Worst. Commute. Ever

Yesterday I had to leave work at 3pm to get home so that we could pick up Madster and 'Nika from their after school programs, go to KyKy's swim meet in New Hope and then to KyKy's first orchestra concert at school. Oh and the gas company needed to get into the house because they were replacing the line from the house to the main line out under the street. Anyhoo... I leave work at 3pm and I had to fight west winds of 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph. I think there were spots where I headed into gusts well over 40 mph. There were tumbleweeds on the transitway. I had grit on my teeth from all the sand being blown around at the Gopher Stadium site. I followed a guy on Portland Ave for a bit and we were both weaving around the bike lane because of the big cross winds. At least it was relatively warm during that mess.

KyKy did OK at her meet. She was under a bit of duress because her genius of a coach put her in 3 events. Here's the deal. KyKy told her coach on Friday that she had a concert that began at 7pm the day of the meet. The meet was in New Hope and started at 5pm. Coach was miffed because KyKy would have to leave the meet early. I, on the other hand, was extremely miffed because: 1) There were no exhibition heats that would use up swimmers to fill race spots 2) It was a 5 lane pool, so Southwest could not put 3 swimmers in every event. Therefore, there should be plenty of swimmers to fill the varsity and jv events, and KyKy would be able to leave early to get ready for her concert. But no, she HAD to be in a jv 200 free relay and thus did not have time to shower after the meet. We also had to stop and get something to eat because the concert would not be over until 8:15. What I don't understand is why coach can't juggle the lineup with 5 days advanced notice, and why there are not accommodations made for school events where participation is actually part of her grade. It sounds like passive-aggressive bullshit to me. Coach rarely pays attention to the jv, and now it's a big hairy deal that KyKy has to leave the meet early. I also feel there is no recourse to complain to coach or to her superior because coach is also KyKy's math teacher. With the level of maturity she's displayed so far, I wouldn't put it past her to knock KyKy down a few notches in school because her parents complain about her coaching. In any case, there is just one more meet and the season is done. If KyKy wants to swim next year that's cool, but it will be her wanting to be on a team. If she wants to improve as a swimmer, she's going to have to join a club to get better coaching.

KyKy's concert was lovely. 3 different ensembles played, and the director chose a few classical pieces and a few by local composers, one of them was a recent Southwest graduate. KyKy's orchestra sounded good, and she was excited to play in a concert with a group as opposed to recitals where she plays alone. A friend and neighbor of ours plays with the Minnesota Orchestra, so I'm hoping to get a few reduced price tickets to see what is by many accounts one of the top 5 orchestras in the world today. There you have it. The Stocking family, slightly more cultured than yogurt.