I Didn't Say I Was Powerful, I Said I Was a Wizard

The last three weeks got away from me.  I am the first to admit that it didn't go exactly as planned.  The important stuff in life is grand.  My girlfriend is amazing (and very pregnant), my kids are the eternal holders of my heart and I am still feeling physically strong.  On the flip side, I am not amassing enough money to launch a serious push for 2012 Supercross or really begin to claw my way out of post-marital-monetary-debt.  I am also in mental purgatory.  I need to get a job to earn money to get to Supercross, but doing so would surely eliminate any chance I have at making Supercross my job.  It's a bit of a conundrum.  At this point I just have to believe in myself enough to go with my gut instinct, which tells me that if I just twist the throttle than all the other things will work themselves out.

My view over the last two weeks has looked like the photograph above.  I have spent many, many, many hours in everything from a Skid Steer to a Skip, a Water Truck to a Rubber Tire Loader.  I have built a new Arenacross track, rebuilt my Supercross track, pounded dozens of T-posts, set concrete poles, strung wire, graded roads and picked up trash.  All of this was done to improve our training compound in hopes of having a better facility to prepare for the rapidly approaching Anaheim 1.  The tracks are all but complete, the fencing is nearly congruent and the concrete for the new gate posts is set.  I am excited for this place, there is much potential.  Potential far beyond what I set out to create.

Vet Rider Clinic participants Chris Kelly and Michael Larance talk lines.

In between all day tractor sessions, I have been doing some group and private training sessions at Speedworld.  It is rewarding for me to see riders improve, especially when they may have been stuck in a bad habit that I was quickly able to correct.  Like anything, it takes consistent training and a lot of repetition to break bad habits, which is why I decided to focus on small group training as much as possible.  For $100 per month, you get two, three-hour small group sessions.  With continued training, we can address issues and keep focused on improvement throughout the year for a much more reasonable cost.  If you are interested in joining either the Vet or Young Rider group classes, please e-mail me at mxculture@yahoo.com.  We meet every other Thursday at Speedworld.

Colonel Clark commands his little sister's attention.

I will leave the best for last: my kids.  Although they wear me out, they also keep me grounded and focused on the future.  I realize how fortunate I am to have them, and how much motivation they give me to succeed.  Three years ago I loved them and enjoyed being their father, but I didn't exactly know what that meant.  Today, a little better for the wear, I understand the things they need from me as well as the things I get from them.  Every day I am thankful to know them and, hopefully, lead them toward their own successes (and failures). I am so excited to add to my family a new baby boy.    

I try to teach my children to reach for the moon.

Futbol

My soccer skills have never been compared to this man, but at least my girl has musical talent.

I have been in a really good routine for the last four weeks since my son went back to school.  On paper I have my kids half the time, but as is normally the case with divorce/custody/breakups, the only constant is change.  Anyway, I pick them up and then come home for a quick snack, quiet time, homework, playtime, showers, movie time, reading and bedtime.  The routine often gets upset due to other commitments, but for the most part it remains some hybrid of this.  Everything went like clockwork last night, and after the kids were off to dreamland I left my lovely lady, CC, at the helm and snuck out for my second indoor soccer game of the season.

Since I trained pretty hard yesterday morning at the pool, I was dragging by the afternoon.  I thought I would sneak in a quick nap during the kids "quiet time", but no such luck.  I headed out to the game with my Motivite bottle, sweet new uniform and a fear of running myself into complete exhaustion.  The game was great, but unfortunately we ended up losing 9-7 after the opponents scored two quick goals in the waning moments.  I was able to notch two goals myself, which was pretty cool considering I am very out of practice.  I am using soccer as a fun way to get some additional cardio in during the week.  I have my first outdoor game of the season this Sunday.  The big field doesn't wear you out as much since you aren't involved in every play.

When I arrived home, all three of my favorite people were fast asleep.  I laid in bed for a while with my mind racing a million miles an hour.  I gave up on sleep around midnight and picked up my Martin Acoustic.  Sitting on the couch strumming for a half-hour calmed my nerves and shut my mind off, and I was finally able to drift off to dream for a while before my daughter came calling somewhere in the middle of the night.  Oh, the joys of parenthood.  I am off to nap now...