Happy Halloween

Halloween this year, like every year, was full of soccer for us. Evan and I started the day with an early drive to Jackson for Evan’s regional soccer game. We won 4-2.

 

Later that evening Evan, Makinley, and I went to the NSC game in Nashville. 

Keagan, Madi, and friends went to Nashville for a haunted house. 

On Sunday Evan and I drove to Huntsville for another regional game. We won 8-1. 

Long gone are the days of trick -or-treating, but the boys did get a bag full of treats. Evan ate so many of his Sour Patch kids, that his tongue is now peeling. 🤷‍♀️

Accepted x3

This is so exciting. Acceptance letter #3 from UAB arrived today. They must have finally conceded Evan is an American citizen after all. We went round and round for a full month trying to prove residency and citizenship because he was born in Germany. 

Fall Fun

Once in a blue moon we find something to do in fall that is not soccer. This afternoon Keagan, Madi, and I went to the local pumpkin patch and corn maze. The timing was perfect. It was a work day for me so I got to leave work early, for the first time since a Monday it wasn’t raining and the sun was shining, and scheduled gym floor repairs canceled the basketball scrimmage. 

We called Evan and asked him to meet us there. His reply: “Why would I do that?”

Accepted x2

This came in today’s mail: a college acceptance letter to Belmont University in Nashville.

And Evan’s ACT score from the October test went up another two points! Today is a great day!

Accepted

Evan received some great news today. In his email this afternoon, he found his first college letter of acceptance! 

He was accepted to Union University in Jackson, TN. The next few months will be super exciting for him as he tries to decide his next steps with his future plans.

It Was a Long Wait

Keagan has waited years for this weekend’s game against his old club. Two years ago he was playing up and didn’t get to play any 04 teams. Last year his OCD in his left knee had just been diagnosed, and he was on six weeks of rest. He has waited all of this season to play this game. This game is all that has mattered to him since tryouts in June. 

We won 2-0. And for the cherry on top, Keagan was awarded the assist for both goals! 

Undefeated

Tonight’s 6-1 win in Farragut gets us one step closer to the D1 Tennessee State League Tournament and championship. We are undefeated in State League and will take the second seed in the tournament. 

Coming Home

I arrived home today after a long week at work to this:

a line of cars and trucks parked all in my grass. I could have been upset at the damage all of those tires were doing to my grass. Then I saw my driveway filled with teen boys playing a pick up game of basketball. I smiled instead. 

Soccer Highlights

For the last 13 years Evan has played organized sports. Thirteen years of countless games and tournaments, hours upon hours of commutes to practices, victories that gave us the greatest of joys, losses that brought heartache and disappointment, and injuries that taught us perseverance and hard work. I didn’t know one thing about soccer when I signed him up at the age of four. I didn’t even know how he was to wear his shin guards. 

But he loved the game and loved to compete, and we never looked back. Here we are in his senior year and I’m just comprehending this might be his last year to play organized soccer. It saddens me in ways that words can not accurately convey. I’m trying to soak up every highlight of this last travel season. Here are two of my favorites from Thursday night’s game. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=SgMiXOW-8wo

https://youtu.be/lFclMB3es-8

HoCo DIY Version

Tonight was Evan’s turn to attend homecoming festivities. He and his girlfriend Makinley celebrated in Nashville by having dinner with friends. The kids planned pictures on the pedestrian bridge, dinner at a restaurant near the river, and an after party in Clarksville. Finding a date she didn’t have to cheer and he didn’t have a soccer game almost proved too much, but when a date was finally chosen, the kids put it all together. True to our day and time three people canceled at the last minute after one student tested positive for Covid, and the others had direct contact. 

I’m so happy that there is some normalcy to this school year - especially with it being Evan’s senior year - even if it requires a bit of work on our part. I bought Evan new clothes and shoes, scheduled a haircut, had the Jeep detailed, paid to have the pants altered, and was sure to order a corsage. All of this for a couple of hours of fun, but this last pic says it was all worth it. 

It’s Football Sunday

The wings are in the oven. The pasta salad is cooling in the fridge. The TVs have been moved to the living room. The chips and dip are out. We are ready for football Sunday. Let’s go Cowboys!

HoCo

Due to Covid, there was no formal school sponsored homecoming dance this year. The students created their own events. Madi and her friends coordinated tonight’s pictures and dinner.

We were at the mall Friday night scrambling to find a bow tie to match a green dress after Madi’s pink dress experienced shipping delays caused by Covid. Keagan selected a floral tie with green accents. While we were there, we picked up some socks. Who doesn’t need elephant socks one month before the election? 

Keagan loves to dress up, but he was not looking forward to the night. His guy friends weren’t going, and he can only take so much small talk with people who don’t play sports. He would have been happier just hangin’ out with Madi.

The group met downtown for pics. 

And just as the sun began to set, they headed to the restaurant for dinner. 

At 10:30, he was at his guy friend’s house ready for the real fun - a night of down time and video games.