by Heather Plett | Jun 20, 2006 | Uncategorized
The alarm woke me at six o’clock. I lay there with my eyes still closed, listening to the morning news. I was still in that semi-conscious zone between sleep and wakefulness when I felt the tap on my arm. It was ten-year-old Nikki – she was up and ready. It was race day and she wanted to make sure we made it there on time.
While I splashed water on my face and tamed my bedtime hair, she dressed in her pink t-shirt and running shorts. I emerged from the bedroom to find her in the living room pulling socks onto her feet. She stood up, and with a look that showed both nervousness and anticipation, she handed me her race number. I pinned it onto her shirt, smiled, and reached up to stroke her tousled hair.
She grabbed her shoes, and together we attached the small sensor chip to her shoe laces. This small chip would register with the computer when she crossed the start line and the finish line, letting us know what her final time was. She pulled her shoes onto her feet, and I felt a small lump form in my throat as I watched her. These were my old shoes – a nice pair of Nikes I’d bought and later realized were a little too tight for me. My tall, long-legged ten-year-old daughter is now old enough to wear shoes that I can fit onto my own feet. How did she get there so quickly?
Together, we hopped on our bikes and rode through the early morning air to the University, across the river from our house. On the way, we met up with her friend and her friend’s mom. We were headed to the start of the annual Manitoba Marathon, and for the first time in her young life, Nikki was set to run the Super Run – a 2.6 mile run that’s just right for kids and novice runners.
There was a high energy buzz in the crowd gathered at the start of the race. Thousands of people had gathered to run various distances and thousands more were there to lend their support. It was a drizzly morning, and some hid under umbrellas or raincoats, but Nikki and her friend barely noticed the rain in their excitement. They scanned the crowd for other friends.
I followed them to the starting line, but soon they got swallowed up in the crowd. The whistle blew, and they were off. I stood alone on the sidelines, watching my daughter’s strong legs propel her into the distance. I’m sure I was smiling. I know I saw smiles on the faces of many of the other parents gathered to watch.
I followed the spectator crowd to the finish line, and climbed up to a seat in the stadium just across from the finish line. It didn’t take long before the first Super-runners started to arrive on the track. Parents cheered as they watched their children approach. Quicker than I’d expected, Nikki’s pink shirt appeared in the stream of runners. She looked strong and agile. Her stride was good. Her long legs carried her across the turf to the finish line, and I stood and cheered.
With my mommy-heart swelling with pride, I headed to the gate where the runners exited the stadium. Before long, I spotted Nikki eating a popsicle while she scanned the crowd for a familiar face. When she spotted me, her face lit up and she walked toward me. I grinned at her and a tiny smile tickled the corners of her mouth. She couldn’t show too much pride in this crowd of thousands, but she couldn’t fully hide it either.
This was a shining moment for her, and she knew it. She’d run the race, she’d finished the course, and she was victorious. She’d been afraid that she wouldn’t be able to run the whole distance without stopping to rest, but the first thing she told me when she reached me was that the only time she’d had to stop was to tie her shoe.
I know, as a mom, there will be many more moments like this, when I’ll watch from the sidelines as my children accomplish something they’ve set their minds to. But there’s something about the first time you see your child cross the finish line that fills you with an emotion that’s hard to describe. I couldn’t have been more proud of my daughter, who’s filling my old shoes, but running faster in them than I ever did.
Her time was 25 minutes and 39 seconds. Quite respectable. If you scan the results at http://www.manitobamarathon.mb.ca/ (click on Super Run) you’ll see that she out-ran A LOT of people. In my rough estimate, she finished in the top 18th percentile for ten year olds. Out of about 510 ten year olds, only about 93 beat her.
(I have a picture of her nearing the finish line, but Blogger doesn’t want me to upload it right now. Phooey for Blogger.)
by Heather Plett | Jun 18, 2006 | Uncategorized
It’s Father’s Day, and my man is busy making pasta salad for his OWN Father’s Day barbecue. Is it any wonder why I love this guy?
Happy Father’s Day to a man who brings honour to the name “Dad”. A man who is fully present for his children. A man who teaches his daughters what it means to be a REAL man (and that includes making pasta salad!). A man who demonstrates what it means to feel the fear and do it anyway. A man who’s helping his daughters understand that they can do or be anything they set their minds to. A man whose proudest moment was the moment he became a dad.
I’m so glad I get to be his wife and share the joy of parenthood with him. Here’s to many more Father’s Days.
by Heather Plett | Jun 17, 2006 | Uncategorized
Trust me, THIS is not something you want to see parked in front of your house when you arrive home in the afternoon. 
I was leaving the local grocery store when a lady pointed to my street and said “about 5 fire trucks just turned down that street and there’s a big billow of smoke over there.” The “over there” she was referring to was in the direction of my home – where my husband and two of my daughters were. My heart leapt into my throat and I started running home. By the time I got to the intersection a block and a half from my home, the police had blocked off the road, and another 2 fire trucks were racing down my street. Two others were parked directly in front of our house.
I raced home, not sure what I’d find. Part way there though, I realized that Marcel was on the sidewalk in front of our house, looking across the street. That’s when I realized that the smoke was coming from the area where he was looking, and our house was okay. I took a deep breath, and my heart slowed to just a little above normal.
As it turned out, one of the units in the co-op housing complex across the street was on fire. We don’t know anyone who lived in that building, but we do know several people in the complex. And we later found out that Marcel’s cousin used to live in that building. From what we’ve heard, the only casualties were a couple of house cats. What’s really disturbing is the fact that someone was hauled into a police car, suggesting that it’s a suspicious fire. I guess we’ll wait for the evening news to find out any other details.
For now, I’m feeling alot of mixed emotions. Relief that my family and home are safe, fear that there may have been an arson at work in our neighbourhood, and great sadness for the people (possibly 4 families since there are 4 units in each building) who have lost their homes. A house fire has always been one of my greatest fears – especially since I’ve been a mom. I hope the people who used to live there have a bed to sleep in tonight, and I hope their sleep is not haunted with nightmares.
This is what it looks like now – after the fire trucks have all left. I can’t imagine losing everything I own in the short time it took the flames to tear that place apart.
by Heather Plett | Jun 16, 2006 | Uncategorized
Julie turns nine today. And I am feeling nostalgic…
Happy Birthday, my beautiful girl.
by Heather Plett | Jun 15, 2006 | Uncategorized
Accidental Poet has been my sister-in-law for so long, it feels like she’s really my sister. I was sixteen when she married my brother. And you know I just celebrated my 40th birthday, so you do the math. My dad was a wise man – he used to say he had seven (now it’s eight) children rather than four. He considered those who’d married into the family to be his children just like those who were born into it. So I often feel like I have three sisters and three brothers. Lucky me.
Today is AP’s birthday, and I wish I could show up at her doorstep and whisk her away for an evening out – maybe a movie, maybe a piece of cheese cake and a latté, maybe just a walk in the park. We’d have a good laugh, we’d talk about our kids, and we’d tell each other stories about what’s going on in our lives. I wish I could, but I can’t. She lives too many miles away from me.
But she DOES read this blog, so this will have to be her virtual “night out”. AP, put up your feet, grab a cup of coffee (and cheese cake if there’s any in the house), and read a few of the many things I like and admire about you…
– you make me laugh almost as much as my husband does, and that’s a HUGE compliment
– you like my laundry room ESPECIALLY when it’s messy, because it shows our shared weakness
– you know that if I show up at your house for holidays, I’ll get just as giddy as you over the possibility of staying up all night sewing costumes for our kids
– you understand why it’s important to not only sew circle skirts but to add bandanas and matching circles on t-shirts
– you know the beauty of words well placed
– you ALWAYS welcome us into your home, even when it’s messy
– you let me come to your writing group when I visit
– you let me go to a movie with Technobrother when I visit, and you hang out with my kids
– you can read a book faster than anyone I know and you REMEMBER THE DETAILS!
– we can talk about writing together and you understand why I write
– you cheer me on when I get something published
– you have the greatest way of engaging people in conversation and making them feel like they are the most important people on earth
– you have a heart full of compassion and you remember important things about people
– you let me be lazy at your house
– you have a sharp wit and quick mind and it makes me realize why my blog is called “fumbling for words” and yours is not
– you are humble and honest and real
Oh, and there’s one other thing. My brother could have brought home a beautiful girl, but instead he brought home one I LIKED! (And for anyone who thinks I’ve just insulted her, you’d have to be there. She forgave me the first time and I’m sure she will this time – 25 years later.)
