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!

Tornado

It’s Saturday night. We had two events to attend, and at the last minute Evan and I decided to not go to either. It had started to rain and the winds were picking up. We decided it was a good night to stay home. I got in my pajamas and grabbed a book. The boys decided to head to the neighbor’s to jump on the trampoline in the rain.

Then the weather alert on our phones sounded. Thunderstorm warning. We turned on the news to see that the forecasters were tracking bad weather very near us. The boys walked in the front door just as our phones sounded again. Tornado warning. We grabbed the puppy and headed for cover. The windows rattled hard and then the unmistakeable sound of a freight train. We knew then a tornado was over us. 60-90 seconds and it was over. Just like that. 

The next few hours were filled with alarms, sirens, gas leaks, dripping roof, wet floors, police officers, reporters, and chaos. It wasn’t until the next morning that we could see the extent to which the tornado damaged our neighborhood.

The following Sunday hundreds of people unloaded buses looking to help. Neighbors we had never met were helping strangers clean the debris. Restaurants were donating food. A church was passing out tarps to cover the holes in our roofs. The local sanitation company sent dumpsters to help with clean up efforts. A local builder sent tractors to help remove the rubble. The Red Cross was offering assistance to those displaced. It was community exemplified like I have never seen. 

We are lucky. Our house still stands. We get to sleep in our own beds tonight. We have lost nothing but gutters. We might have buckets in the entry way to catch the rain water, but it could have been so much worse.

Ryker

Ryker may be the cutest dog ever, but I don’t yet love him. He’s wild. 

He’s teething. He jumps on me. He licks the dishwasher, the floor, the cabinets, my legs. He doesn’t like his leash. He bites. He chases the cat. He prefers to sit on the couch. He cries when he’s outside. He bites. He likes to sit in front of the stove when I’m cooking dinner. He barks at the bird feeders. Did I mention he bites?

I’m sure I will love him in about two more years when he’s too old to jump and too fat to chase the cat. 

Two more years.

That’s all.

Basketball

Evan claims his basketball career has ended. Friday night’s game was his last of the season and the last of his school career.   

Had I known that Friday night, I would have surely taken my camera. Instead, all I have are pics I have pulled from other sites. 

He has decided to play soccer exclusively. With our travel soccer team winning state, our opportunities to travel farther and play more have become more demanding. He just can’t play both and play both well when the seasons overlap. This was a tough decision for him and I’m still hoping that next fall he will some how be able to swing playing both. It saddens me he is unable to play both, and it saddens me that boys are forced to play one sport at such an early age.

Weekend Sports Update

Basketball season came to a close today for Keagan’s middle school team. They lost in round one of the district playoffs. I’m not sure I want to commemorate a losing season, but one day the losses will mean nothing and we will remember middle school basketball with fondness.

At least seeing the boys dressed like this on game days will be remembered with fondness.

We only won three games the entire season, so losing by six to the second seed was actually quite the accomplishment. Keagan assured me next year is the year. He said that this year, though, too.

He won’t let anyone forget he started as a seventh grader and was the only seventh grader to get any playing time in varsity games. 

Meanwhile, Evan and I were in Atlanta for a soccer showcase tournament. We had the privilege of playing at a complex that can best be described as the Mecca of Soccer Complexes. We played some fairly good teams, and we still came home with two wins. I might also mention it was cold - especially when you arrive at the fields prior to the sunrise.

We also ran into some of our soccer friends from Georgia. Catching up with friends, and soccer friends at that, always makes for a great weekend!