Good morning, y'all

Isaac is out of school for the year, since he passed all his classes and aced his state-mandated exams (literally; I think he missed one question on the whole exam). But he got up this morning at 5AM to get dressed and go down to the school to start a summer running regimen. The cross-country coach has the kids running all summer long in preparation for the season, and even though Isaac won't be old enough to compete formally next year, he's going to spend the summer running with the team anyway. They leave the school at 6AM for the next two weeks, then at 7AM for the rest of the summer.

Yesterday Mom treated him to a new pair of running shoes, which he was itching to put on. "They feel bouncy," he insisted.

In a school that's as small as Ballyhoo, there's a definite divide that shows up between the "athletics" kids and the "PE" kids. I have seen evidence of both groups, and I see that even if he's not particularly wonderful as an athlete, he does NOT want to be lumped in with the "PE" crowd. He probably won't ever be much of a football player, and I know there's no way on God's green earth he'll be able to do basketball, but I figure he can run. So that's where I'm steering him. I told him that even if he's never very fast, it's very important that he do this.

I think that if I'd had to do some sort of athletics, I might have been a little better off physically, but I went to a much larger high school where I was able to track in a different direction (band). Just goes to show that there are benefits to each sort of high school -- even though this place is small, there are some definite advantages.

I like it here, regardless. It's a good fit for us, I think. I just wish the house was in better shape and that we were in better financial condition. Maybe someday. At least we have a few tomatoes in the garden.