The best two weeks of the summer just kicked off in Arkansas. These are the two weeks the Arkansas Athletics Association (AAA) has declared “dead weeks.” While normally I disagree with many overreaching policies of the AAA, this is a good one. Athletic dead weeks are a time for coaches and players across the state to take a much-needed break from practices and work outs.
Our oldest daughter has been busy working at a local TV station in Fayetteville doing a meteorology internship to gain experience for her broadcast journalism degree. She is also working a couple of part-time jobs to save money for her upcoming sophomore year of college at the University of Arkansas. In between working, she has found time to work with our horse to get ready for the annual Rodeo of the Ozarks parade and grand entry festivities. It has been fun having our horse back home and watching her work. We are enjoying having our college student home – all four kids under one room are something I plan to savor all summer long.
Our youngest daughter has been busy preparing for her senior year of high school. She has been busy working and practicing cheering with the Elkins High School cheer team. She has been busy working on painting her “senior” parking spot in the school lot this past week. She also had her senior portrait taken for the school yearbook. This is all happening very fast! College applications open next month. She recently retook the ACT exam in preparation for her college goals. She is planning a road trip to see her cousins in Missouri before she heads to work at an Oklahoma church camp for a month. Growing up way too fast.
Our oldest son has had great success at the micro sprint dirt tracks in Oklahoma and Illinois this season. He has been busy working alongside my husband on various projects around the farm and for other clients. He is planning to race up in Missouri this month and is hoping the summer drags out slowly. He is our child who does not look forward to going back to school. He has been a great help with mowing various rental properties and at home. I am so thankful he is a hard worker.
Our youngest son is the only one in our clan who does not drive. I have been busy running the roads getting him to football, basketball and baseball practices. This kid loves it all. We have a couple more weekends of baseball tournaments with him here in northwest Arkansas. We enjoy his friends being over and they have done a lot of fishing and camping at the farm. He and his brother have both had scrape on the motorcycles (dirt bikes) and a round of poison ivy. I took them to an orthodontist appointment recently and the doctor commented on their scrapes. I informed him they were having a great summer and were not spending it in front of video games. That got a laugh.
We have had so much rain that hay season has been as heartbreaking as the Razorback loss to LSU in Omaha! We will get it put up – there is sunshine in the forecast for the month of July. I do not think this will be my best garden this year as we have had so much rain. I am hoping it rallies in the latter months of summer and early fall.
We are looking forward to Independence Day celebrations and our local county fair. More than anything, we cherish this season of life with our children. Even if you do not have students in high school athletics, I hope you enjoy a little bit of the slowdown of summer, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
