High School Orientation

This happened tonight. 

Don’t blink because time is a thief. 

I feel like this was just yesterday, and here we are selecting courses for the first year of highschool.

All-Star

We didn’t make it to the finals or even to the consolation game of the district tournament this year, but Keagan was announced as the district all-star representing his middle school. There’s nothing that brings more joy than watching your kid do what they love and do it well. 

We often spend an exhorbiant amount of time in sports concentrating on winning, but winners are defined by loss and their ability to persevere when things don’s go as planned. My heart is full because Keagan handles loss with grace. He rarely points fingers, and if he does, it’s often pointing to himself. When he’s subbed out, he’s the first to cheer when the sub scores. He encourages and uplifts. He’s definitely an all-star. 

So while I’m yelling at the 5 when he fumbles the ball and gets it stripped, when I’m “questioning” (screaming at)  the coach for not pressing when we are down by three, and when I cuss at a loss, Keagan is always above that. Well-deserved Baby Boy. Well-deserved! 

He told me last night that he hoped his name would be announced. He said he had set a goal for himself when Evan was named two years ago. He said, “I’ve worked a long time for this, Mom, so my name better be announced.” His name was the last - the very last - to be announced. 

The All-Star game is next. 

Gotcha Day

Today marks one full year with Ryker, the million dollar mutt. His year in pictures. 

I don’t have any pictures of the chewed Direct TV cables, the destroyed patio furniture, the books he chewed up, the eye glasses he ate, or the Knick knacks that he broke. I do have vet bills and a traumatized cat. 

It’s a good thing he’s cute. 

It Was Over Too Soon

And just like that our season is over. We were defeated in the first round of playoffs by a team we have beaten twice this year. I thought for sure another losing season would mean Keagan would decide to play soccer exclusively, but he’s told everybody he plans to play high school basketball next year.

Three years ago an agility trainer told me Keagan was a much stronger basketball player than soccer. He told me he was more comfortable with a basketball in his hands than a soccer ball at his feet. I thought he was crazy. Last night, we went to a girls’ game and a stranger from an opposing team approached me to tell me how great of a ball player Keagan is. She said, “Please tell me I get to see him play with the high school team next year.”  

This decision saddens me and excites me at the same time. AAU tryouts are next month. We are still driving to Nashville but now for basketball instead of soccer. I can't say that I am surprised at all with his decision. It just seems so ironic to me that my big kid with natural talent in basketball chose soccer, and my smaller, more agile kid with a natural talent in soccer chose basketball. 

The above picture speaks volumes about our year. I told Keagan today that if he planned to play beyond middle school, then he had to abstain from "coaching" his teammates. There is no room for coaching a team when you are playing for someone that knows what they are doing. I told him he needed to work on his game and not the game plan. I'm not sure he agreed with me, but he agreed to at least consider my advice. Please, Lord, let him find a coach that will in fact coach.

Winter Ball

I still can't record any plays or games to save my life. This is the best I got and doesn't come close to capturing Keagan's reverse EuroStep that ended in a bucket and a win, his three pointer shot at the buzzer, his reverse layup, or his multiple assists to the guys down low. But I hope I can use this video to always remember how smooth he is with dribbling the ball. He is meant to play PG.

Tonight's win of 52-17 makes three wins in a row. It's too hard to think about the possibility of actually winning four in a row!

Family Fun Day

After church today we played a couple of games of Top Golf. Thanks, Nonnie, for the gift card! Keagan is horrible at golf. Evan is only slightly better. The family next to us had a 10 year old that was swinging her club like a pro, and Keagan said, “Look at that! This makes me rethink my athletic ability.”

With our gift card, we were able to play, eat lunch, AND order dessert. Keagan ordered injectionable doughnut holes. 

Evan said it looked like we were using heroin and refused to taste the ymminess. He was clearly wrong; they were everything you would want with a dessert.

On our way home, Keagan asked a burning question? “When did we change the pronunciation of Israel?” Crickets. No one knew what he meant. So he explained. “Pastor Larry always talks about people in BC times and says /Is-ra-el/, but we just say /Is-reel/. When did the name change?”

Evan:  “Are you serious?”

Keagan: “Very.”

We died. Just died. I take comfort knowing  he’s at least listening to the sermons.