The kids had a track meet in Mt. Zion today. The boys and I left around 9:15. Elianna and Grandma met us there around 10:45. We stayed the whole time because I wanted to watch Miles run the 4×400 which is always the final race of the track meet. I really do think they’re fun. Another mom and I were having to figure out who the new runners were. You learn to know the shapes of their heads and their bodies and how they look from far away.

When my new runner had lined up on the track for the boys 800 in Athens, I didn’t know who he was. Ethan asked me to Facetime when the race began. I called him and said they were getting started but that I didn’t see Judah. I didn’t know where he was but he must not have been out there yet. It wasn’t until he was a third of the way around that I figured out he was out there running. The stocking cap he was wearing had thrown me way off.

The next day Grandma met the kids at school in the parking lot and dropped off some new clothes to wear under his uniform when its cold. So he wore those today. The sky was perfectly clear with no clouds and after awhile it was no longer cold. All of us have red faces from the sun. I’ve been keeping an eye on the weather for the eclipse day and it keeps changing. In order to actually see it you can’t have too many clouds. I did pray it’d be clear.

Dad wasn’t at the meet this time because he was giving a talk in Champaign. I don’t know if this was the official name or not but he kept calling it the Martin plus Katie conference. It was a Lutheran singles get-together of men and women from age 18-35 who are interested in marriage or actively looking for a spouse. There was a men’s talk and a women’s talk and he gave the men’s talk. Two times recently I’ve looked for “Dad” in my phone to call him.

We arrived home from the meet around 4:30. I laid down for a while and drifted in and out of dreams. Elianna came in to tell me Miles was coming over. Josh called to tell me he was on his way home. I don’t remember what I dreamed about but it was the kind of peaceful sleep where you come away rested. I had two blankets on me because one is not enough heaviness. I started supper. As soon as Miles was here I had to ask his take on the races.