Summer In The Sun

What a stinking long day...and I mean literally "Stinking." Today was my day off and I spent it on and off at the school with Massey.

The picture to the left is of their coach perched in the tower drilling the troops.

I didn't get there til after noon and the asphalt was already smoking hot and the guard had already been hard at work since 9AM.
I stayed for a while and went home to let the dogs out and go vote for the person I thought would lie to us the least ...boy, talk about a hard decision!

I'll have to hand it to these kids, it was hot...no breeze no shade just the sun pounding down on them and their coach pounding from up above as well.


They broke for dinner at five and it seemed to be getting hotter by every minute.

They eat inside the school (with no air conditioning) sitting in the hallway outside the band room.

If you've never sat in an un air conditioned hallway with 30 kids who have been out in the heat for 8 hours all eating different smelling foods and all having sweaty bodies and even worse smelling feet, I'm here to tell you it is an aromatic delight(NOT.)

Somehow they keep their spirits up. They laugh and joke and are an eclectic bunch that all have a common goal..."To be the best."

I hate that I have had to miss so much of it due to our circumstances but enjoyed being back a part of them today.

I think it meant the world to Massey for me to be there today. I thought it was hot working in the yard (I did sneak home for an hour and cut the back yard ) but just watching them drill, twirl and spin out on the hot pavement of the parking lot was excruciating for me. I felt like I was melting just sitting on the sidelines. I am more a "Doer" than a "Watcher" and I could see the toll the heat was taking on many of the kids...who were all "Doing" while I just "Watched."

After my long day (which I am SURE was MUCH longer to the kids) I have a whole new respect for what these kids are doing. They are pushed hard by a coach that was hired to make them the best guard...not to be their best friend. He is brutal at times and on occasion is ridiculous...PERFECT for dealing with teens in my book.

Life around my house is slowly (very slowly) getting back to normal...well as normal as it gets for us.

I wish I had more time to commit but as we forge ahead on the path to recovery I am finding little snippets of time to spend with the guard and my off days to re connect with this wonderful program my daughter has chosen to be a part of. I sometimes feel awkward because I can't be at every practice and every event but the parents that ARE at every function seem to genuinely care for Massey in my absence and have all taken wonderful care of her when I couldn't be there.

What a great thing it is to have a young teen want to be part of such a hard but rewarding organization. She could be sitting on her duff texting all day or on the computer but she chooses to "get out there" and be a part of something bigger and more challenging than she has ever done in her almost 15 years on this Earth.

It's called motivation. It's called commitment. It's called teamwork. It's called a lesson in life.

I couldn't be prouder of these kids and I admire every one of them for their dedication and desire to be the best they can be.

No wonder they win so many competitions. To win you have to compete. To be a competitor you have to have dedication and determination .

To me these are the greatest life skills these kids will ever learn and seeing them do it at such a young age gives me hope for our future.

The teens we are raising are our future, pure and simple.

Below is a short video of them learning the first movement of their new show. Only two days into camp and I think they look pretty good .

Have a day off tomorrow because I work a double shift at work but I will be back on the asphalt on Thursday. Being around these kids is an incredible feeling .

Til next time...COTTON

Be sure to click on the pics and video...