This and That

Last weekend the kids and I had our own Country Get-Away. We loaded up Friday after school/work and hit the road heading west on 212. Our final destination - the gym at the BL-H school in Hector to take in the Girls Lady Mustang basketball game!

Why?

• My cousin Michelle's daughter Mikayla is a junior at BL-H (I think there is an S at the end now for Stewart) and plays on the team. The team was on a winning streak. This was a home game leading in to some sort of play offs.
  


• I love my family. I love my home town/the farm. I figure the only way to keep them close at hand and close at heart is to come out when I can, and as the moment presents itself! I figure this is the only way to continue to call it "home".


• I want the farm and family I know and love to be close at hand and close at heart for Marly and Dean in their lives, and as they grow. (Repeat above!).
  

Anyway, after a stop at the McDonald's drive thru in Norwood for supper and an up-planned but REQUIRED potty break at Cactus Jack's (or whatever it is now called) in Stewart*, we arrived in Hector 15 minutes after the game started. We joined up with Michelle, Aunt Jan and Uncle Sheldon, Sutton, Saxton, Sawyer, and Etc. Chad is one of the coaches for the team.

Of course my family saved us a spot in their row of the bleachers. Between periods (or WHATEVER they call them in basketball) we visited my graduation class photo from 1993 hanging in the lower level high school hall and I pointed out my locker to the Twinners. Michelle too. Naturally, my locker was alway between Dawn Macik and Brad Melberg!

The team won the game. Dean was one awesome cheerleader for the girls. Marly enjoyed herself too, but Dean particularly loves joining any activity in with his second cousins. It was a pleasant trip home and a pleasant trip down memory lane. (I am sure you can guess I did NOT play ANY sport of ANY sort in high school. There is a Competitive Speach state district trophy of some sort in the trophy case at school from teams I DID take part on. I was pretty good too....)

We spent the night at Jan and Sheldon's. The next morning we set out for Suburbia. Somehow the car was pulled in the route to Hutch right by the gravel road that leads to Yowdie's house. Yowdie (known to most as Judy) was my mom's best friend. I simply could NOT count the times spent hanging out at Yowdie's house. Her son Eric is one of my brother's best friends. In my childhood, the women would sit at the kitchen table, drink weak coffee, smoke and talk (or vice versa at our house). The kids would play and get into trouble that could have been extremely dangerous, but never was. As the single girl sibling, I went between listening to the women and playing with the boys....and back to sitting at the kitchen table with the women (where it was safer...).

I digress. I haven't seen Yowdie/Judy since my Dad's pizza party. Yowdie has had a TOUGH battle with cancer. As we neared her house Saturday morning, I questioned whether to stop. Would she think it was stange I was just dropping in unannounced and unexpected? I knew I would be welcome... but... but... would it be ackward?

Well, after a moment of reflection, I hit the gas, steered down the gravel road, and turned into her drive way. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO glad I did. It was wonderful to see her (and Rusty). I also got to be one of the first persons to hear her WONDERFUL news. She had been at the doctor the day before and discovered she is cancer free. Bless the Lord! What a HAPPY DAY. Yes - I will reiderate! I am SOOOOOOOOOO glad I stopped. Yes, I was welcome. It was one of the best moments of many wonderful moments over the weekend. No, it was NOT ackward.

The kids and I arrived home in the afternoon. While we were gone, this is what my husband was up to.

He served coffee for Caribou at the Lake Calhoun Polar Plunge. Then he was "forced" to participate with his 'Bou collegues in the actual plunge. Mark tells me it was painful, aweful and he hopes to NEVER do it again.
Way to go Honey!

*Cactus Jack's is pretty much the ONLY place to stop between Glencoe and Hector if you don't want to pee alongside a gravel road. It was too windy and a bit too nippy to help Marly and Dean pee road side. Plus, I needed to go to the bathroom too. I can go by the road side if necessary, but it was too windy and too cold for my bum too!