Friday, September 12, 2014

Day 27 - We Own This Day

There are many ways to watch an Illini Football Game at Memorial Stadium.  Here are a few of my favorites:

1. As a baritone player in the Marching Illini.  "Oskee Wow Wow from the Hold!"
2. From the top of the Press Box as an Illini Pride Ambassador.  You may just be on top of world up there.
3. Homecoming Day, Listening to the cheers...from the parking lot, as you finish another beer with old friends.
4. 8 months pregnant sitting with your parents 10 rows up from the field because dad knows exactly where every seat is when he scalps tickets.
5. The very first time you teach your daughters the I-L-L I-N-I cheer, the wave, Oskee Wow Wow, and Alma Mater, sitting in the end zone, because the seats are cheap and now you need more of them.
6. And during your very first RV roadtrip...
 
It was 5:45am in Loami, IL.  Why were we awake you ask?  This is not normal for Mies's to get up before sunrise.  Today, we had commandeered the Larry Richie totally rad 1970's RV and were cruising cross-country (ok, just a few hours east) to Champaign, IL for an Illini Football Tailgate.  Who cares about the game, it's all about the pre-game. Previous to our Best Night Ever, this may have been logged as our Best Day Ever.  

We rolled into town with plenty of time for Mimosa's, Bloody Mary's, hamburgers, and a parking lot football with random strangers, who all admired our far-out ride.  (Even though their RV's were 30 years newer than our ride).  Let's get busy making new friends in this section of Illini Nation.

This happened to be Halloween weekend, and in true Richie fashion, Anna had to dress for the occasion.  To the stadium she marched in her full-blown tigger costume, accessorized with a Juice Williams #1 football jersey.  All the small children were asking for photos and autographs.  We had to split up walking in as our tickets were spread out thru the stadium.  Once inside we began to hunt eachother down and find nine empty seats together.  Amber and I caught first glance of the electronic scoreboard and who should we see but Tigger on the screen!  Well, it looks like our seats are in the south end zone!  Thanks Tigger!  Eventually the tigger costume got warm and it was time to find a relief tiger.  Anna turned around and asked the crowd if anyone was interested.  A funny little man 3 rows back eagerly jumped up and begged for the opportunity to borrow the costume. Off went tigger the random stranger bouncing around Memorial Stadium for a solid hour, popping in and out of entrances, reappearing on the big screen, and having a grand time.  He returned the costume late in the 4th quarter, hot and extremely stinky.  

The game ended in an Illini victory over Purdue and we headed back to our sweet ride in the parking lot.  This time Calyssa fitted herself into the Tigger costume and enjoyed the extra attention and fan support with the help of her bodyguards, Samantha and Amber.

It's been a few years now since we've managed to travel east for a good tailgate party.  Somehow our priorities have shifted to accommodate new schedules.  Maybe one of these years we will get back into the tailgate routine.  There is a lot of orange and blue blood in our families, surely some of that blood will find its way back to Champaign so that we have an excuse to shift our schedules into tailgate mode again.  For today, I guess I will have to yell my I-L-L really loud from 14810 Maxwell Hall Road.  Am I loud enough to get a chant started?

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Day 26 - Yellow House at 10000 Waverly Road

An Ode to 10000 Waverly Road...

In December of 1999,
It was time 
To move into the u-shaped yellow house.
Maplewood Place was the name it bore,
Established in 1917.

And so was tradition 
Of each family member
To measure their height on the door.

You may paint the walls or tear down the wallpaper,
Pull out the bushes and more.
Just please, no matter what you do,
Please don't paint that door.

A home you see, isn't built of wood
It's more about the people living in it.
Traditions and memories and stories rich in history
Come from that yellow house.

As we wave goodbye and start a new chapter
We will hold a place in our hearts, 
for the yellow house 
With the red barn behind it
that kept us safe from disaster.

Our last request, little yellow house 
we ask you do the same
For those who follow behind us.
We love them a lot and wish them the best
In their time at 10000 Waverly Road.

Amber's fessed up one night that her biggest fear of moving was leaving behind all those great memories we made in that yellow house.  My sweet child, I explained, nobody gets to take away the memories when we move, we pack them up and take them with us.  And the best part, we get to start over with a clean slate and a big big playground full of possibilities.   Quietly I decided I'd better jot down a few of those memories, my brain only has so much storage space before it starts dumping off excess information. 

Here are a few of my favorite Yellow House Memories that I haven't already included in my blog.

- Picnics on a blanket in the front yard which included every stuffed animal in the house
- Memorial Day Water Balloon fights
- The day Samantha set Willy free and nearly convinced her dad to keep a market lamb as a pet.
- Many a nights of Capture the Trophy 
- The Farm Progress parade every fall.  Ted could sit at the kitchen counter and identify the farmer passing by, without even looking out the window.  I wasn't that talented, but did develop an ear for Mies Farms Machinery over time. 
- The rocking chair in Samantha's nursery, in the middle of the night, for her first nine months of life.
- Amber's serenades from the bay window, and the fireplace
- The Tennessee Roadhouse - Head Chef Samantha Mies and Entertainer/Waitress Amber Mies
- The hunting stand turned cat perch in the white shed
- 5 baby skunks and their short-lived stay with us
- Ted chasing Bella's boyfriend off with a paintball gun 
- A redneck water slide
- The best tire swing ever.  If another storm ever passes thru, strap yourself to the swing set!
- Growing marigolds and zinnias in the windowsill 
- Foosball tournaments
- Stop the combine!  You're about to take out my fence!
- Wine and puzzles at the dining room table
- The upstairs guest room filled with harvest helpers

Raise your hand if you've ever used our house as a land marker to give directions.  Explaining our address was never really a challenge, "yellow house, red shed, 10000 Waverly Road"

From this point forward, our new directions will be as follows
- coming from the north, if you see the yellow house, you've gone too far
- coming from the south, turn at the road after the yellow house

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Day 25 - Volleyball Monday

Here's a shout out to all the beauties (and boys) who spent a Monday night or two in our yard this summer!  I used to dread Mondays, until the creation of Volleyball Monday.

We did a trade off this summer, we were summer league softball dropouts in exchange for backyard volleyball. 

If you build it, they will come was the theory, and it worked.  We rigged up a net in our yard, mowed the grass super short, and spray-painted lines to make a regulation size court.  Every Monday we would invite as many players as we could text for some informal backyard volleyball.  We made up the rules as we went, divided up into teams with not much rhyme or reason, Ted tried to protect his cornfield, Bella was pleased by all the extra friends in her yard, and the Richies even showed up to boost the competition level.  

I had a theory in the back of my head when we started the summer....the girls liked volleyball so I wanted to give them a fun atmosphere to play in.  I also wanted to help them develop their skills and enjoy the sport on a fun, but competitive level.  So we invited friends, family and teammates over and called it Volleyball Monday.  

Without even realizing it, VBM turned into therapy for me, a weekly reminder to have hope that my beautiful niece was going to be ok regardless of what the doctors said.  You see, each week Calyssa would show up and somehow maneuver her team's rotation so that she played her middle front position at least 90% of the time her team was on the court.  She would get a few spikes or block one of mine, place a wicked serve from ten feet behind the back line, and I'd tease her about being on steroids.  Love you tall skinny girl!

Volleyball Monday also allowed for the opportunity to invite new players to the court that were previously unfamiliar with the game.  Everyone needs to know how to play volleyball.  It's a social thing, like foosball, cards, or golf.  We loved it when baseball season paused and made room for the boys to join us.  The 7th grade girls squad especially enjoyed beating them. 

Sore moms, trash talk, new cheers, finding the ball in 4ft corn, finding the ball in 12ft corn, socializing, being with friends when we need eachother for a 90 minute break from realities of life.  All things good at Monday night volleyball.

Ok, so there was a little in it for me too.  It felt really good every once in awhile to pull off a spike or a good serve like the glory days of high school.  And to beat Bill Richie's team, that was good too.  My favorite quote on the court came from Bill to the beginners on his team, "ok boys, you need to take this a little more seriously, I don't like to lose."

Fall softball season began and it's been harder to squeeze in Volleyball Monday's.  Luckily Labor Day provided us with one last opportunity to close up the summer season in style.  VBM moved to its new improved location, sporting a bigger yard, tree lines for sun and wind protection, a swimming pool cool down station, and an old fashioned potluck picnic atmosphere.  Mies Farms will be the permanent location for all future volleyball events.  Love, love, love it!