Might as well just come right out and say it: I am getting old.
Of course, that’s not news but what the past few weeks have taught me is that it’s getting a little tougher to burn the candle at both ends as much as I am accustomed to. (My daughter, of course, will tell you she knew that years ago.)
School is back in session, fall sports are in full swing, and August was a jam-packed month. No complaints, just need to reassess how things get done. The days now are fast paced, action ramping up everywhere, and I am trying to remember to take my daily vitamin.
Covering the ‘road warrior’ Escalon football team, we have already been to Merced and Clovis, which has made for some very late nights. A couple more long trips await before we start Trans-Valley League play and even then, we will be on the road but at least within the confines of the TVL schools.
My Friday routine now includes taking ibuprofen before leaving for football to head off the Saturday morning muscle aches and pains from lugging the camera around and collecting a few thousand steps up and down the sidelines.
But there’s honestly no other place I’d rather be on a Friday night in the fall than under the lights.
In that vein, a huge congratulations go out to the Riverbank Bruins, as the varsity team recently snapped a 42-game losing streak. They got the win Thursday, Aug. 24 when they were on the road at Cosumnes River College. It was a 28-6 victory for the Bruins over the Valley Vikings out of Sacramento. When I first began my career here in the Central Valley, I was over in Riverbank fulltime and did both news and sports, covering the Bruins. I still keep in touch with some of the folks I first met there when I arrived and to see the Bruins break that skid gives me reason to smile. Even when they were part of the TVL, often going 0-for-the-season, tenacity and determination were part of their game plan. There was always a strong effort and it definitely was nice to see the current Bruin players rewarded for their hard work.
A new twist for this year is the emergence of Girls Flag Football as a sanctioned sport; Escalon is fielding a team and there is a lot for me to learn about this unique game. Seven on seven, and something happening on every snap. Just adds to the fun of what I get to do.
As we welcome September, I hesitate to tell you how many shopping days there are until Christmas but rest assured, the holiday season is coming. Of course, we have Halloween and Thanksgiving to get through first and the old saying about how ‘time flies’ gets truer with each passing year.
My granddaughter will soon hit 20 months old and she continues to learn and grow; having added a few inches and a couple of pounds recently; enjoying a newfound fascination with a variety of foods.
She loves to repeat the letters of the alphabet back to you, does her best to give you a thumbs up if she likes something – though usually it’s a couple of fingers up – and still loves her puzzles, books and sorting things by color. Lorelei always looks for Bella, my dog, whenever I arrive at her house and usually waves to Bella first, before I get acknowledged. She can’t quite say her double l’s – so it comes out as “Bey-ya” – but we know who she’s talking about. And even though we have referred to me as “Grammy” since Lorelei was born, she will point at me in pictures and say “Mimi” so I guess that’s who I will be. Happy to join the ranks of all the other Mimi’s out there.
Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.
