These are the days

I woke up at 8:30am yesterday to go out to our last family meal before both kids are in college. I went to sleep today at 6:30am. My mom woke me up at 7:30am to say good-bye until I come back for a visit. My phone woke me up multiple times around 8am. My dad woke me up at 10:00am to tell me he was heading back to the shop. It is now 11am. I leave for college at noon.

These last few days of summer are the ones I live for. I feel fantastic. I'm probably going to stay up until 2am, hanging out with friends. I am bringing fireworks to shoot off as one last hurrah before school starts.

I suppose I should explain why I haven't slept much. My brother didn't have a good night of racing yesterday. Someone hit him going almost full speed when my brother was totally and completely stopped. Bent the frame, broke our fuel tank. You can't race with a bent frame. Or that broken fuel tank. No. Kinda need one of those. So that means you tear the broken car down and move all the parts to a new frame. It's like those Ford truck commercials where they start with the metal outline of the truck and then add all the parts and the bolts and body? Do all that for a sprint car. The last time it happened, they (being my dad and our crew chief) were out until 7am and went back at 9am. Oh bother.

This time I helped out. I mean, my brother races to keep his points lead today and tomorrow goes to move his stuff in at college and then starts college the day after that. I've been at this for a few years. I know the drill. These days where I don't get much sleep because I have better things to be doing? They're the days I live for. But my brother? He's going to have a lot coming at him in a short period of time. He needs to sleep because his better things are still to come this weekend.

I look at my dad and, even at our crew chief, and I realize I can't keep living like this forever. I see how it affects them. My dad is about ready to collapse. The crew chief, less than 10 years older than I, needs constant caffeine to continue working on the car. But me? Eh, I feel fine. I've saved up a stash of sleep over the summer, it's okay. I don't suffer the way they do.

Maybe that's why I feel obligated to do these sort of things. Maybe that's why I feel like I have to go on all these adventures. I'm in college! My last hurrah before the real world. J and I have a love for the song September by Earth, Wind & Fire. It asks if you remember the 21st night of September and basically explains why that night was so epic. So let's do it. 21st night of September. You have a month to prepare. Make it legendary.