Endurance Racing

I'm a race fan. No secret there. Mostly IndyCars, but I'll watch nearly anything. This past weekend was the annual kickoff to a new racing season with one of the most intriguing events of the year, the 24 Hours of Daytona.

This race takes place before all the other major series get their seasons going, so it attracts a unique mix of some great drivers. Dario Franchitti. Scott Dixon. Jimmie Johnson. Juan Pablo Montoya. Ryan Hunter-Reay. Sebastian Bourdais. Justin Wilson. Jason Vinkemulder. Who? That's right, my former boss' husband got to run in it for the second year in a row. I just think that is really cool to see the name of someone I know scrolling across the screen. From what I hear, their Corvette's transmission gave out sometime in the night and they didn't get to finish, but still what a cool thing. Of course, the only time I actually saw the car on screen it was sliding into a tire barrier. Oops! I don't think Jason was driving at the time.

Anyway, I got thinking last night that parenting is sort of like an endurance race. I should preface this by saying we've been very lucky and have two girls who sleep all night. Usually. But last night was not one of those nights. After playing around in our room until 9:30 - well past bedtime (with Claire being a total ham and smiling up a storm), then chattering away in their room until well past 10, Kate decided she just didn't want to sleep. She wanted to scream and fuss. (Teeth?) Sarah sat with her for a while, then I took the midnight to 1 shift. Just sitting in the La Z Boy. Hanging out. Quietly looking around in the dark. Leaning back and snuggling down. Playing with the blanket. Finally zonked out close to 1 and I gently got her back in her crib and got some sleep of my own. But man, was that alarm jarring at 6 a.m.

So now I know how all those drivers prepare for races like the Daytona 24. At least the ones with kids. I wonder how the others do it?