Teaching the Kids the True Spirit of Competition

“We are going to spend every Saturday doing a family activity.”  That was the shocking announcement from my husband a.k.a. neighborhood hermit.  As my mouth dropped open, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  Flashback to Nathan showing me video footage on his phone while he was looking through a crack in our garage rather than stand outside in the open yard where he might be seen and God forbid…approached by a neighbor.  This is the same guy who feigned being on his cell phone when a rather talkative neighbor approached him.   To my husband’s utter dismay, the phone rang during his “fake conversation”.  

 Understanding dawned on my face when I heard where we would be spending the upcoming Saturday.  The Indianapolis Speedway for qualifying.    The girls were immediately on board while visions of over-priced lemonade and doughy pretzels oozing with gooey cheese danced in their heads.  We three females managed to stay seated for 2 1/2 hours with no bathroom breaks.  The seasoned male of the group made the climb over a father and son pair for 3, that’s right…three  bathroom breaks.  Who says women have weak bladders?

Fun at Indiana Motor Speedway The true meaning of competition!

 

The highlight  for our oldest daughter and myself occured while Kelsey (youngest daughter) and I were grossing out after seeing Cassie lick the chocolate off of every finger then eye the chex mix bag.  Kelsey was not going to let that maneuver go down without a fight.  As I’m trying to bring order with a wipee  (antibacterial of course), I see sliding out of the corner of my eye and point as sparks start to fly.    Ho-Pin Tung had lost control on turn 1 where we  were sitting.  Concern gave way to excitement for the fans as we all realized the driver was safe.  Cassie and I whole heartedly agreed that wrecks are the best  as long as everyone is safe.  This enabled us to sit quietly and without complaint through 24 drivers, even though our goal was a 180 from fans simply wanting their drivers to qualify.   Believe it or not,  “Wreck,wreck,wreck!”  chanted a few times gets you quite a few unwanted glares. All in all it was a fun day and secretly, I would do it again.   

Perhaps Jay Penske can purchase a ride for Ho-Pin, that would ensure me watching the actual race.  Surely Danica Patrick would be a willing donor for the right price.   Plus perhaps Penske can utilize Andretti’s negotiating skills since he bought himself a new way of qualifying. After all, I’m sure A.J. Foyt’s still a believer in Junqueira and there are no hard feelings.  Better luck next time.   I decided since race politics leave me feeling a little empty, I should design something that reflects the cold harsh reality of living in a world where money tramples, I mean trumps a genuine competitive spirit all too often.   The beautiful, yet cold metal feel of these thick copper domed earrings seem to do the trick.   I have hung freshwater pearls to give a bit of natural flair to the bolder look of the copper.  As I cut out the discs and dome the metal, I wonder if this forced re-shaping is much how the re-shaping of Junqueira’s feeling of accomplishment took a nosedive.   Http://etsy.com/shop/artistiquejewelry

re-shaped copper