Alas, my profundity must be taking a vacation this week.

1. First, a shout out to my friends doing IMKY! Judi and Amanda, you two are going to rock! I can't wait to hear all about it. Velma, you'd best take good notes! I wish I could be there to witness the day.

2. That's my daughter Jordan in the new header at about five months. She no longer flips me the bird when I try to photograph her. Now she puts her hands on her hips, procures a sexy smile, and pretends to be a model.

3. This is my third to last day in Maine. I soon must return to my life as a Mass-hole. sniffle. sniffle. sob. breakdown.

4. I race on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Saturday Alina and I are competing in a 1.6 OW ocean swim in Rockland, Maine--just up the coast. Tropical storm Danny will hit on Saturday morning, so the swim should be--- interesting. Alina will probably still win, though she insists she will not. They are predicting winds of 25-30 mph. Oh happy day! On Sunday I will race the Kennebunk Fireman Olympic Tri. I cannot wait to get out there. I'm itching to race. I'm itching to suffer. I'm itching to do a race at which I can get off the bike at 25 miles. Wahoo!

5. I think my mid-life crisis is slowing. This is good news. Hyde wrecked a few things in the last nine months, but some good changes may have come as a result. Case in point, I'm not getting my classroom ready right now. I am in Maine, writing. I apologize to all of those people that encountered Mr. Hyde in full monster form. She is rather entertaining, though, as opposed to Dr. Jekyll who can be rather dull and rigid. Perhaps an apology is not required. I am rather fond of my alter ego, despite the trouble she may cause.

6. Yesterday I came back from an ocean swim to encounter Maria (Alina's oldest) and Jordan wearing MY BATHING SUITS. They found this amusing, and were especially pleased that the suits were not really very big for them.

Here they are imitating me. Apparently this is how I appear on the beach.

I need to admit up front that it's rather upsetting to discover that eight year-olds (and Maria is actually still seven) fit into your bathing suits, especially the bikini top.
They also decided to take a picture of the bear imitating me.
And here they are mocking me again. I certainly hope I don't walk around with that look on my face that Jordan is sporting.


Later that day they decided to go running. Jordan is in her own running clothes. She's been outfitted because we are running a 5K together on Labor Day. (a side note: Today on our 1.3 mile run she commented that next time she runs she'd like to wear my fuel belt. Running that far make one very thirsty. She also insisted on having a recovery drink after the run. And note, she is already wearing my Garmin.) Maria didn't have adequate running apparel for this run, however, so she is sporting mine. Maria is very, very tall for her age. Still, the fact that she looks fine in my running clothes is -- well, not right.

Before their run:

I hate to brag, as they are our kids and everything, but Maria and Jordan are excellent runners. They went 1.33 miles in 9:44 pace. Before they left they were having a serious discussion about how it's no surprise they are so good, since they both have runner and swimmer blood. SO FUCKING CUTE.

7. This is what I must leave on Monday morning. I make no secret of the fact that I am a child of privilege in many, many ways. My parents are incredibly generous--by first allowing me to live with them when I was the biggest pain-in-the ass of a teenager ever, and second, by allowing me, in the present, to live with them each summer--with my best friend and six kids in tow.