Homecoming

There are moments in my life that I know I will cherish forever. Last night was one of those moments for me. I love being dude's mom -- through the good and the not so good -- and am proud and in awe of him every day of his life. Watching him grow into such an amazing young man well, it overwhelms me. The pride and love and joy are just so intense on nights like last night that my cup truly runneth over, all is right in my world and my heart is just so happy. It's bittersweet watching him change into a young man. I long for the days when he was little and would snuggle with me in his feetie jammies while we read books, I could tuck him into bed and watch him sleep...where I was in control of setting limits and what he was exposed to. Now I have to trust that all those millions of little things add up to creating a young man that has self respect, treats others with kindness and can make good decisions when everyone around him isn't.

Last night was like watching all of it come together -- even if only for a moment -- the way he carries himself with such confidence, watching him shake her father's hand and ask "how are you sir," hug her mother and treat Kaleigh with such affection, respect and kindness was truly an amazing experience. Earlier that morning at the cross country meet, Kaleigh's mother shared with me that she's been asking around about Colton...trying to find out if there's anything negative they need to know so they, like I, can watch out for their child, and she said that no one had anything but amazing things to say about Colton. He's a great young man, he's smart, he's funny, he's kind, he's good...all the things I know about him to be true are still true even when I'm not around -- very reassuring, yet not surprising. Last night was amazing, incredible and will remain in my heart for my entire life. Colton is an extraordinary young man and his friends are no different -- bright, talented young men and women that are good to their core -- and it makes me incredibly happy that he surrounds himself with people that are like him.

After photos, the group went out to dinner and then danced until 11 p.m. Annette and I chaperoned and had a great time acting as the "kissing" police. I think our final score was Annette "2 million," me maybe five. We steared clear of Dude for the most part so he could enjoy himself without feeling like we were watching over his shoulder. It was a super fun night and he and Kaleigh had a wonderful time.

We met up with our friend, Dieter, for lunch and afterwards he taught Colton how to knot his tie. Thanks Dieter!

With Kaleigh.

Kaleigh's father helped her with Colton's bouteniere. It ended up taking the help of Annette and I to finally get that bad boy secured!

Everyone met before dinner at a gorgeous old mansion in Cartersville for photos.

With Brett and Brandon -- both run cross country with dude.

All but one in this group shot are friends Colton made through his cross country team.

What a gentleman!

And we're off!

Kayla's date, Nathan, drove seperately (he's a senior and she's a sophomore and her parents weren't comfortable with him driving her around) so Kayla rode with us to dinner and the dance. You can tell dude didn't mind too much!

Welcome Wady!

My BFF, Annette, was in town this weekend. It was wonderful to spend time with her in person and I really needed that opportunity to connect and catch up. We had a great weekend and her being here made Colton's big homecoming weekend even better. Thanks Wady!

Cross Country Catch Up

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. Colton has one week left of cross country, unless they make it to state (fingers crossed!) They've got a good shot but have to perform very well this next weekend at regionals. It's been a great season and I'm sad to see it end!

Colton and his girlfried, Kaylie

Last weekend we traveled to Bleckley, Ga. which is three hours south of where we live. Both teams took first place in their division. It was a great race and an interesting weekend!

New Look. Hot Night.
Well, I did it again. I chopped all my hair off. Personally, I LOVE it! Brenda and I took my new "do" out last night in Buckhead. We hit some new hot spots...Lola and Bricktops...and then headed over to the Ritz Carlton (a first for me) where I saw Newt Gingrich live and in person getting out of a car. Yes, my first "star" sighting in Atlanta...too bad it wasn't Brad Pitt or Justin Timberlake...then I'd get excited. We had a great time as usual and it was an early night because I had to run with my group this morning.

Bartow County Championships
It's not every day you attend a cross country meet where the course is lined with camels, zebras, goats, sheep, lamas and ostriches; or that a goat runs onto the course right as the runners are lining up to start the race. Ah, the exciting high-society life in North Georgia! The county championship race was held at Pettit Creek Farms and all five county teams participated. Woodland's rival is Cass...and the boys varsity team lost first place by ONE POINT! Total heartbreaker! Girls' varsity placed first and swept the first six places. Colton ran well and finished 6th overall and remains 2nd on his team. He's having a great season so far and we've got another meet tomorrow (Thursday).

Dude broke out early and took the lead. My first reaction was to scream and yell because I was so excited...seconds later I realized he should have hung back and made his move later. It was still really cool to see him leading the pack!

Running with Nathan around mile 2.

The top 7 runners in the county!

With Nathan.

Some of WHS finest posing with the camels. Both girls on Colton's left have crushes on him...and vice versa.

Champions! Dude with Brett (3rd for the county/1st for team) and Nathan (7th in county/5th for team)
Getting photos with dude is becoming increasingly challenging. Glad he thinks it's funny!

Finally!

Catching up with Daniel

Most of my running group met out last night at a little Irish pub in Cartersville to catch up with Daniel. He's been on our injured list since he developed a stress fracture in his foot Labor Day weekend. He's healing nicely and should be joining us for runs again in three-to-four weeks. Whoo hoo!

Back row: Dieter, me & Joanne

Front row: Laura, Tymm, Daniel and Corey

John Spinney, Iron Man

My cousin participated in the Montreal Iron Man yesterday. You might remember my earlier blog about him competing in Lake Placid. During the Lake Placid race he ended up with severe dehydration during the last leg of the run and had to drop out. He's been working with a nutritionist ever since, and it paid off big time. JW finished FOURTH out of 100 participants. He completed the course in just under 10 hours...which was his goal. WAY TO GO JW!!! The Georgia members of Team Spinney are SO PROUD!!!

Bricktops
Brenda, Michelle, Dieter and Pieter joined me for a low key night out. We had dinner at a fabulous new restaurant in Buckhead, Bricktops, and finished the night at our favorite spot...Aria...where the guys got to meet our fave guys of Aria, Ben and Tim.

The gang!

Frogs!!! This statue was in the Bricktops foyer!
My Palm Beach salad was so beautiful that I had Carlos, our fabulous waiter, take a picture of it!

Dieter and me.

Brenda and Pieter.

With Carlos, our waiter.

Happy Graduation!
Last night we celebrated my graduation with a party thrown by my mom and Colton. The night was great and very memorable. :-)

Making margaritas.

My good friend, Brenda.

With Dieter.

Dieter with his brother, Rutger, and his colleague, Tajl.

Corey (aka Speed Racer)

With Joanne...she, Corey and Dieter are some of my running buddies.

Welcome Nana!

My mom arrived late Wednesday night to spend a week with Colton and me. She insisted on throwing a little party to celebrate my MBA, which of course makes me incredibly uncomfortable. Having a gathering is one thing...celebrating me is quite another! I'm looking forward to having friends and family at the house tomorrow night though. I love it when I have a house full of people! My mom has been spending her time doing what she loves most...laundry and cleaning! By Noon yesterday she had all our laundry done (and I'd been storing up in anticipation of her visit too!) and has reorganized a bunch of things. Today we cleaned the pool and hung out for a while and now we're getting ready to pick up Dude from school. He and his best friend are going to the movies tonight with their girlfriends...mom and I decided to do some shopping and get ice cream!

Tomorrow Dude has his second cross country meet. I'm anxious to see how he performs. His coach has had him practicing with "the big dogs" this week and I know he's been enjoying the more challenging work outs. He runs at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow!

North Georgia Runners -- Run to Eat. Eat to Live.

Well, we did a little of both this weekend! The gang came over for a cookout Sunday night so we could fuel up for the US 10K Classic this morning, pick up race packets and just enjoy each other's company. Dieter's mother was our special guest, as she was visiting from Belgium. We then met up this morning for the race -- 6.1 miles -- and I can't believe the entire thing was up hill! I was hoping to finish in under an hour and barely missed my goal by finishing at 1:02:38. Dude did great and finished 216 out of about 10,000 runners with a time of 45:50.07!

Corey (aka Speed Racer) is our fastest runner by far. He ran cross country on scholarship in college and is still SO FAST! He finished 85th today with a time of 42:03.47! Notice his bib number...the rest of us were numbered in the six thousands!

Tymm and Laura are also adopting (China and Ethiopia) and are just great people. Both of them ran this morning...Tymm finished in 49:52.47 and Laura was just a little behind me.

Momma Vermeulen, me and Laura

Dieter and his momma

Corey and Daniel...Daniel is my long run buddy but we think he has developed a stress fracture in his foot. He's going for Xrays tomorrow and I'm trying to be positive! I can't image running 10 miles without him! Even with a possible stress fracture, Daniel finished with a time of 56:49.77!

Clara Bowl
Wow does 5 a.m. come early! Colton's first meet was held on the gorgeous campus of Berry College in Rome, Ga. Elite runners from 37 schools all over the Southeast converged to participate in the Clara Bowl. It was an incredibly gorgeous morning. At the start of the race the air was still cool and the sun hadn't quite burned off all the early morning fog, creating an almost dreamlike state to watch the race. I was overwhelmed by the enormity of it all...the hundreds of runners, coaches, parents and friends...it was absolutely amazing. I've been very happy and proud of how well Colton has performed this early in the season and, for him to be the only freshman from his high school, and probably one of maybe a few running this morning...well, you know tears were welling up at every opportunity.

He did exceptionally well this morning. I missed him during the first lap because I didn't expect him to be as close to the front as he was, but I caught him the other three times I was able to see him. He did a great job of pacing himself and timed his move just right. I don't know how he placed overall, but he finished third for his team and his time was somewhere around 19:22 (for 3.1 miles).
The guys warm up...Can you pick out Dude? Yep, the hair gives it away every time!

Pre-race good luck call from Bubba.

The girls raced before the boys and they all did really well. They came over to the start to wish the guys good luck.

Pre-race huddle and prayer.



Taking their places at the start. Cameron (in the red hat) was the star runner for Woodland Middle last year. The guy came in first almost every race and didn't even break a sweat. He twisted his ankle during the qualifier but came to support the team anyway...the only runner that did. He should be good to go by the next race in two weeks.

On your mark...

I tried to get a shot of all the teams...but there were so many guys (between 250-300) it just wasn't possible.

Nathan (maroon) is the team's lead runner.


You can barely make out Dude on the left...he's just behind Nathan at this point.


The triumphant. After the race Nathan asked Cole if he'd taken steriods...he couldn't believe how well he ran!

Post race huddle. Both coaches shook my hand and congratulated me on how well Colton did. They expect great things from him and are extremely impressed with how well he's running. Surprisingly, I was able to fit my swollen head into the car to drive home!




What runner doesn't enjoy a post-race chicken biscuit?

His "I have no choice but to stand here and have my picture taken with my mom" pose.