Sports Banquet

Better late than never, I guess. We celebrated the end of the basketball season three months after it ended with dinner and medals. I assure you it was better received in April than it would have been in January. I didn’t feel much like celebrating after winning only two games. Tonight each player was recognized with a personalized medal.

The seventh graders will be leading the team next winter. Someone in the audience mumbled to his table, “Well I hope they grow.” Clearly he didn’t mean for the parents of the “short” kids to hear him. You better believe I didn’t let it pass. I immediately responded, “You do not have to be tall to play basketball.”

Keagan says next season will be his last season to play basketball. He plans to concentrate on playing soccer in highschool. Just like his brother. My heart hurts to hear this, but my life will be so much easier with only one sport schedule to manage.

Easter Sunday

We started our Easter Sunday with the dreaded 15 hour drive back home. I hated missing Easter service this year. Hated it. We did listen to the podcast but it wasn’t quite the same. We arrived in Mount Pleasant just as church was releasing and had brunch with the family. 

He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

God Blessed Texas

Maybe because I had to spend Tuesday relinquishing my Texas residency and establishing Tennessee residency. Maybe because I want to ensure my boys have a strong connection to “home.” Whatever the reason, I subscribe to Texas Monthly, proudly speak with my Texas accent and want my boys to feel Texas is as much of their home as Tennessee. On our way to San Antonio we stopped in Austin to see the Capitol. 

The best part of the trip? Seeing how the interstate was lined with bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. I can’t tell you how much I wanted to get out of the 80 mph car and frolic in the flowers. It’s been more than twenty years since I’ve seen them in bloom. Luckily, I got a picture while standing still. There’s nothing more beautiful than Texas in spring!

I got my authentic Mexican food at Mi Tierra but we also found a new favorite Mexican bakery. My weekend was complete and I hadn’t even seen a basketball player! 

And we experienced the king of gas stations, Buccees! It’s only after this I-35 stop that I think my kids can be officially considered Texans!. 

Final Four

We spent weeks debating how to spend spring break. Iceland? - expired passports; New York? - too expensive to fly; The Ark? - not exciting enough; Chicago? - too cold. Texas? - perfect! We hit the road on Wednesday geared up for the 15 hour road trip to Texas Hill Country to see the NCAA Final Four games!

San Antonio is beautiful in spring! I had two wishes: see bluebonnets and eat Mexican food. I got to check both of them off of my list - and then some!

Our seats were so far up that we couldn’t hear the ref’s whistle and I got dizzy if I stood up too quickly! The seats were scrunched together so tightly that I couldn’t stretch. And Keagan got a headache from all of the noise. But we got to see the final four games! 

We stumbled upon Fan Fest at the convention center prior to the game and debated whether it was worth the ticket price. The smiles in this picture say it was worth it!

The boys got to meet David Robinson of the Spurs!

Then we got lucky and got an autograph from Tony Parker of the Spurs. The guy had spent an hour doing nothing but signing his name - over and over. Keagan put his hand out and offered to shake his hand. It took Tony by surprise, but he obliged.

Now if we had just had phones that could keep a charge so we could take a few pictures with a flash! Although we were hoping for a Cinderella win, Loyola lost in the last few minutes. However, in game two Villanova put on a clinic!

Tonight we get to watch the championship game at home in pajamas, in comfy chairs, and with a perfect view of the court!

Friends, Laughter, and Fun

Two years ago my teacher friends and I all taught in the same school on post. School closures, new assignments, and population shifts have us now separated and working among four different schools on post. We have to make every effort to see each other just to stay in touch. We craft, paint canvases, celebrate birthdays, meet for lunch, and celebrate when professional development brings us together again.

This month we got tickets to see Gerry Brooks in Nashville. We began the day at the Opry Land Hotel with a meet-and-greet and wore our matching shirts. We are teachers, after all.

Next month is the musical “Wicked.” Love these girls!

Hawks Soccer

Highschool  soccer is considered, by travel soccer players anyway, to be sub-soccer (not real soccer). But our travel team decided every boy would play highschool ball this spring. Evan was not convinced this was a good decision; especially since we had heard freshmen at Rossview don’t play varsity. Evan did everything he could to dissuade his teammates from playing school ball. No one listened, and to our great disappointment, Evan was forced to try out for the highschool team.

The second day of tryouts, the boys played tag and Evan swore he wasn’t going back. I made him, though. In team practices, Coach had him playing JV. Evan was still not happy, and I tried to persuade him hard work and great effort can change a silly rule about no freshmen. When the roster was released and it did not delineate JV or Varsity, I again told Evan he could continue to prove himself.

However, in the first three scrimmages he played JV, and we acquiesced that Coach would hold true to his promise that “freshmen won’t play varsity.” 

Thursday night I rushed to Nashville to see the JV game. I knew I would miss kick-off but I did my best to get there in time to see most of the game. I got parked, settled in my seat, wrapped in my blankets just as the whistle blew for half. Then I noticed Evan putting on his winter gear. And I was MAD! You mean I rushed all the way to this God forsaken area of town to sit in the cold and watch someone else’s kids play! Fifteen minutes later Coach motioned to Varsity to begin warm-ups. Imagine my delight when I saw Evan jump up to join them! 

Evan started for Varsity tonight. He played the first half and went to the bench with a score of 3-0. We ended the game in a tie of 4-4. 

This season just got interesting!

Middle School Soccer

The middle school soccer Jamboree was tonight. This means middle school soccer is ready to begin. In true Rossview form, we stepped onto the field having not practiced one time.  It was wicked cold - even before the sun set.

Evan reffed the event and requested the Rossview games. He gave no indication he bleeds red and yellow or that the forward was his brother.

Our coach thinks this season will be great - even if we are a very young team. In fact, we have been dubbed “the only team without any players growing facial hair.” I say bring it; you don’t need facial hair to play soccer! 

Let’s go Hawks!