The long Month of March

Derik took Madeline and Grace to Phoenix the weekend of the 14th for the "Navy Seal Fitness Challenge".

He and friend Brian McIntyre (a former Marine and current Captain for United Airlines) were up to the challenge.

The Seals have a standard of fitness you must meet before you are accepted into the program.  They go around the country and just for "fun" invite the public to see if they can meet the standards.  This is not the official try outs for the Seals (Derik is much too old) but they do make a big deal over it.

Derik said the announcer and those who monitored the events used the phrase "old guys" a lot: as in "not bad for an old guy", "come on old guy you can do two more", and "we have a couple of old guys in the top". 

Derik and Brian were trying to qualify for the Elite Standards.  They earned it!  I knew my man could do it!

Derik's results were:  Run: 9 minutes for a mile and 1/2 run- Seal Elite: under 10

Swim: 7:14, 500 yards breast stroke- S. E.: under 10

Sit Ups: 100 in 2 minutes- S.E.: 80

Pull Ups: 18- S.E.: 11

Push Ups: 90 in 2 minutes- S.E.: 80 

 

Derik and Brian in their Blue Elite Level shirts.

I had a good weekend too.  I cleaned out all the closets and found my Grandma Roxie Ella's wedding band that I had lost back in November.  As I was cleaning the front closet, which housed all of the umbrellas, church bags, and misc. it fell from something I picked up.

I was so surprised, I really had no idea how it got in there and was getting sick just thinking about never finding it.  My grandma had it since the 1920s and it was passed to my sister Terri in the 1980s, after she died.  She passed it to me when I married and I consider it a family heirloom, not mine, and I didn't want to lose it on my watch.

My Grandpa was a very taciturn man and did not show much emotion.  He cared for my grandma after a stroke for 10 years so lovingly, yet quietly.  When he was cleaning out her drawers after she died I was in the room with him and my sister Terri.  He said to Terri "I have something for you" and presented her with the ring.  He began sobbing as he put it on her finger.  It is one of the most touching memories of of him that I have....I am beyond thrilled to have the ring back.

Another touching moment of the "losing grandma's ring incident" is when I told my sister Terri back in November what had happened, she just smiled and very peacefully said "those things always turn up" and wow, was she right.

We enjoyed our traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner of Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Grace ran the Jog-athon at school and did well.  Could have fooled me with her not liking to run;  She always runs her heart out and gets a couple more laps than the other girls, she definitely got Derik's genes on this one.

Derik's Birthday:  #43

Madeline made and decorated Dad's cake this year......good job Mad!!

And finally: we have two new pets, Birmingham Rollers.  They are pigeons that Ford lets out once a day and they fly in the air doing rolls.  They perch a lot around our property and after a couple of hours they put themselves back into their cage and Ford locks it up.   Pretty cool.  We really enjoy having them, easy and fun to watch.  The only worry: Hawks.