Home again

We went to the Collegiate National Mountain Bike Races this weekend. It took place at the Northstar resort in Truckee. My son Eddie and his teammates (above) from the University of Nevada were in charge of the event, which was a huge success. This is Eddie with his game face on between races.

There were spectacular crashes (not my son), exhilarating races, sunshine and blue skies.

That, however, is not the biggest news.

Maggie survived a weekend without us!

It CAN be done. It is a ton of work to set up and an expensive undertaking, but it CAN be done.

It turned out to be a very good thing that she did not come with us, though. We stayed in a condo that was PERFECT for the race venue but terrible for her wheelchair. There were steps leading to down to the place and a ton of steps inside. In fact, because there was a doorway leading to a steep flight of stairs, I doubt we could have even fit the chair inside the house.

And the races? Feggedaboutit! It was a mountain bike race; hence, it takes place on the side of a mountain. There was absolutely no way the wheelchair would have worked. We took to gondola up to mid mountain and then hiked up about 200 yards pr so to the two racecourses. We were perched on the side of a hill for hours.

If we went with plan A – wherein Maggie accompanied us – she and I would have been stuck in the condo without the wheelchair the entire weekend. Instead, she hung out here, sat in her chair, used her computer etc and I have a sunburned face and sore legs from hiking around.

When we got home, Maggie was happy to see us. Tim held down the fort, walked the dog, checked in on Maggie and made sure all the nurses showed up.

I am saving up for our next trip. Hopefully it won't be another 15 years.

Going for it

This weekend is the collegiate National Mountain Bike championships. (http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=4491) This year it is hosted by the University of Nevada Cycling team and my son Eddie (pictured above) is the president of that team. He has been working on this for months. Hosting the Nationals means finding a venue and submitting a bid to USA Cycling for consideration. There are nothing but mountains surrounding Reno, so there were several venues to consider. The races will take place at Northstar at Tahoe, best known as a ski resort. Eddie and the rest of the Nevada Cycling team has been working with both Northstar and USACycling to make this event work. It has been an education for him, that's for sure.

Northstar uses the ski lifts and trails for bikers in the summer months. The lifts close the first week of October, because the weather is so unpredictable after that. Thia is a win win for Northstar. They get to host the event without disrupting any business. But Snow or pouring rain (like it is right now) could kill the event. This storm is supposed to blow right through and the forecast is for clear skies. The event should go on as planned, which is great. This has been a ton of work for Eddie and he would be crushed if it didn’t happen.

Northstar at Tahoe is about 3.5 hours from here. Originally we planned to take Tim and Maggie up there to support Eddie and his team. I was worried about taking Maggie because of the altitude.(6500 ft) Also, I’m not sure how we would be able to watch a downhill race on the side of a mountain with a wheelchair. Undoubtedly I would spend the entire weekend in the condo. Sigh.

Tim then announced he could not go. He had to take last weekend off work because of his wisdom teeth extraction and cannot get another weekend off.

Hmmm. Tim will be here…..do we dare go without Maggie?

In the 15.5 years that Maggie has been on this earth, Steve and I have NEVER gone away together for two nights. NEVER. In fact, we have gone for one night only two or three times in all those years. There is so much to organize and arrange, it hardly seems worth it.

This time taking Maggie with us might be more work than leaving her home. I called to get some portable equipment for travel and was told the (giant) equipment I have IS portable. Unhh. We would have to bring the mister, the nebulizer, the suction, the oxygen, all the supplies for feeding and diapering, tubes to make all those machines work and all the medications. In addition I would have to be the nurse for 48 hours straight, and there is still the high altitude and logistical problems to worry about. Hmmmm.

So we’re doing it! We’re leaving Maggie here. The way this all sort of fell into place makes me pay attention. I have to give it a try. Besides, if Eddie can talke his life in his hands to speeed down a mountain, I can do this. I arranged for two additional nursing shifts that I will pay for out of pocket. Tim will be in and out and can keep Maggie from worrying.

Of course, I’m not sure who will keep me from worrying,

Weekend visitor

When Maggie gets excited about something, she pumps her left fist in a rapid-fire movement. (Think Arsenio Hall.) Ask her if she wants to go to the park, if she likes Mission High, or any other question that would give an enthusiastic YES! She answers with a big smile and a dizzying movement of her raised arm. I am not sure when this started, sometimes it takes a while before you notice a trend, but we all know it now. We can even ask what she does when she is excited and she gives a little performance. That is done with a sly grin or a bored expression that says, “I’ll do it, but I’m not your monkey.” It’s hilarious.

Last night Maggie did not want to go to sleep. She was completely exhausted when she came home from school. So much so, in fact, that she just started crying, and that is very unusual for her. She slept for about 45 minutes and was back to her happy self. Maybe that nap threw her off or something, but when the nurse arrived (late) at 11:30, Maggie was wide-awake. I tried to stay out of her room as much as possible to avoid more stimulation, but of course, I have to be close enough to suction her when she needs it. I told her she had to sleep because she has school today and because there is a surprise this weekend.

Surprise? Her eyes just opened up as wide as can be as if to say “spill it, mom.” Ok, Maggie, guess who is coming home this weekend? She sucked in some air and waited. There was really only one possibility and we both knew it. I looked at her with wide eyes and said “Yep! EDDIE is coming home.“

I had to step back to avoid getting fist pumped right in the eye. She had her whole body into it. Obviously, this was not the smartest thing to do when I was trying to get her to go to sleep, but her reaction was priceless.

Eddie is #1 son, who is a senior in college in Nevada. He lives in Nevada now, past the era of coming home for summers etc. We only see him every couple of months and even then, it’s generally a blur. This time is no exception. He is coming home because some local buddies rented a house together and are having a house warming party on Saturday night. Of course, he has a bike race on Saturday so he cannot leave until 3 or 4 in the afternoon, drive four hours, come here, shower and then go to the party. He will go back on Sunday. I will see him for all of 20 minutes because I have to meet some friends early Sunday morning. Maggie will get those 20 minutes on Saturday evening and then get to spend time with him on Sunday.

It doesn’t matter, all Maggie wants is to see him enter and say “Whassup Mags?” or simply “MAGGIE!” is his fake baritone voice. That alone would entertain her until Thanksgiving.

Maggie does not even know yet that we are all going to go to the Collegiate National Mountain Bike Races at Northstar in October to watch him compete. He will be so busy at that event (he’s in charge of coordinating A LOT of it) she may not see him at all. Further when she does see him he may look like this


I know that would get her fist pumping.