You Are a Tourist

This fire grows higher
This fire grows higher
This fire grows higher
This fire grows higher

When there's a burning in your heart
An endless yearning in your heart
Build it bigger than the sun
Let it grow, let it grow
When there's a burning in your heart
Don't be alarmed

This fire grows higher

When there's a doubt within your mind
'Cause you're thinking all the time
Framing rights into wrongs
Move along, move along
When there's a doubt within your mind

When there's a burning in your heart
And you think it'll burst apart
Oh there's nothing to fear
Save the tears, save the tears
When there's a burning in your heart

And if you feel just like a tourist in the city you were born
Then it's time to go
And define your destination: there's so many different places to call home
'Cause when you find yourself the villain in the story you have written then it's plain to see
That sometimes the best intentions are in need of redemption
Would you agree?
If so, please show me

This fire grows higher
When there's a burning in your heart 

(Death Cab for Cutie)

Unwritten Wedding Vows

Beyond the "for richer, for poorer" parts, there are the unspoken vows. These range from serious (loving you through the puking!) to the more humorous. I'm all about the humor, so here are my thoughts from last night.

Our littlest cat, Missy, and I have a bedtime routine. I bring her kitty treat into the bathroom while I'm brushing my teeth and put it in some place that she has to work at least a little bit to reach. It's not a big challenge to her, but it makes her start purring as she "hunts." So last night, after she had "captured" her treats, she was sitting on the bathroom counter, purring and staring up toward the ceiling. I was thinking, "Oh, she's so cute! She's looking up at me adoringly," and all other sorts of other warm fuzzies. But she wasn't looking at me exactly. Then I wondered, "Why does she keep staring at the ceiling?" So I looked up.

Big, black spider. Yep. Above my head.

Here's the unwritten marriage vow thing. Craig's job is spider control. I don't do spiders. Now, those of you who know me well, know I'm no wuss. I love nature; I dig in the mud, pick up worms, touch snakes, dissect owl pellets, examine skulls and bones, etc. I don't mind bugs, and I don't mind spiders--when I'm watching them outside from a safe distance. I understand and appreciate their place in the ecosystem, and I find them fascinating and cool from a naturalist's perspective. 

However, they are not allowed in my house unless they follow my rules. (Remain visible at all times but in an out-of-the-way spot. Be relatively small. Show me that you're providing for the common good by the bug carcasses under your web.) 

The spider on the ceiling was clearly in violation of my house rules, so Craig had to get out of bed and kill it. He complained about this, and I will admit that I very bluntly reminded him of the wedding vow thing. "You take care of spiders. I take care of the cards."

It's good to know who does what in a relationship, don't you think? :D

Now, we did establish healthy boundaries early on in our marriage. For example, I remember that I called him one day right after we were married. (We were still in our apartment in Elyria, which we only had for 3 months before we moved to Kettering.) He was at work at Landmark, and I had gotten up after having worked at the lab. There was a scary centipede thing in the bathroom. He would not come home to get rid of it. I will grudgingly admit (now) that that was reasonable.

However, it is reasonable to expect him to come home from a church meeting that has already gone too late to deal with this:

Do you see the size of that thing?! It was too fast for me to attempt scooting it outside with a broom and dustpan. So we trapped it under a plastic container and put some books on the top to hold the container down. It was that big--I was afraid it could push the container off of it!

Anyway, like I already mentioned, my job is cards. I'm the Commemorater of Events. I take care of birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, illnesses, deaths, etc. And I do a pretty good job, I think. The only problem I have from time to time is my mailbox impairment. See, when I put something in an envelope, address it, stick the return address label on it, and put the stamp on it, I am done. It's crossed off my mental list and finished. Somehow my mind forgets the crucial step of actually putting the item in the mailbox.  Fortunately, Craig usually has my back if I forget, and I've taken to writing down on my to-do list such things as, "Put the card in the mailbox!". (But that does mean that if I've been owing you something like a thank-you note, you can be assured that somewhere in my house there is a stamped card with your name on it.)

So what are your unspoken marriage vows?

Sweet 16, Catching Up on Fall Stuff, & Turning 40

It's been a while since I've written an entry here. Actually, I have several written but unpublished. Some are unfinished, but some just didn't need to see the light of day here.

Anyway, I'd say the highlight of our fall was Katie turning 16. We had a big party here at the house, and we had fun decorating and planning. The dining tent ended up getting set up inside due to the extreme wind and chilliness, but it worked out fine.

Pretty cupcakes from the Cake Diva in Waynesville

Set for tea

Cosmos floating under a candle

The Butler serves tea.

The 16 Candle Ceremony

More cosmos from the garden

A photographer friend from church came and took fashion photos of the girls, and then they enjoyed a tea party.

Gorgeous Katie!

Beautiful Sarah!

All of the pretty girls! :)

Yeah, you'll be seeing that one on our Christmas card.

 

Of course, it is hard to believe that she's 16, but I didn't have any huge moments of melancholy about it. Yes, it can be bittersweet when you really start to think about it, but, truly, I'm just so blessed to see her becoming such a beautiful young lady--beautiful inside and out. I think I've been holding my breath since I became a mother. "Will I screw them up beyond repair?!" I wish I could've learned to live without that anxiety, but I never really have. In any case, I can see glimpses of the end result of my mothering, and maybe, just maybe, they're going to be okay. Maybe. 

Or maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud.

Well, moving on, school has been going pretty well. (I mean homeschooling, by the way. I'm on hiatus from my college education. And loving it!) It's amazing how much more with it I feel now that my attention isn't divided by college. That goes for every area of my life. We are currently nearing the end of Frankenstein, and I think they're enjoying it.  Sarah says she really enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes stories we read, and Katie really liked Hamlet. They both said they enjoyed Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, too. (Love those girls!) We've also taken off several days here and there to enjoy the season and see the sights.

Hannah & Katie at our 15th Annual Hayride

Rebekah & Sarah

Pumpkins in the field

Samantha, Katie, & Sarah at Caesar Creek State Park

Katie, Samantha, & Sarah at Fort Ancient

Reflection of Covered Bridge, Greene County

Pretty stream, Greene County

I'm sure there's more that we've done, but I'm running out of time to write. 

Lastly, it's my 40th birthday today.  How do I feel about that? Hmmm...well, I've had some angst about it before now. I've done some whining and mourning and stern talking to myself and all of that. Today, though, I'm okay. I have a cold or sinus infection or something, so I've taken it easy all day. Craig and Katie were off hunting. Sarah had dance this morning. I have counted birds for Project FeederWatch, done some work for AHG, played on the internet (only looked at one page of kittens!), and otherwise putzed around the house. 

Maybe I've turned 80 instead of 40. :-\

Martinmas

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:40, NIV).

Saint Martin of Tours

    Feastday: November 11
    Patron of Soldiers

    Born in 315 or 316 in Pannonia, a Roman province that includes modern Hungary, Martin came into a world in transition. Christians were no longer persecuted by the Roman empire but Christianity was still not accepted by all. Martin's father, an Roman army officer who had risen through the ranks, remained faithful to the old religion and suspicious of this new sect, as did Martin's mother. Therefore it was Martin's own spiritual yearning and hunger that led him to secretly knock on the door of the local Christian church and beg to be made a catechumen -- when he was ten years old. In contemplative prayer, he found the time to be alone with God that he ached for. In the discussion of the mysteries, he found the truth he hoped for.

    He was still an unbaptized catechumen when he was forced to join the army at 15. The Roman army apparently had a law that required sons of veterans to serve in the military. Still, Martin found this so far removed from his desire to be a Christian monk that he had to be held in chains before taking the military oath. Once the oath was administered he felt bound to obey. He was assigned to a ceremonial cavalry unit that protected the emperor and rarely saw combat. Like his father, he became an officer and eventually was assigned to garrison duty in Gaul (present-day France).


    Even in the military Martin attempted to live the life of a monk. Though he was entitled to a servant because he was an officer, he insisted on switching roles with his servant, cleaning the servant's boots instead of the other way around!

    It was on this garrison duty at Amiens that the event took place that has been portrayed in art throughout the ages. On a bitterly cold winter day, the young tribune Martin rode through the gates, probably dressed in the regalia of his unit -- gleaming, flexible armor, ridged helmet, and a beautiful white cloak whose upper section was lined with lambswool. As he approached the gates he saw a beggar, with clothes so ragged that he was practically naked. The beggar must have been shaking and blue from the cold but no one reached out to help him. Martin, overcome with compassion, took off his mantle. In one quick stroke he slashed the lovely mantle in two with his sword, handed half to the freezing man and wrapped the remainder on his own shoulders. Many in the crowd thought this was so ridiculous a sight that they laughed and jeered but some realized that they were seeing Christian goodness. That night Martin dreamed that he saw Jesus wearing the half mantle he had given the beggar. Jesus said to the angels and saints that surrounded him, "See! this is the mantle that Martin, yet a catechumen, gave me." When he woke, it was the "yet a catechumen" that spurred Martin on and he went immediately to be baptized. He was eighteen years old.

(From here: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=81)

I really enjoy finding and celebrating these holidays that are not well known in America. I think they add a depth to the church year that we tend to lack. Plus, they are fun and, hopefully, make good memories. (Either that, or the girls will have plenty of memories to commiserate over when they get older.)

Lanterns have become a part of the celebration of Martinmas (particularly in Germany) , so the girls and I made lanterns. 

Then we went outside with our lanterns. Unfortunately, we didn't really know what songs to sing. (We did a bit of "This Little Light of Mine.") It's okay. It was beautiful (if cold) outside in the bright moonlight.

 We also plan to take several bags of clothes to Goodwill, as a remembrance of the kindness Martin showed to the beggar.

American Heritage Girl Week @ Camp Friedlander

On Sunday, we left at noon after spending the morning packing up the rest of our stuff and met the rest of our group at Angie's house.  Our group consisted of Angie (who stayed till late Tuesday night), LuAnne, and I, as the leaders.  The girls were Kaley, Eryn, Carsen, Meghan, Risa, and Sarah. Risa is visiting from Japan for a month.

Sunday was very hot and humid and hauling our gear to our campsite was pretty tiring.  Meghan, Sarah, and I then had to complete our swim test. This was pretty nerve-wracking if you're not a swimmer!  It involves jumping into the deep end (something I don't ever do) and swimming 100 yards without stopping. The first 75 yards have to be overhand, breaststroke, or something like that. The last 25 yards have to be the backstroke. Then you have to float on your back for a while. (This is the only thing I'm really good at, by the way. The extra padding helps.)  Somehow, we all passed, though!

After this, we spent more time hauling and setting up camp. The girls' "tents" were on a platform with two beds in each. It was pretty interesting to say the least. 

Please come visit us, Raccoons!

One of the most exciting things for the girls all week were the nightly visits by the raccoons. The raccoons were especially prevalent the first night. My guess is that they quickly learn the pattern, i.e., new campers on Sunday night = possible new food sources! So any girl who hadn't listened to the instructions about "No Food!" found out the hard way why. Even the girls who didn't bring food were visited by the raccoons.  

The girls enjoyed an open swim time that afternoon. Then we had a flag ceremony and dinner. The girls stayed for Ice Breaker Games, and LuAnne and I went to the leaders' meeting. We were able to square away the girls' weekly schedules (a small logistical feat). There was also a campfire that evening where the staff performed songs and skits for us. It was fun!

But I can tell you that by Sunday night I was pretty exhausted!  There wasn't much sleep to be had, though, between the girls being loud (not our girls, btw), the thunder and lightning, and the raccoons.  

LuAnne and Angie slept in the orange and grey tent; I slept in the silver UFO tent at the far end.

Well, you know, the morning comes regardless of the amount of sleep you get. Flag Ceremony was at 7:50am each morning, and breakfast was at 8am. That meant that I got up around 6:30am each morning, which is way early for me.

There was a lot of singing that went on at camp. Sometimes I didn't mind; I was typically not a big fan at breakfast time, though. I think there's a certain amount of caffeine that is required before singing becomes acceptable. (However, Sarah and I are big fans of "Baby Shark" and are taking the opportunity of getting it stuck in everyone's head as often as possible.)

Anyway, after breakfast, there was a small amount of free time, and then the girls were off to their first classes. Risa, Kaley, and Eryn went to Climb On! (which was climbing), and Meghan, Carsen, and Sarah went to Archery. I was able to go with the Archery girls, which I enjoyed.

The Fierce Archery Chicks

All six girls met back up for Outdoor Skills (which was a walk back around the lake), and then they split again with Sarah, Kaley, Eryn, and Risa going to Canoeing and Meghan and Carsen going to Climb On!.  

While the girls were at their two later morning classes, I was at Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS) training. That was actually a lot of fun, and I met some wonderful ladies.  (Oh, I learned a few things, too.) 

This is as good of a time as any to talk about the dynamics of the camp. For one thing, I loved that our girls were able to hang out together in any configuration. There were no cliques. I really never knew which combination of girls I'd find hanging out together, if it wasn't all six of them. That was such a beautiful thing to see!

LuAnne, Angie, and I, of course, got along great! I got to know LuAnne even better, and we've discovered how much we have in common. It was a lot of fun to hang out and work together. What a blessing these ladies were to me and to the girls!  (Even if Angie, the nurturing mom, had to leave Tuesday night and the girls were left with the two "suck-it-up" moms. :D)

And then I met all kinds of great moms from all over. We had a chance to get to know each other during IOLS training and from hanging out together at the girls' classes. At the risk of being pretty touchy-feely, I am so impressed with AHG and the moms and girls who are part of this organization. What a God-honoring, terrific group of people! (And so much fun!)

Anyway, back to the daily schedule... Lunch was after the three morning classes, and then there was a "siesta" time.  It was nice to have a little downtime before the afternoon classes. All six girls were together for the afternoon classes, which were Outdoor Cooking and Camping. After the counselor didn't show up for Camping on Wednesday, though, the girls only did Outdoor Cooking in the afternoon. We let them have free time starting at 3pm and skip Camping (which may or may not have happened again on Thursday and Friday).

So, mid-afternoon, the girls could choose from the activities they wanted to that were open that day. That ranged from climbing, archery, blobbing, lake swimming, canoeing/kayaking, and/or pool swimming.  (What was available varied from day-to-day, but there were always several options.)

Risa and Sarah, waiting for the Blob

The Blob

There was another Flag Ceremony at 5:50, followed by dinner. Activities after dinner included: Ice Breaker Games (Sunday), Water Games (Monday), Older Girl Initiative (Tuesday, breakout sessions to discuss what the girls want to see with AHG; our girls met with Patti Garibay, the founder of AHG!!!), Chapel and Movie Night (Wednesday, the movie was Tangled), Field Games (Thursday), and Closing Campfire (Friday, which was Family Night).

Our girls with Patti Garibay, the founder of AHG

Our girls did the Flag Ceremony Wednesday morning, and they said the prayer on Thursday evening.

It was basically free time after dinner. Sometimes the girls participated in the group activities, and sometimes they went off and did their own things. 

We had a severe storm Monday night that was not fun. We were all huddled under the shelter at our campsite. We were trying to not get wet, so we were all piled together in the middle of the shelter. Then they set off the camp siren to indicate "Take Cover!" Really? The intense lightning, torrential rain, and river going through our campsite weren't enough of an indicator that we should take cover? When the worst of the lightning of the first storm was over, I had to trek through the heavy rain and streams to the bathroom. (Not fun, completely drenched.)  A few of the girls had drenched bedding, and we had to make do with what else we could find. (I had brought some extra stuff, and Angie did, too.) We had another storm Tuesday night, but we were more prepared and were up at the Dining Hall hanging out with another troop, playing games.

After the storm on Tuesday night, the weather was gorgeous! It had been very hot and humid up until then, but afterwards it was much cooler and not very humid at all. It was lovely! (In fact, it got cool at night to the point of having to crawl in my sleeping bag.)

The archery girls competed in a tournament, and I got a chance to shoot, too. (I love archery! And it's been too long since I've shot my bow.) Anyway, I "won" the moms' competition. :)  Sarah and Meghan both did well, but Carsen was the only one to advance to the next level. The next level was the following day, and Carsen did fine. There was another girl who ended up winning, though.

The moon was beautiful Wednesday and Thursday night. Sitting on the driftwood by the edge of the lake, I watched the bats swooping through the sky. That was Wednesday. On Thursday, several of the girls and I hung out by the lake and were completely silly. (That was when ISAPK was born! The International Society of Albino Peacock Keepers now has a life of its own.) Thursday night was silly in general. I got into a fierce KEMPS game with some other troops, and a Sarah and Kaley eventually joined me. Let's just say the moms were so wild that LuAnne could hear them screaming at our campsite, 0.12 miles away. There was dancing on the tables. 'Nuff said.

Some other silly, fun things included my "Stump of Cleanliness":

 

And Ben, my shower companion Monday through Thursday:

And our great first aid advice from Shane. "One of the best things you can do is take your shirt off." LOL! (I don't have a picture of this. ;) )

Friday afternoon, our families came out to see us. That was nice, and it was fun to show them the camp. I think it helps them to share in our memories a bit.

And this is just a funny comparison of the girls:

Meghan's stuff and Eryn's stuff (very tidy)

Risa's stuff and Kaley's stuff (normal)

Sarah's stuff and Carsen's stuff (LOL! Explosion!)

I calculated that we walked an average of 6-8 miles per day. On less than 5 hours of sleep per night, that's quite exhausting. (And it's taken me at least 2 days so far to recuperate.) But we made memories to last a lifetime! 

Decision Made

Ahhhhh, the relief of making a decision almost eclipses whatever feelings I'd be experiencing with the specific decision itself! But, in any case, right now I feel like a ton of bricks has been taken off my back.

After finally having a chance to talk to Craig (who has been at work for the last two weeks or so), the choice seemed pretty clear. I can't endure another year of misery and insane stress.  It's not been good for me, for the girls, or for him, though he is so supportive he would not say it until I pressed him on it.  The bald truth is that I've been desperately unhappy for the last year.

So I will probably take a class or two each summer and finish things out over the long haul. I do have other options to get to where I want to go, so I may pursue those instead. We will see, but I'm not worried about it.

As always, my family is the most important thing to me, and my true joy comes from focusing on them. God continues to bless me with wise friends who know my heart and can speak into that to reassure me that "changing course doesn't mean that what [I've] done is a waste, even if it doesn't come to the completion [I've} envisioned when [I] started" (Luker, 2011, para. 2). And also, "You can always get back to doing school, you can't get these precious days back with your girls still at home" (Hansford, 2011, para. 3). (<--That was a little APA humor there, in case you missed it. ;) I have to stay in practice for when I go back. I'd quote you, too, Loa, but, since we talked on the phone, I can't cut and paste our conversation!)

So, anyway, today I am so relieved, and I am looking forward to my life again!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Well, college is looming again after an all too short summer break. In addition to finding out that I received bad information in the spring about how many classes I still had to take (not 4, but 5), I also found out that the EDUC390 Practicum class became a 17-week course. That messes up a lot of plans, and, in some ways, makes it even more daunting.  In some ways, it may be better, because there are 90 practicum hours required regardless of whether they're done in 8 weeks or 17. 

In either case, after several days of angst, I dropped the EDUC390 course and added 2 more courses to the fall load.  I'll take EDUC390 in the spring.  Or...will I?

This is the real question looming before me. Of course, throughout all of this, I have been praying for wisdom. Every fiber of my being (well, okay, maybe not *every* fiber) is screaming in protest about going back to class.  I just do not want to go back.  And it honestly seems like every article, sermon, and book I pick up keeps saying, "God's ways are not the world's ways. Others will think you're wasting your life if you do or don't do certain things, but God calls you to do radical things."  

In particular, there was an article in Practical Homeschooling (not a magazine I normally read, btw) that seemed aimed right for me.  I wish I could find a link to it; it was that good.  (It was written by Jeannette Webb, if anyone wants to search for it.  The article was entitled, "For Them, or With Them? A Mother's Dilemma," issue #97.)

When I put together our portfolio assessments for homeschooling this year, I was not happy. I do not feel that I did as good of a job as I should have this past year with the girls. And the reason was that I simply could not. I could not do more than I did, given all of the work I had to do for myself.

And that is the crux of this issue--trying to decide what is the best thing to do right now, at this stage of my life. I went back to college, thinking that it would be the wise thing to do to prepare for when the girls would leave for college. Then I could get a job and help contribute toward their expenses. But as I circle back around I wonder, "Will they be able to get into college if I continue to not homeschool them well for another year?" (This applies more to Katie than Sarah, obviously, as Katie is entering her junior year.  However, my long-term concerns for Sarah are not to be brushed aside. She is in her critical middle school years.) 

In any case, I've prepared a nice pros and cons list for the different options.

#1 Quit...at least for now.  (I'd need to resume by around 2017 to be done by 2020.)

Cons: 

• Have to start paying back loans now
• May never finish
• Feel like I've wasted the last year or so (if I never go back)
• Feel like a failure

Pros:

• Able to focus again on my home and family--this is a huge pro for me.  Though it only takes up one line, it is worth at least a dozen.
• Less stress
• Have been able to apply things I've learned already to my homeschooling

#2 Reduce to 2 classes per semester

Cons:

• Still not concentrating fully on home and family
• Still stressful
• Will finish in December 2012

Pros:

• Will finish in December 2012 (It's a pro and a con.)
• Still working toward my goal
• Less stressful than 4 classes per semester
• Still get financial aid

#3 Keep my schedule as is (4 classes in the fall; 1 in the spring)

Cons:

• Very stressful
• Not focused on my home and family hardly at all
• Makes Craig's life more stressful, too
• Will be done in May 2012

Pros:

• Will be done in May 2012
• Still get financial aid and won't start paying back loans till spring or summer of 2012

Well, that's as logical as I can make it.  However, this is ultimately not all about logic. I sure wish it was! It would make it a lot easier.

Warrior Dash! or The Tale of Three Super Fierce Warrior Women

What do I get up for at the butt-crack of dawn? Wildlife and races. It used to be babies, and before that it was work. I loved my babies, and I enjoyed work (usually). But wildlife and races are more fun.  All that to say, I got up at 5:30am and began my Super Fierce Warrior Woman preparation ritual.

Crazy hair: Check!

This involved three, small braids in my hair...painted purple. (The details of this qualify me for "Weird Neighbor of the Month" status, as I did this outside in the early dawn hours, and it involved a tiny mirror, purple hairspray paint, and paper towels.) Then I put my hair up. And then we added to the fierceness with feathers! Thanks, Amy! It really made the look complete.

Matching outfits: Check!

Amy, Toni, and I had matching blue shirts and black shorts. No warrior woman should be without coordinating outfits with her other warrior women friends.

Tats: Check!

Amy was kind enough to bring us very cool tattoos that we were able to affix around our highly muscled biceps. (We will not mention my highly flabby triceps.)

Face & Body Paint: Check!

We did way cool Celtic designs to add to our fierceness. First, we all did the Trinity Knot (Triquetra), because that's how we roll. Then we each chose from a few designs I'd picked: the Double Spiral (for balance), the Triskelion (for progress and competition), and the Triple Spiral (signifying the stages of a woman's life).

Sunscreen: Check!

Okay, okay, it's not exactly fierce, but it is necessary for redheads like me. I was fierce in the application of my sunscreen, though. SPF75 lotion with an additional sprayed on layer of SPF45.

After a few additional preparations, we were off! We enjoyed the scenic route, and we enjoyed the stares of the locals in the few places we stopped along the way.

Amy survived her first challenge of the day by maneuvering my van through the incredibly tight loop at the fairground field! But after we finally parked, we caught a bus which took us to our battleground.  (Please note the liberal use of fierce terms in this blog post. It is necessary, I think, to convey the serious intensity that was upon the entire event.)

Mountain of muddy shoes being donated to charity

I'll skip boring details like picking up our packets and checking our gear. I'll just say, for those who are reading this with a possible interest in participating next year, it was very well organized and easy to negotiate.  Also on a practical note, bring whatever gear with you you'd like to the gear check-in. I'd recommend: water (I froze mine beforehand), wipes (antibacterial or diaper wipes or something!), change of clothes (maybe), flip-flops/sandals, garbage bags, and a towel. And, seriously, I was glad I brought goggles. Since I wear gas permeable contacts, which are easily dislodged, the goggles were quite handy in several of the challenges. I could have used a bandana or a headband to keep the sweat out of my eyes. (I type that all up to be helpful, hopefully, and to remind myself for next time.)

Okay, back to the battle! Booyah! The start of the race begins with the blast of a giant blowtorch.  (Which is really hot, btw.) People are dressed in costume, such as suits and ties, prom dresses, tutus, fairy wings, and Greek warriors. I'm not sure how they do the race dressed that way, but they do.

So we began by running across the field, but we were quickly stopped as we entered the woods. The steep hill funneled us down to nearly single file.  Now, this hill wasn't steeper than any hill at Sugarcreek; it's just that this hill went on forever. And ever. And you'd round the bend, and there it was still going ever upward and onward. I am glad to say that, while I walked it pretty slowly, I didn't stop at all.

This began our introduction to the mud, by the way. The trail was completely muddy.  In fact, when we finally started heading downhill, it was so muddy (and steep) that we had to slide down either on our butts or on our hands and feet (like crabs).  This up and down process seemed to continue for a long time. A very long time.

Eventually, though, we came to hanging tires that we had to navigate, and then afterwards short, wooden walls that we had to climb over.  These walls were interspersed with barbed wires that we had to go under.

I think this was followed by more hills and more mud.  Always mud. 

(I want you all to know that the three of us tried to write down the order of the course on our way home that evening, and none of us was sure about it all! LOL! Talk about mind over matter! It's amazing what you can block out.)

Then we came to one of the most challenging obstacles.  One I somehow missed on the website. One for which I was not prepared.  And that may have been a good thing.  (Really, ignorance is bliss sometimes.) It was a swimming challenge. Now, I've gone back to the website since then, and it says "waist-deep water." So, in any case, they lied. It was over-my-head deep, and it involved swimming through stinky, brown water and clambering over floating logs.

Well, as fierce as I am, I will admit to a few moments of straight-up panic here. The first time I realized my feet couldn't touch, I did a little internal freak out. I'm not a great swimmer; I'm not even a good swimmer. (I am, for the record, a champion floater, though.)  But, short of having a major freak out and making the lifeguards come rescue me, what choice do you have but to keep going? So I did a very elegant mixture of doggy paddling and regular swimming, and I ended up working together with Big Burly Guy. Now, Big Burly Guy had taken our picture before the race, and we just happened to end up going through this challenge at the same time. And he was struggling, too! After the first two logs, we realized we were making it to the logs at the same time, and so we would count to 3 and push them down together, making it easier for both of us to get over them. So thanks, Big Burly Guy!

Right after the swimming/log challenge, it was the junkyard challenge.  This involved getting across/through/over some trashed out cars and then walking/running through tires, several times.  This wasn't too difficult; you just had to be careful where you walked and touched to avoid falling or getting cut.

Then it was the water station, which was supposed to be halfway through.  By this time, the swimming challenge had made me feel not so good. I was wondering at that point if I'd be able to make it. My stomach was hurting, and all I wanted to do was to sit down and rest. (It was hot, too, by the way.)

But I kept going (slowly, unfortunately--so sorry to my fierce warrior women friends who would've finished the race much earlier, I'm sure, if they hadn't hung back with me).  It was more hills after this.  Up and down.  And mud.  At the top of one of the hills there was a bungee cord maze to go under and over. And then more steep hills (which involved mud and climbing and mud and sliding on butts).  At the bottom of one of these hills was a tunnel.

Some people chose to crawl through the tunnel. We opted to scoot through on our butts again. (I mean, hey, they were already pretty muddy.) I think this was the better way.  We didn't cut up our knees, and we were able to use the structure of the tunnels themselves to pull ourselves through the tunnel.

After the tunnel? Oh, you guessed it. More hills (up and down) and mud.

Then we came to another intimidating obstacle--the high cargo nets. For the record, I'm terrified of heights. Surprisingly, I did okay on this challenge, though. I did start to freak out a bit at the top when you have to switch from climbing up to climbing down. There was another warrior woman who sort of talked me through it. So thanks, Random Warrior Woman!

(I will also say that my estimate on the height of the cargo net is 80 feet. Easily.)

Right after the cargo net there were the slippery planks that we had to walk across. They angled up and down and narrowed as you went.

Then we came to another scary obstacle--the high wooden wall with ropes. This was a straight wall, about 100 feet high ( ;-) ), that we had to climb up using the rope. My main source of panic came at the top of the wall when I could not find any apparent way to climb down again. Was I supposed to take the rope with me to the other side? Was I supposed to plummet 100 feet to my death? Slowly I realized that I was supposed to just climb down attempting to use the crossbeams of the wall as best as I could. SCARY!

The obstacles were coming fast and furious now. And we ran from some of these points to the others.  The next obstacle was the flat cargo nets.  Some people tried to "crawl" over them. I had gotten a good tip to log-roll over them.  This was a great technique, for the record. It doesn't work as well in practice, however, when others are in your path of rolling.  (And it's still difficult to negotiate the high points connecting the different nets.)  Toni, in particular, considered this obstacle her nemesis and called it the "Web of Torture."

Next was the stream run.  By the way, this wasn't splashing through a few inches of water. This was waist-deep to chest-deep water that we had to run through.

We're nearing the end now, though! And the second to last obstacle was the fire jumping.  I will admit that I went around the first line of fire. The flames were really high, and I wasn't sure I had enough energy (or coordination) to clear it. The race official guy did get me to jump over the next line of fire, though.

Finally, it was the mud pit crawl under barbed wire! It was insane.

And muddy.

Even Fierce Warrior Women blink sometimes while getting their pics taken, which is a bummer, since this would've been a good picture!

**************

Even getting hosed off at the end was muddy. We had to walk across this entire field of inches-deep mud. Toni and Amy had a rather traumatic hosing off experience, as the guy only aimed the fire hose at their faces. I wore my goggles and went to the other guy. He was better about trying to hose off your body.

 

But I can't say any of us really got cleaned off well. We did our best anyway, and then spent some time walking around the, um...searches for the appropriate warrior term ...battlefield staging area. We were still looking fierce, fresh from the fight. Even our feathers still looked intimidating despite being slightly bedraggled.

(FYI, changing clothes in a port-a-potty in 85F weather is Not. Fun. We actually finished changing clothes at the van.  There was hardly anyone around us at that point.)

To wrap up the day, we went to Dairy Queen to eat.  Mmmm! And then we went to Hocking Hills State Park and took a mile hike to Old Man's Cave area, which is so beautiful!

We had such a fun time! We laughed and laughed! We had mud in places no one should ever have mud. We cheered each other on, and we were, in a word, FIERCE.