Mission Accomplished

I expected this to be a typical last day in the County: Wake up, go to breakfast, do a BodyPump workout, go to a thrilling soccer game, grab some sleep and head on home the next morning.
But this day started with quite a blur.
I should have known something unusual was in the muggy Presque Isle air when I awoke at 8 a.m. to an alert of a Facebook posting from Barb, asking when I was coming home. I replied that I was returning to Bangor the next morning, and headed off to breakfast.
I normally check my email first thing every morning, and something told me I needed to. The first thing I saw was a message from Les Mills, and the subject was "Assessment Notification Pa," with the other two letters missing. I thought, could this really be true? Did I pass my video? Am I really certified?
The answers were yes, yes, and yes, as I found out that five months of hard work and training and pushing my body to a pulp had paid off, as I had found out that yes, I was indeed, officially a qualified instructor for BodyPump. I didn't even know what to say, other than smile pump my fists, put up a status on Facebook and immediately call Wendy (the first thing she said was congratulations, you deserve this). That boosted my spirits really high, even though I was exhausted, and went down and did my BP workout in the hotel weight room.
Oh, and there was still a soccer game to be played, between Caribou and Presque Isle, a girls matchup.
I headed to Dyer Brook that afternoon for my second attempt at a story on the Southern Aroostook girls, but found out they had cancelled practice due to the oppressive heat (the JV game proceeding mine succumbed to the heat as well), so I headed back to Presque Isle to get some lunch, and eventually headed to Tim Horton's to write a story on the Caribou cross country teams, then headed over to the game.
Since the JV match wasn't happening, I had an hour-plus of time to kill, so I chatted with both coaches and some players once they arrived, got my laptop set up in the press box, and settled in for what I hoped would be a great game between these ancient County rivals.
Presque Isle won the Eastern Maine championship in 2008 and Caribou played for the title the next fall, and the Vikings had knocked the 'Cats out of the playoffs the previous year, so Presque Isle clearly had revenge on its minds.
But Jenna Selander, one of the best offensive players in the state, put those thoughts to bed with three goals. Presque Isle did score early in the match, maybe suggesting a hint that the Wildcats would get some payback, but Caribou scored twice in 10 minutes late in the first half and twice more in the second to take a 4-1 lead.
Presque Isle's Chandler Guerrette got her team back in the game with a 25-yard strike, but Selander completed her hat trick shortly thereafter to seal the win.
After getting my story done, former Presque Isle star Sarah Porter, now a sophomore at UMaine, contacted me on Facebook as she was curious about the game. I told her Caribou had won, to which she wasn't too pleased with, and I asked how late the Governor's in PI was open (it was 9:15 and I was starving, and she said 10, so I headed over).
Unfortunately, it was closed, so I had to settle for a pizza, and even though I wanted to get some sleep, I found myself awake until about 1:00, even though I was driving back at 8 the next morning. Hey, I had passed my video, so I was fired up :)
This was a memorable County trip, from a four-goal game to a Fort Kent player copycatting Wendy and I's favorite nutrition meal (peanut butter and banana), and, of course, the certification. Kia Kaha :)