In Which I Get All Sentimental And Connor Sees Some Stars

This morning I took Connor down to the Olympia farmer's market.  It's our first trip down this year, and we had a fantastic time!  They had a face painter there this week, and since Connor did so well with the face painting at his school's end-of-the-year party I thought we'd give it a try. 

This time we went through the book, and after playing the "Yes or No" game with him over the simplest designs he picked out a small grouping of stars as what he wanted.  Then we deliberated over color choices.  He finally selected blue-- his current favorite color (something he has in common with his future sister!).  He seemed a little more nervous about getting them on his face this time though, so she put them on his arm.  Connor seemed to really like them, and when we were done he clapped and then asked for more!  I told him we were done for today, but we'd get some more done the next time we were at the market if the face painter was there.  This sparked a brief pouting session, but soon he was too busy admiring his stars to be angry. 

By the time we got home they were a little worse for wear because he spent so much time running his fingers over them, but once they dried completely they did pretty well, and lasted the rest of the day.  I think we're going to make face painting (or arm painting, as the case may be) a new tradition in our house. 

After we got back from the farmer's market, I left the boy with his daddy and headed off to a retirement party held for me and a few other girls on my roller derby team.  I got the royal treatment even though I'm only going to be nonbouting for a season, because my team is amazing like that. 

There are times when parenting a little guy like Connor, as wonderful as he is, can be very isolating and lonely-- especially since most of our relatives live on the other side of the country.  When you live a life that's a whirlwind of appointments, medical drama and plans canceled at the last minute, it can be difficult to connect with and keep friends.  Over the past two years, the ladies on my team have become more than just good friends; they've provided shoulders to cry on, patient listening ears, and even served as on occasion as stress-relieving punching bags.  In short: they've become family.  And I'm incredibly grateful for their presence in my life. 

Roller derby has given me a lot of great things-- a chance to blow off steam, have a fantastic time working out and an excuse to wear underwear as outerwear among them-- but by far the best thing it's given me is the chance to know these wonderful women on my team and in my league.  I've also loved getting the chance to know the fantastic coaches, support staff, fans and derby girls scattered across state and international borders I've had the privilege to meet along the way.  While I'll be scaling back my skating and taking a break from bouting during the next season as we help Ellen settle into her new home, I'm not hanging up my skates for good; hopefully I'll be back in 2014.  In the meantime, I'll be the loudest fan on the sidelines come bout day.

And I hope that when my sisters take the track, they'll know my heart is skating with them.

~Jess