What Goes Bump (or Pop) in the Night

My Long Run on Saturday included an event that I wanted to write about and get your opinion/feedback on. Usually I run in the mornings on the Alpharetta Greenway for my long runs. Last Saturday I had a change in plans, or more correctly, my plans were changed for me. Friday night I spent the night in the Hospital Emergency Room with Joshua getting 4 stitches in his forehead. That is a whole other story but suffice it to say he was one of the monkeys jumping on the bed and we know what happens to each of them in turn… Getting home at 4 am, I slept until noon. So following a full day of activity I finally got out around 9pm for my long run.

Instead of running at the Greenway, which has convenient markers each half mile, I decided to run a double loop around my neighborhood and adjoining wetlands/park. I plotted out a course that would be just over 9 miles and headed out the door. Due to the late hour I wore my headlamp that I usually wear on my early morning runs. Fairly early in my run I heard a noise in the distance, from the general direction of an apartment complex next to our neighborhood. Pop-pop-pop…pop-pop….pop-pop-pop…pop… I didn’t get an exact count on the pops but there were several. From that distance it really is impossible to distinguish between firecrackers (they have started selling them for the impending 4th of July) and gunfire. As it was so far in the distance, I just filed it away and continued my run.

About an hour later I was well into my run and was now in the park running around some of the man-made wetlands and ponds. As it was after 10, the sun had fully set and I was depending on my headlamp for lighting. I rounded a corner and approached a loop around another pond and noted what looked like a light from a flashlight about 1/8th of a mile off, just off the trail. This park is a favorite of mountain bikers and the first thought that went through my head was "wow, that is one dedicated biker." As I continued to run I noticed that the light wasn’t moving, it was staying in the same general area, just off the path. My mind tried to explain this as "maybe he has a flat tire" but that, or any other explanation I was thinking, just wasn’t feeling right. Then, as I continued to run around the loop in that direction, when I got about 120-150 yards away, the flashlight all of a sudden turned off.

My mind went into overdrive. Why would they turn the light off? Did it correspond to when they saw me? Maybe it was a bike and it went around a corner? In the dark, not a house within a half-mile, the mind and its natural defense mechanisms can do amazing things. Fairly quickly my mind retrieved the memory of the popping noise. Then I realized that where I was I was actually closer to the apartment complex than to our neighborhood. It was through a tree line and a fence but where that light was is only 250 yards from the closest apartment building… Could this be thugs disposing of "something"? Or is this just some kids out messing around in the woods after dark? So many questions with ZERO answers.

That’s not entirely true. I was getting an answer but I was choosing to ignore it. My "gut" and the Holy Ghost were YELLING at me, turn around NOW and run back the way you came. Three things betrayed me. One, my feet, they just kept moving. In a world of maintaining pace and stride, the unnatural act of stopping and turning around, just didn’t compute in my head. Two, my planned run, I knew the exact distance of the route I had mapped out but if I turned around I would have to go on to Google Earth and re-measure that segment of my run. And even then, it would be a guess as to my exact turn around point. And third, my biggest hurdle, my ego. I can’t be afraid of a flashlight or noise or anything while I’m out running… If I let this one win, what would I do the next time I heard a howl early in the morning, or the crashing of some bushes? Where do you draw the line when your mind’s imagination takes over?

For good or bad, I kept running. As I approached that stretch of the trail my heart rate peaked, and not because I was already 7.5 miles into my run or because I had picked up the pace. This was different, this was pure adrenaline from the fear and concern that I had made the wrong decision. As I ran past the area I made a point of not shining my light off the trail, I just ran straight ahead, looking straight ahead, like I never saw the flashlight in the distance. Just as I convinced myself that there was nothing there I heard a small rustle and a distinct "Shhhh Shhhh Shhhh" from the bushes. Sweat soaked hair on the back of my neck still found a way of freeing itself from the moisture and sticking straight up. My ears perked, straining to hear more. The bullfrogs droned from the adjoining pond but my heightened senses functioned like noise cancelling earphones finding a way to filter the frogs out to listen to the bushes more intently. But there was nothing but silence from the grassy knoll. Somehow my mind started developing exit strategies and contemplating the question of what a bullet to the back would feel like. Would I go down with the first shot? How many could I take and still run? I reached up and turned off my head-lamp thinking "I’m not giving them a target, let them shoot in the dark!" As my eyes quickly adjusted to the tree filtered moonlight I kept a focus on the white concrete path, I quickened my pace, lengthened my stride, and never looked back.

It was a good quarter mile before I slowed down, if only slightly, and turned my light back on. Even then I wouldn’t turn around and my ears strained to listen for running feet other than my own. I ran straight home from there (that was my designated course anyway). I debated whether or not to tell my wife and decided to share the experience with her. Not a mistake, but I took my scolding and her point about 5 people back at the house that depend on me making the right decisions and listening to the Spirit when it is talking did not fall of deaf ears. I debated whether or not I should tell the Police but I settled on the argument of "it still could have been your imaginations, lets see if there was any crime reported in the news before I get the police chasing random flashlights". Watching and searching the news for the next two days, nothing showed up.

It could have been, and most likely was, nothing nefarious. But what would you have done? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What did you do? Inherently I think that late night in a park is far more dangerous than early morning in a park or late night around the neighborhood. I think I have decided that if I have to run after dark again, I will stay on the neighborhood roads and not loop into the park. That is sad because the park is nice and I often see wildlife but ultimately I don’t want to have to make this decision again and my family IS more important than any enjoyment I get from running.

My Kids

If you want to see some really nice pictures of my kids, wander on over to the blog of a photographer friend of ours who is doing a series of kids photo's. Check 'em out:

1. My oldest doing Karate
2. My second, drawing a picture
3. Mixed shots of all of them

Dang - those 4 kids are the best Father's day gifts I could ever ask for!

Register His Hands as a Lethal Weapon!

Here is Caleb's First Karate Tournament. No sparring just yet, just "forms".

And for this 18 seconds of work, what does he get?

1ST PLACE! WAY TO GO BUDDY!

Not to minimize this at all but the tournament has an approach to ensure every kid gets a trophy. They break the kids into small enough groups so they can have A LOT of 1st place finishers. That being said, both his performance and his teachers rate him better than almost all others.

Family Update - Pictures (and video) Added as promised

I guess I have to write an entry about the general status of our family since my dad sent out an email to the family claiming that all I was doing was running and babysitting so Jamie "can pursue some goals" a.k.a. girl scout leadership training. I guess if you are using my blog as your only source of information that might be the impression one might get. I would argue that I have discussed other things with my dad but I’m sure many of us would describe our current lives differently if given more than a sentence. Props to my father for at least communicating something to the whole family. I know it is more than I have done.

So, where do I begin? I guess I can start with the kids then get to Jamie and me.

Caleb - Cub Scout - Night he got his Wolf and became a Bear

Caleb is doing great in 3rd grade. His first quarter report card came in with straight A’s. I don’t know if that still means the same thing in these public school grade inflated times but it still makes a dad’s chest puff out. His other great endeavor right now is Karate. This past summer he won a door prize of 6 month of unlimited karate classes and has gone 2-3 times a week since our return from Utah. He is easily the best student in the beginner level courses and his teacher has requested to move him up to the next level of classes starting next week. At this pace we may end up having to pay for these things come January but the confidence and discipline I have seen it bring him is irreplaceable.

Mischa - Rockstar award at school (kind of like "Student of the Month")

Mischa is our bookworm. Based on the comparisons from my childhood, I’m sure she would make my brothers Loren and Oliver proud. She CONSUMES books. Since July she has read the complete Harry Potter series, twice, not to mention the dozens of other books in the same time frame. In a school program that assigns point levels to various books read and tested on, students have a goal of 25 points for the entire school year. Mischa is about to reach 200 points for the first 3 months. And the girl will read ANYTHING – don’t get me started… Her other endeavor is piano. She started lessons back in July and is moving along quite swiftly. Her teacher told me last Friday that she has never had a student progress through the books as quickly as Mischa who is already playing sharps and flats in three hand positions and can play several Christmas songs… guess we have to find a piano as she is outgrowing our keyboard.

Joshua - What makes you think we are drugging our kids?

Joshua is our tenderheart. Hard to believe he turns 5 in a week. He aims to please and will cry quite quickly if he thinks he has disappointed you in any way. The other day he heard me getting upset with his little sister for having marker all over her face. Twenty minutes later when he came downstairs he had a blanket over his head like a Jaw-wah. Upon further investigation I found that he had played with the marker first and was the source for his little sister’s escapades. He broke into tears and cried more about the experience than his sister. The boy loves his Star Wars, Spider-man, Power Rangers, and video games. Do you think we need to shield him from pop-culture a little better?

Liesie-Lu --- Who me?

As for Liesie-Lu (my nickname for her) she is not accepting the back seat to anyone just because she is the youngest. She is very opinionated and will resort to screaming to get her way. And is VERY jealous of her mother holding anything that even LOOKS like another baby. Her speech was delayed somewhat (may have led to the screaming) but she seems to be making great progress in her vocabulary and very clearly understands what is asked of her. Recently she has found an affinity to having books read to her, that is both good and bad I guess.

Jamie, Caleb & Liesie - Can you pick them out? Yes, that is Caleb with the last line in the skit

Jamie is the perfect diligent busy mother and wife. Apart from taxi driver she is a Cub Scout Den Leader, a Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader, frequent school volunteer, babysitter for two neighbors who are working mothers, and pretty much finds a way to always seem to be in constant motion. I don’t know how she keeps things straight and I often refer to her as my Franklin Day Planner. She is "working on goals" as dad referred to but I would guess that she would like to do a few other things if not for the constant deluge of tasks that beset a stay at home mother.

As for me, yes, running has taken a central theme in my life right now. My wife might argue that it has taken a bit too much of my focus… Maybe that will die down some over the winter once I get past this half-marathon I am running on Thanksgiving Day. I think a full marathon is in the cards down the road but I will make that call sometime in the future. That may take more time commitment than I am willing to give. My problem is I can’t just run out there and do a 6 hour marathon and call it good because that is basically walking. If I do it, I want to do it right… Enough with the running already (I know you are thinking it!) It has provided results though. I am currently 201 lbs and I’m sure I will be at the 200 lb goal I set for myself to run this race on Thanksgiving, even if I’m back over 200 by the end of the day… In other news, my "new" job is going great. I am enjoying not having to travel as much and being at a plant instead of a corporate office every day. Our industry is hurting a little right now as a good chunk of our product goes into the housing market but we seem to be keeping our head above water. Speaking of water, if you haven't heard, we are in the middle of an historic drought in these parts. At least I can blame my dead lawn on the lack of rain and watering restrictions instead of my ineptitude of growing fescue in the south… Just keep your fingers crossed that we don't have to train the kids on "Yellow let it mellow, brown flush it down" as it is enough of a hassle just to get them to flush at all!

I hope this suffices as an adequate family update instead of a book-long, rambling post of themes you had already heard. I’m sure my wife would highlight other elements of our life right now if you had her write on the same topic, but hey, this is the view from where I sit. Pretty nice view I might add…

Abandoned!

For all the times I have gone away on business trips, the number of nights my wife has left me with the kids and spent a night away from home can most definitely be counted on one hand. Last night my dear wife attended a Girl Scout training camp and left me drastically outnumbered. My concept of "don't let them see the fear in your eyes" was based on distraction and avoidance - laced with a good dose of bribery!

The day started with taking my eldest to Karate. You would think this would have been easy but when we walked out the door to get in the car, all of a sudden my eldest wanted a toy to play with in the car. Where I would have probably placated the other three in this request I had no patience for this from my 9 year old, on a 5 minute car ride, to go to HIS Karate class. Needless to say, the tears flowed all the way to class and I started the day as the evil villain. The 45 minutes of class went fairly smooth. The key to the scream avoidance was ignoring the stares of everyone in the dojo as I allowed my 2 year old to play and dance to her "Old McDonald had a farm" singing chicken all the way through class.

From there we were off to the store to buy some Crocs for my boys as their sandals are falling apart and they are very jealous of their sister's Crocs. Do you know how hard it is to find name brand Crocs??? Good grief! After about 5 stores I finally used my Blackberry to find a Croc selling location. Who cares that it was 10 miles away, more time in the car means less time at home with them running around screaming, right?

By the time we got there the kids were crying for food, it was 1pm, so despite my plans of not taking them out to eat, I caved to Uncle Ronald and his magic arches. A round of nuggets for everyone hit the spot. I think the other patrons noticed my predicament as a mother in the next booth offered to get napkins and ketchup for me and the store manager actually carried my tray to the booth AND retrieved the requested sodas from the store accessible fountain drink dispenser. Although I think I could have handled it, I appreciated the help. The funny thing was the mother that helped me. As I told the story of taking the kids for the weekend and where my wife was, she unleashed on her husband in that "why don't you do that for me every once in a while" tone. From the look the husband shot me, you'd think I broke some kind of Daddy's code.

From there we raced to the movie theatre and caught a matinee of Ratatouille. I know it has been out for a while and I'm sure will probably be out on DVD before Christmas, but it was the only family friendly film showing. Unfortunately I hadn't notice that that thing is almost 2 hours long! That is one long cartoon! I lost the 2 year old somewhere around 1:30 into the film and had to employ every trick in the book to keep her quiet for the one other moviegoer besides us that had decided to take in the matinee. Not a bad movie but not quite up to the level of other recent cartoon releases. I give it a C+ for comedy and an B+ for child distractivity.

From there we came home. I delayed the onset of dinner moans with the crumbs and dregs of a week old appetite spoiling Cool Ranch Doritos bag. That didn't last for long. Good thing Jamie had left me with one our kid's favorites for dinner, Mac&Cheese. Of course, I found a way to mess that up as well. We had a leftover cheese packet so Jamie had just purchased a random pasta to mix with it. Somehow my eyes missed the shells she usually uses for shells and cheese and grabbed the rigatoni. Rigatoni and Cheese just doesn't roll off the tongue the same way for some reason. It doesn't roll over the pallet as well either. Thank goodness for our kids non-distinguished taste buds who all scarfed down their dinner!

At this point I decided to take a risk and go for my weekend run on my treadmill hoping things wouldn't blow up downstairs. I left explicit instructions to "come and get me in case of an emergency or if Liesie-Lu needed a new diaper." Two hours and 10 miles later I came out to put everyone to bed only a little past their bedtimes. You can imagine my fear when I met a certain girl coming up the stairs to great me with a diaper held up in the air informing me that "Daddy, I oopy!" Thank goodness for dry ball poopies! That's all I'll say about that...

Remarkably the kids went to bed extremely well. Mishca asked Josh-Josh to sleep in her bed with her which left Caleb in a room by himself. So, upon his request I decided to let him occupy Jamie's side of the bed. Sometime around 1 am I was awoken by a leg cramp in my left calf. One of Jamie's jobs is to rub the arch of my foot to help make the cramp go away. I figured that if he wanted her spot in the bed, Caleb would have to do the same thing. (Hey, I was in mind numbing pain, I wasn't thinking straight!) After fighting for 2-3 minutes to get Caleb awake enough to actually be conscious enough to understand my request I endured another 2-3 minutes of my son tickling my foot while I cried in pain I came to my senses. I told him to forget it and then used a bedpost to rub it myself.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. As I write this post Sunday morning is passing smoothly. Of course I was told "I should be home sometime around 10am" by a certain loving wife. As it is now, it is 11:30 and the natives are showing signs of hunger. I wonder what I can bribe them with, I mean feed them? Wish me luck, and pray that my wife is just delayed instead of plotting ways to extend this momentary freedom of hers...

Josh Josh and Liesie Lu

This was a couple weeks back but I'm finally posting them so forgive me. Here is my 4 year old with his magna doodle. He pulled me aside to show me that he had written his name for the VERY FIRST TIME without any help. The A didn't fit so he had to put it on the next line down...

Of course, his sister saw the camera action and wanted in on it...

Mind Bender

This is Caleb and me at Six Flags over Georgia riding the Mind Bender roller coaster. The ride has two loops in it but was the only true roller coaster that Caleb was tall enough to ride. Mischa went on it once as well but I couldn't get her to go again. This video was taken on the last run of the day before the park closed. We had just been in the front car and I filmed the forward direction but the battery in the camera died halfway through the ride. I switched batteries but had to move from the front row but since there was no-one else in line we were allowed to move to the third row where I decided to turn the camera around.

Simple Pleasures

How rarely do we stop to enjoy the simple pleasures in life? Even less frequently, how often do we share that emotion, joy, and experience with others? The sharing of an experience can sometimes be as enjoyable as the experience itself. This is actually the entire model that the bloggosphere is based on, is it not? Living life through the shared experiences and emotions of others?

Last night I experienced a rare moment when someone else’s joy, and how they expressed it, made me experience as much if not more joy for completely different reasons.

During the day my wife had made a cheesecake as a gift for her father’s birthday. Although she declared it a “failure” and promptly started looking for a new recipe, we were not going to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I opened a can of blueberry pie filling so we could enjoy the “spoils” of the day. I looked around to see if anyone was watching and took one big lick off the lid, but Mischa caught me and demanded a lick for herself. I obliged and she took a health lick from the lid as well.

After some pause, her eyes grew wide, her smile beamed, she put her hand to her mouth as if she had just been told a shocking secret, and proclaimed “It tastes like paradise in my mouth!”

I couldn’t stop from letting out a laugh, not at her, but rather because she verbalized the emotion we all feel with a particularly sweet indulgence. It certainly was the exact feeling I was having at the time savoring the great taste that only blueberry pie filling can provide!

So here’s to the simple pleasures of life, “ruined” desserts, and a daughter that I wouldn’t trade for the world!

The Mind of a Child

At first glance you may wonder what these two pictures have in common. To the common eye water is the only similarity. But in the eyes of a four year old, that is more than enough.

The first image is a screenshot from Joshua’s video game, Alphabet Park Adventure, on his V-smile gaming console. The point of this particular game is to steer your inflatable rubber duck (partially concealed by the large letter H) across the screen matching your duck's letter with the picture that starts with the same letter. Not much of a challenge. However, when I entered the room, my 4 year old appeared engrossed in the game and was frantically guiding his duck all over the screen obviously having added an additional element to the game.

We now come to the second picture above. It is a screenshot from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest in which the Kraken, unleashed by Davy Jones, is attacking a ship. We recently rented the movie which Joshua enjoyed thoroughly and he renamed it Jack Sparrow. (Can you tell who his hero in the movie was?)

Back to the scene I walked in on, Joshua then turned to his 20 month old sister sitting beside him and warned her in his lowest, scariest, and most dramatic voice, “BEWARE THE KRAKEN!” He then proceeded to float around the screen letting out a constant stream of “whoaaaaaa”s as if a monster could pop up at any second and bring his alphabetically inclined “vessel” into the briny deep!

Of course, me and my bad puns, I returned the warning telling him that what he really needed to watch out for was the Quacken! But hey, he passed the level so if my son wants to motivate himself to learn with the help of a giant mythical creature, who am I to argue?