We Made It Through April 25th

You might read that title and wonder why the celebration? Let me tell you the significance of this date this year.

For months, I have been stressing about the morning of April 25th and wondering how we were going to do everything that needed to be done that day.

For starters, Maia had signed up for her first Judo promotion and to participate in her first tournament. She started going to Judo with her dad and brother last fall and didn't want to try for her yellow belt when Mason got his; she didn't have enough confidence then. Promotions can only happen a couple of times a year, so this was the next possible date for her to try to advance. We encouraged her to participate and she, with butterflies in her stomach, agreed to go for the belt and enroll in the tournament. Weigh in was to begin at 8:30 am.

Mason and Marlee are both signed up to play baseball this spring. Having had a child in baseball for the past several years, I knew that every Saturday morning through the beginning of June would be booked with games so I wasn't surprised when the schedule came out showing Marlee's game at 8:00 am and Mason's game at 9:00. I was less than thrilled, however, that their games were at two different venues (slightly less convenient).

Several months ago, I accepted the opportunity to be a counselor this summer at my church's camp for teenage girls. I haven't been to camp, myself, in twenty years, so I am a little nervous about the whole deal. There is a lot to know. I am in charge of making sure these girls meet all of their certification requirements (from learning skills like orienteering with a compass to different ways of cooking outdoors to teaching other campers ways to build emergency shelters, etc) and have a good time. Again, I am nervous about it. Anyway, my first big training meeting was set to be from 9:00 am until noon.

Do you see why I have been stressed about this morning for months? Marlee had to be at her game in one town at 7:50; Mason had to be at his game in another town at 8:30; Maia had to be in another city at 8:30; I had to be at a meeting in the opposite direction in a fourth city at 9:00. And I wanted to be at all those places. Even with Michael's help with the running, there was no way for us to be everywhere we needed/wanted to be!

Thankfully, things went pretty smoothly for us all. I took Teensy to her first game and was able to watch her first inning where she hit a great single and scored a run! Our friend Greg agreed to watch her and take her home with him and his three sons until Michael could come retrieve her later in the morning.

I dropped Mason off at his game, (gave a dad there the head's up that I was abandoning my son and begged him to keep an eye on my boy) with my cell phone and instructions to call Daddy two innings before the end of the game. He did just that and Michael left the Judo tournament to pick-up Mason who was just "good game"-ing the other team when Daddy and Kenna arrived to get him. Talk about perfect timing!

Michael, Mason, and Mackenna then went to get Teensy from Greg before heading back to Maia's tournament. After my meeting, I met the whole family there I was so happy to see all my kids back together safe and sound after their various activities. As a bonus, I got to the tournament just as Maia was competing in her match.


I have never seen Maia so agressive before; it was quite a sight! She really is getting strong. I was so proud of her as I watched her. I really think that Judo is good for her confidence and coordination. Even though she didn't win her match, I still think she did a great job. (And I think her loss might be partly my fault. I started cheering for her while she was putting a move on the other girl and when she heard my voice she stopped what she was doing, looked up and stared at me like, "When did you get here, Mom?" I totally broke her concentration. Oops!)


The best part of the match was the last minute or so. I didn't know how to splice the video and only post the good stuff, so feel free to fast forward.

And so I breathe a sigh of relief that April 25th is over and that we made it through the morning without any hiccups. May we never have a day like that again!