From CNN's iReport site, here's the direct link to it: click here
Also, here's what the videographer had to say about it: " was standing in Arlington Cemetery in V.A when a huge storm was rolling in. I noticed these Air force Airmen standing so perfectly still. As the weather took a turn for the worse, these magnificent soldiers stood there ground. I was truly amazing to see them just standing there as the winds and rain were blowing tress and power lines over. WOW."
Sofia started complaining over the weekend about her jaw on the left side. Stefanie and I didn't think much of it, until she lifted her chin and we noticed that she was a bit swollen on that side. Elevated temperature, swollen glands under the face...figure it out yet?
She is indeed vaccinated against "les oreillons" and this might still not be an actual case (the doctor definitely thinks it is), but we're going to keep her out of school for the remainder of the week just to be sure.
Oh, and we looked it up, to be a true case of "les oreillons" you don't have to have bilateral swelling (on both sides of the face), at this point the swelling is just unilateral, confined to her left side...and she's still going riding (of course).
So, some time off from school, lots of fluids, and lots of rest...and hopefully she'll kick this thing, mumps or no, and be back to school next week.
But I finished. All 15 miles of the "half" marathon. So at least there is that.
I ended up drinking seven bottles of water throughout the course--and still ended up fairly dehydrated. It was just too darn hot. I ended up looking behind me at around mile ten on a long straightaway and saw that there was nobody there. Turned out that there actually were a few folks behind me, quite a ways back, but the hundred some people that were behind me at the start all ended up quitting. Another piece of good news too is that besides the sunburn I have as a souvenir I have zero soreness today, even just one day after. All that training over the last few months paid off in that regard.
So, watch this space for more--this chapter is over, but I've got something that I think is exciting planned for the next several months. Stay tuned...
I was able to make it through the first 9.5 miles before taking a break. I'm a sweaty guy, so I used that opportunity to switch t-shirts--dehydration is my biggest challenge on these long runs. (Total mileage = 213.2)
Got back home, cleaned up and made homemade pancakes. And then on to music... "band" is what we call it. It's actually a bunch of kids that take guitar lessons--they get together on Sunday mornings and play "Ode to Joy" over and over again. They've also added the theme to the Godfather to their repertoire.
Then, grocery shopping, wash the car, over to the local green grocer, bread from the bakery--and then help Stefanie (who stayed home and did yard work) finish cleaning up yard clippings.
And now, writing this, TV in one ear, kids in the other. A bit of schoolwork, dinner, and then read my book ("Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg" --I'm taking a class on historiography and I'm reviewing this book for the class).
Not an exciting day, but a normal day. Hope you had a nice day today too.
Sofia said to me the other day when I asked what she and Dylan thought they should do for Mother's Day that they should wake up before mom and then... jump on the bed and yell: "Happy Mother's Day!" I said, "um, a much better idea would be to let mommy sleep and then make her breakfast." Sofia thought about it for a moment and then said, "that's a much better idea!" So we let mommy sleep and made her pancakes...
Before that though, I went on my longest run yet: 12.3 miles. I got up at 6:30 and the run took about 2 hours. Mileage count is up to 183.59
Here's the route I took:
Hooray!
I think that anybody who would ever read this already knows, but I figured, what the hell, why not post it here too:
What this means: on a list of 500 some people who were selected, I'm number 242. The ranking doesn't actually mean much, frankly. The people with lower numbers got promoted to CW2 before me and everybody with higher numbers were promoted to CW2 after...so no big deal.
What this doesn't mean: that I've been promoted. That won't happen until November, most likely. But getting on the list is the most important thing...the promotion is now in the 'inevitable' category.
Hooray!
