Graduation Season

It's Graduation Season again here in New Jersey.    This was my first year teaching middle school (I spent the first 14 years in elementary)  so it was the first time I attended a graduation of students that I taught that same year.    There were some very proud moments as I watched my "kids" graduate and move up to our high school.

Two of my students (twins) that graduated 8th grade.

I teach at the small Christian school that I graduated from "a few" years ago so it was very nostalgic to sit in that very same gym and watch my students graduate.  It was a different perspective to watch the ceremony from the audience as a teacher rather than on the stage as a student.

I was a senior and my brother was an 8th grader back in 1993.  Our graduations were held on the same night in the same gym. 

 

The graduation got me thinking about my own three children and the fact that my oldest daughter, Sydney, is just 4 years away from her 8th grade graduation.  How is that possible?        Now that graduation season is over- summer has arrived!!!!
 

Loved This Part of My Life...Almost 20 Years Ago!

I wear many hats: wife, mom, church volunteer, middle school teacher and track coach. It is a busy life but I love each part of it for different reasons.  

 I absolutely love coaching.  I get the opportunity to coach the students that I teach during the day.  I love getting to know my students on another level.  It is so much fun and I really enjoy sharing my love for the sport.

This was me running the anchor leg in the 4x400 relay at the University of Pennsylvania. This was the largest crowd I ever ran in front of.

I love that our school has a track team.  I attended and graduated from the school where I teach and coach.  Back when I was a student there, we only had three sports soccer, basketball and base/softball.  We didn't have a track team.  I didn't have the opportunity to run until I got to college.  I didn't even know that I was fast.

When I got to college I played soccer in the fall and planned to play softball in the spring.  I wasn't very good at softball but it was all I knew.  I did well playing soccer in college and received many awards and even got to be the team MVP.  That is hard to achieve as a defensive player.  MVP usually goes to the offensive players, the ones that score the goals.  I was content with just being a soccer player.

After one of my soccer games the track coach from the college came up to me and asked me what my plans were for the spring.   I told him I planned to play softball.  He asked if I would come over to the track and run for him so that he could time me.  I was surprised and confused.  Why would a college track coach want to see me run?  I was amused so even though I had just played a full soccer game I agreed.

This is me at Nationals in 1995 in Texas.  I met James Beckford who was a long/triple jumper at the meet.  He went on to win the silver medal competing for Jamaica at the 1996 Olympics the next year.

The really funny thing is this would be the very first time I had ever stepped foot on a track.  My high school didn't have a track.  The coach put 10 hurdles on the track and told me to run the 400m hurdles.  I asked him how many times around 400m was.  Like I said, I had never been on a track so I didn't know.  He told me that he had a hunch that I would be a good hurdler and to run over the 10 hurdles and run one time around the track as fast as I could.  

  When I crossed the line I felt like I was going to die.  That was a tough race to run.  I was in pretty good shape from playing soccer but I was tired from playing in the game that day.   The coach told me that the time I ran broke the school record for the 400m hurdles.  What?!?  I told him that I didn't run track.  The coach laughed and told that I did now.  

So needless to say, I joined the track team.  It was a whirlwind!  I look back now and I feel sorry for my coaches.  They had no idea what to do with me. I could run so fast but I had absolutely no running form or experience.   It was amazing to go from never running track to the National meet in a matter of weeks!  

I found the sport that I loved!  I ran all of the sprints and hurdles from 55m to 400m.  I went to Nationals for almost every one of those events.  I even achieved All American status with my best showing being 5th in the 55m at Nationals in 1996.   I got the opportunity to travel all around the country to some of the best colleges: Florida State, George Mason, Boston University, William and Mary, University of Wisconsin, University of Pennsylvania and more!

  

At Florida State University I was seeded high enough to race in the 400m hurdles against the world record holder Kim Batten!  She won the silver medal that year at the 1996 Olympics.  She was gracious enough to take a picture with me after she beat me!

 

Because I had so little experience running, my form was ugly.  It lead to frequent injuries.   My career ended when college ended.  I had a few offers to train professionally.  They didn't appeal to me because of the injuries and because I really wanted to be a teacher.  I had hoped to one day become a track coach and share my love of the sport.   I am so glad that my high school has a track team now that I can be a part of!

My students can't understand why I would choose being a teacher over being a professional athlete.  I don't regret my decision.  I believe that I am right where the Lord wants me to be!  I am making an impact in the lives of children and I love it!

The Easter Bunny

 Does anyone else think that the Easter Bunny is creepy?  I found a bunch of pictures of my sister and me from the 1970's.  My mother used to take us to the Brunswick Square Mall every year for pictures with the Easter Bunny.  He is so scary looking!

1976

1977

1978

1979

It is amazing that we are actually smiling in the pictures.  How were we not terrified of those bunnies?

We're Playing Like It's 1983

I have mentioned before that my mother likes to save our childhood things.  You can read about that in this post.   When my sister and I were young, we liked to play with My Little Ponies.  We had quite a collection!  We even had the My Little Pony Stable.

When Sydney was a baby, I went over to my mother's attic and brought home some of the toys I thought she would like.  She didn't show much interest in them until recently.  It warmed my heart to see her playing with my old toys.  She even thought they were "cool."

Ella's New Sweater.... from 1975

My mother likes to save things from our childhood in her attic.  Some would call it hoarding.  Last weekend she ventured up into the attic with my brother to find all of his old baseball card collections.  While she was up there she found some of my old baby clothes.

This sweater was mine when I was a baby.   I had to remind Sydney that, yes they had sweaters in the "olden days."  After a wash with Dreft, the sweater lost the "I have been in the attic for 37 years smell."  The sweater even has all of the buttons.  It is actually pretty cute!

My next task is to find an outfit in Ella's closet to pair with this sweater or maybe even splurge by heading to the consignment shop for a "new" dress.  You can read about my favorite shop in this blog post.  I wonder what other treasures I can find up in my mother's attic, well, that is for another blog post!

Not a clone after all...

My son, Lucas, is a clone of my husband.  He does not resemble me at all.   He is lucky that he will grow up to look like his very handsome dad!

When Ella was born, everyone said that Aaron had created another clone.  At first, I agreed.  But lately I am thinking that she is looking more like me.  I am not sure if it is just the curly hair but I think she is looking more like a Smith and less like a Delmanto.  Poor girl!

I am on the left and Ella on the right

20 Years Ago?!?1?

It has come to my attention that 2013 is the year of my 20th year reunion from high school.   I graduated from Timothy Christian School in 1993.  That seems like yesterday, how is it possible that it has been 20 years?

June 1993
My Senior graduation, my brother Dan's 8th grade graduation

 The realization that it has actually been 20 years has set in.  It has got me thinking, am I where I thought I would be? 

Senior portrait- 1993

In the yearbook, I wrote that my career goal was to become a successful doctor.  What?!?!  A doctor?!?!  Seriously?!?  Well that didn't pan out- I ended up a teacher turned into a stay at home mom.  I don't think anyone that actually knows me now would think that I would ever become a doctor.

Want to hear something even crazier?  In the Senior Class Superlatives I was voted Most Likely to Succeed.  Ha!  I fooled them!   Truth be told, there were only 33 kids in my graduating class, so it is not as impressive as it sounds.

What is with my angry face?

Now I am off to lose another 20 pounds before the reunion. Back then, I was a 115 pounds soaking wet!  Now I am..... you didn't really think I would tell you, did you?  Let's just say I am a "few" pounds more than 115!