Internship

This summer Evan is shadowing therapists at the hospital in the PT department. He needed 40 hours in an inpatient setting for future PT school applications. A friend of mine facilitated the connections to make it happen. Today she ran into Evan on the PT floor. 

Today he found out he got his first real job - he will be in Knox at a hospital working as a medical scribe. He has two weeks of training and shadowing before he is left on his own. One more box checked on his PT school apps. 

End of It All

Just like that we wrapped up an almost twenty year stint in youth soccer. 

We came up short in today’s semi-final game 0-1 against a very good Florida team. 

The long nights driving hours to training, the weekends spent at tournaments in all kinds of weather, dinners eaten in the car on the road, the injuries (more than our fair share), the politics that accompanies youth sports, the good coaches, the great coaches. We will miss it all - the good and the bad!

But I can’t wait for the next chapter. 

Day #3 Group Stage

We made it out of the group stage undefeated after beating Alabama today 3-1. Their one goal was questioned by the entire back line for being off-sides, but the line ref said, “I’m pretty sure it was on.” That wasn’t the definitive answer we expected. The win means we continue to play and move to the semi-final game on Tuesday. 👏⚽️🎉

My parents drove from Texas to watch the group stage and to deliver chocolate chip cookies. Since the boys were young, Mom has brought the cookies to every tournament. They are now considered good luck. Their SUV has more miles on it from soccer trips than some parents!

Keagan played right back and center back in this game. He had a clearance in the second half and pretty good 1:1 defending on the sidelines. He’s a calm presence and composed player. 

After naps, we headed into New Orleans. The consensus is downtown New Orleans is overrated. 

But don’t we look cute?





It smells. It’s hot. There’s a homeless crisis. Crazy people on every corner. Charlatans line the streets. But the food! 

Day #2 of Pool Play

We watched the sunrise again today at our early morning regional game. We came away with the victory beating Little Rock 5-0.  Keagan played right back, left back, and center back today. 

After naps, we headed to the LSU campus to grab lunch and tour the stadium. 

We had free reign of the stadium, the meeting rooms, and player areas. 

We found Mike! He’s literally in a zoo-like enclosure on campus.

Tomorrow we take on Alabama at sunrise. 

Regional Tournament - Pool Play

Today we kicked off the long awaited regional tournament in Baton Rouge. It’s true love when I start my day with a 0500 alarm and have to be on the field by 0600. We watched the sun rise as the boys warmed up. 

Keagan played right back in both halves. 

We beat Texas Solar, the #9 ranked team in the nation, 4-0. I don’t think the North Texas conference winner  knew what was coming for them. 

After naps, we drove into New Orleans to tour the World War II museum. 

No trip to southern Louisiana is complete without a po-boy.

Tomorrow we play Arkansas at sunrise. 

All County

The last high school accolade - All County first team. 

https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/clarksville/2023-all-montgomery-county-boys-soccer-team/

Birthday Celebration

Wes and Vikki had the day off, Keagan’s training session got rained out, and Evan was home from his internship by 1:00, so we headed to Nashville to celebrate Vikki’s birthday with dinner on the Cumberland. 

Summer has been so good to me! I just need it to slow down. 

How is this possible?

Evan was gifted some cash, and I thought for sure it would go towards beer, gas money, or fishing tackle. After he came home from college last month with no brown dress shoes, only one sneaker, no sheets, a lacrosse championship t-shirt (he’s never swung a stick), and pants too small for even Keagan to wear, I’ve begun to wonder what really happens in that dorm room. Organization is not is middle name. 

He only has black shoes to wear to his internship and can’t wear his brown pants because the brown shoes are MIA, but he used his cash to buy this.

Plan ahead IS his middle name. 

I saw this book and thought how is this possible? I mean we just survived the first semester of college, right? Now we are navigating grad school. His goal is to take the GRE for the first time next summer - six months before he graduates. 

College graduation? Grad school? I’m still stuck in first grade. 

My View

I promised myself as soon as graduation was over I’d spend two weeks doing as little as possible. I’m following through with my promise to self. 

This has been my view every day this week. 

This has been my sidekick. 

I bet I can do it again next week, too.