James, Garylee, Storage Sheds, and Vail

6-8-12
   
    We are driving home from Albuquerque.  James is sacked out on the front passenger seat.  He was in the most unsafe position a person could be in a few minutes ago, feet on the dash, calves covering the airbag, neck ready to be strangled by his seat belt because he was lying so horizontally, but now he has turned on his side.  He’s safer now.  B is driving.  I am in the back seat typing away.
    Speaking of James, he is registered for college now.  That was the reason for this trip.  He will have 16 credits worth of classes this fall at NMSU.  He has not...

decided on a major yet.  Tuition is good, housing fine, student ID ready, roommate selected (Michael his buddy from high school), meal plan set.  I think we are as prepared as we can be, but we still need to get our mindset right.  Our first child, James, will be starting college soon.   Okay, our son will be starting his higher education in a couple of months.  James, our firstborn starts at NMSU this fall.  Doesn’t matter how I write it; it still sounds surreal.  We will need to continue this process of fact repeating until it registers (pun intended).
    As a quick track update, James made it to state in the 110 high hurdles in early May, but I hadn’t written what happened.  Here is what happened---he made a false start and was disqualified immediately.  He never had a chance to shine at state.  We were all disappointed, but it’s done now.  No going back.  No second chance.  We are proud of him for making it to state.  We wanted him to do his best, of course, but we were surprised, pleased and proud when he did qualify.  In my opinion, his best race was his district race, the one where he qualified for state.  It was such a fast heat that all eight runners qualified.  The winner set a stadium record that day and became the eventual state champion.  James had such a fantastic year with academic achievements, awards, and scholarships, so one false start is not a big deal, not a tragedy.  It happens, and at least it was a mistake for wanting to do well.
    In another update, Garylee Zuniga is back at home out in California.  He had a successful heart transplant.  We have been keeping track of his progress at his Caring Bridge site.  I feel pride, happiness, and relief.  I can’t wait until we get to see him again.  Congratulations, Garylee and family.  You deserve the most life has to offer, and I will continue to pray for you and a continued full and happy recovery.
    This upcoming week (probably Tuesday) we are traveling to Lakewood to help Mom and Dad sort through Grandma Ruth’s things that they have kept in a storage shed for far too long.  I don’t know that we will be helping with the sorting as much as we are just forcing the issue.  They will either thank us or despise us when we are done. 
    On Friday, we head up to Vail to play in the King of the Mountain Volleyball Tournament.  James will play with Daryl and Danielle with Erica on Saturday.  Then Danielle and I will play on Father’s Day in the father-daughter tournament.  Guy and I were going to compete in the “Masters” Division, for players 45 or over, but his knee is just not ready for something so strenuous, so he will not be coming this time.  Maybe next year?