Labor Day 2011

The unofficial totals, because there is nothing really official about it…and in the words that my father gave them to me; 600 bodies and 438 quads.  Labor Day 2011 was another successful weekend full of friends and fun. 

The weather got a bit scary on Saturday afternoon (thanks Brother for the heads up) and we got about 2.5” of much needed rain, but it would have been more appreciated had it come on Monday…actually maybe not, people came to get muddy and that they did!

Our average of one accident a year held strong, but he is doing ok.  The accident was truly that, no horse play and he was very well taken care of thanks to Donnie Taylor, Mindy Thurman, Amy Taylor and the Rescue Squad.  He is a good friend of my Dad’s and I know he was pretty scared, so I stayed with him until the ambulance took him away.

As if Mother Nature knew that I had called this the last summer bash, the temperature changed and it feels like we went straight into fall.  I don’t know why I forget every single year what happens to my sister when the weekend is over, but it is not pretty.  As much as I love fall, she loves summer and she experiences a wide range of emotions (not happy ones) and she is not fun to be around.  She will adjust and it will be a long winter, but if we are lucky, maybe we will have an Indian summer…

I spoke with a lot of the “original group” about how much it has changed since it started…and it has.  We used to go sandbar to sandbar as one big group sometimes a hundred quads in a row.  You didn’t move very far or very fast, but that is truly how many relationships were formed and some have become like family.  The ride today is so different because we don’t know 80% of the people that show up and you can go all day and never see people.  It’s become cliquey if you will and everyone heads out in their own little groups.  I guess it is no different than any other thing in life.

I am just personally grateful that we made it another year with no major accidents or injuries.  I am glad that I got to spend some time with family and friends (and remember ALL of it!), even my Brother who surprised us by coming out for a little bit.

As much as Dee Dee hates it because she has to “shift gears” so quickly, I love it because it means the Bears will be starting their season soon.  If you know me at all, you know this is a big deal.  There are very few things that I have remained passionate about, the Chicago Bears are one of them.  That is a whole different post.

 A big thank you to Dad, Joyce, Danny, Dee Dee, David, Neil and Susie for again letting your homes, your yards, your driveways, become a playground for so many people.  I hope people respected and took care of them.

A friend from southern Illinois approached me at the Landing one evening and said “You have no idea how much we look forward to this weekend every year.  It’s all we talk about.”  I laughed and said it is incredibly odd to me that this place I call home is thought of so highly by so many and is considered their yearly vacation.  And it made me appreciate “this place” a little more than I probably have been lately.  I think we all know “where my heart is” and it is easy to take where you live for granted every day.  I have grown up in a cool place.  I have made a lot of friends here and many memories…and I am blessed that to others it means so much.  Not many people can say that. 

A very special Thank you goes out to Ashley Little and Wilbur and Carla Gooding…impossible to have done a lot of it without your help.  It means the world to Dad, I know he doesn’t know how to show it very well, but it does.  It’s hard to find people you can trust and count on, but you continuously “show up” for him every year and you know how I feel about that!

Thank you to everyone who helped make it a successful, fun and safe weekend!