Down to the Wire

Last year Hartland Community Connections and Mt. Ascutney Prevention Partnership sponsored a go-cart race, and A&N took part with their buddies. Their original team was A&IH, but due to scheduling conflicts and time constraints, they literally did nothing. They couldn’t even make it to the race, and ES and A substituted for them. It was a blast, and everyone had a great time. Even though A&N did pretty much everything, I think they liked it that way. That made the cart their project, and they got to keep it, so they didn’t mind.

This time around, at my insistence, they decided that their entire team would be involved, so they made it a point to have their teammates there to help. Truth be told, their teammates want to be involved, because it is fun, and the creative process can be very satisfying, especially when you get to see the finished product.

This summer has been a little busy with various activities, car drama, and the market, so we haven’t had as much free time to work on the cart. This has been frustrating to N, who asks every day if we can work on it. We have been able to slip in an hour here or there, and this makes it very difficult, especially when you have places to be and things to do. I feel bad, but there are so many things that need my attention, I can’t just drop everything. If the kids could use power tools like miter saws and nail guns, life would be so much easier, wouldn’t it?

Whatever be the case, we went down the wire. Their teammates really showed up and pitched into the making of the cart, which was nice. Not just the hands of building, but all creative aspects were theirs. They naturally went with a Harry Potter theme, and it looked really cool. The day before the race we attached some of the final pieces and had to do some touch up painting, and to give you an idea of how crazy our lives are, we had about 40 minutes at home before we had to run out and do something. I figured it would be best to do any painting the day before to give it time to dry, and I knew N was a little bummed because attaching the last pieces scuffed up the paint. With about half an hour to work, we touched up the paint, secured the braking manifold (we still had to attach the brake handles), and left it to dry.

On the morning of the race, we had to attach the thick rubber pieces to the brake handles, then screw them to the body. Then we were ready to rock and roll. I have to say, it’s nice to see how happy the kids are with their creation, even though it drives me a little crazy having one more project to attend to. Oh well, nobody said being a parent was easy.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.