On The Road With The Rushford Family • By Angie Kay Dilmore
Parents today can easily spend 10 or more hours a week taxiing their children to sporting activities, dance classes, music lessons, chess tournaments … you get the idea. That’s a lot of time in the car!
Kimmie, Connor and Jacqueline
For the Rushford family of DeRidder, La., it’s a lot more than 10 hours a week. But this close-knit family has found ways to maximize their time spent on the road. Traveling to sporting events with their children has become their way of life, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Robert and Dena Rushford have three children: Jacqueline, age 19, is a sophomore at Northwestern State University (NSU); Kimmie, age 17, is a senior at DeRidder High School; and eight-year-old son Connor is in second grade. The girls have been involved in a myriad of sports since they were in elementary school. Gymnastics, softball, soccer, track — these two will try and excel at most any sport.
They took a shot at basketball, but due to their petite stature, it wasn’t their thing. They also gave dance a whirl. Briefly.
“As parents, we agreed that we would expose [our children] to a lot of different things so they could find what they wanted and encourage them to follow that,” says Dena Rushford.
Jacqueline and Kimmie
By late elementary and early junior high, the girls discovered they loved and excelled in softball, soccer, and track. In eighth grade, Jacqueline was undefeated in the 800 meter run. Kimmie was in sixth grade at the time; that year was the first the junior high team went undefeated.
The girls played on traveling teams as well as school teams. Away games took them to Alexandria and Shreveport.
Soon, like so many families with active children, the Rushfords’ schedules became overwhelming. It was time to narrow the playing fields. The girls gave up softball so they could put more emphasis on track. “They knew that was what they really wanted to do,” says Rushford. They quickly found their niches in various track events and haven’t slowed down since.
These sisters have each earned awards and recognitions far too numerous to list here. They are champions, to say the least. Jacqueline is a long-distance runner, participating in cross country, outdoor and indoor track with a scholarship at NSU. Her primary event is the steeplechase, which is a 3,000 meter race with hurdles and a water pit. In high school, she was named Regional MVP and Miss DeRidder High School (based on a merit point system).
She was NSU’s top female finisher in the 2104 Southland Conference Cross Country Championship as a freshman.
Kimmie
Kimmie, a sprinter, does the triple-jump, 4x100m race and the 4x400m relay. But her greatest claim to fame is pole vaulting. She is the 2015 LHSAA Division I Pole Vault Indoor State Champion and the DeRidder High School record holder in the pole vault at 12 feet, 6 inches. She’s currently being courted by several Division I schools offering scholarships.
Connor is following in his competitive sisters’ footsteps and plays soccer and baseball. “We’ll see where that goes,” says his mom.
With Jacqueline now in college, there may be slightly less driving. But Kimmie’s commitments keep the family car’s wheels spinning. Every Sunday, the family drives the five hours round trip to New Iberia so Kimmie can practice pole vaulting for two or more hours with her coach.
Travel for USA Track and Field Junior Olympics (the circuit the girls are involved in) as well as the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), takes them to cities as far away as San Marcos, New Orleans, Reno, Greensboro, Mobile, Jacksonville. Again, it’s a lot of time in the car! How do the Rushfords transform travel time into quality family time in their “home away from home”?
Jacqueline
Comfort First
Rushford says they’re country people and never imagined they would own a van. But once they bought one, they were glad they did.
“A year ago, we were looking for a new vehicle. We needed something comfortable. We got a van and we love it. We bought the van last June, and we already have 40,000 miles on it.”
A Well-Stocked Vehicle
The Rushfords spend so much time on the road, it’s important for them to have a plan. “We have to have everything we need ready,” says Dena Rushford. “We eat a lot of sandwiches.”
Their van is well-stocked with bottles of water, Chapstick, highlighters, markers, Germex, snacks and everything they need for long road trips.
Reading And Studying
With all the traveling they do, keeping abreast of school work is a challenge, but they make it a priority. Jacqueline and Kimmie do a lot of reading and studying on the road. They are both 4.0 GPA students. Jacqueline was valedictorian of her high school class.
Songs And Games
Connor
The van’s DVD player is used to pass the time in the car, and is especially helpful for Connor. The family likes to listen to music and sing out loud. Their favorite genre is 1980s rock music.
They also play silly car games. “We make it fun,” says Rushford. “[I’ll say,] I’m thinking of an animal that starts with the letter . . .”
Fun Activities And Errands
Rushford tries to find fun activities to do with Connor while Kimmie is at practice. They have a pass to the Zoo of Acadiana in Broussard. Sometimes Rushford will do some grocery shopping to make her time easier later in the week.
Though their schedules don’t allow much time for vacations, they often try to factor in some fun family time when they’re in distant cities. For example, when a track meet took them to Orlando, they spent an extra week there to visit amusement parks.
Well Worth The Effort
No doubt about it — the busy schedules, long days on the road and time away from home can be a challenge. Rushford says sometimes they get behind and bogged down.
Jacqueline and Kimmie
They’ve all made sacrifices to live this lifestyle. The girls have had to give up concerts and dances to be committed to their sports. They can’t always go out with their friends. Kimmie missed her junior prom.
But the family doesn’t see these sacrifices as a burden. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, this family loves being together.
Rushford says, “We realized a long time ago that our family times, although precious, are limited. So we make the most of every moment we have with them. Whether it is quiet time, watching a movie where we are all piled up on the sectional sharing the recliners and covers, reading books, playing DJ on the iPad, long talks, or playing games that only the Rushford family can understand. Our favorite time is having dinner together. This is important to us because it doesn’t matter what state, country or home we’re in, we are all sitting down together and enjoying a good meal and each other’s company.”
Robert and Dena Rushford allow their children to make their own decisions regarding sports and activities. Dena says, “As parents, we have always strived to give our children the opportunity to succeed. We have never pushed our children to play sports; we gave them the option and supported them. We have managed to keep God first in our family while we have chased all these dreams, and couldn’t be prouder of the fact that they have chosen to have a personal relationship with God as they’ve grown.”
Kimmie and Jacqueline appreciate that their parents, who both work full-time, strongly support them in their activities. They realize some parents don’t attend their children’s games, meets and practices — even local events.
Connor
Their father says, “Our anniversary is in July, and I can’t remember the last anniversary where we weren’t at a softball tournament or the Junior Olympics. And that’s fine with us. That’s how we’ve always done things. Our greatest joy as parents is watching our kids compete because it brings them so much joy.”
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