Go V🍊LS!

Evan and Mak were in the student ticket line at 6:30 this morning for the 4:00 tip off. Student tickets are free, but seating is not reserved. For the best seats, you must be first in line. 

By 1:30 the crowd had grown restless and started a food fight.

When the gates opened, it was pure chaos, but they got the coveted seats in the first section next to the tunnel. 

They celebrated in the stands with the players after the big win over Auburn, but Evan said the city could have burned and he would have never known. He was in bed at 7:30 and slept for 14 hours. 

He’s doing it all over again next Saturday when we host Arkansas.

Go Big 🍊!

R⚽️und R⚽️bin

It’s a knee miracle! Keagan felt his dislocated knee was healthy enough to return to play this weekend in the season opening jamboree. It was cold - so very cold - but our team looked good - so very good. There is so much talent - especially in the attacking third - when the starting eleven take the field. My guy is playing in the mid-field and got involved in the attack as well as the defense. He took this style of play right out of Evan’s playbook. 

Keagan played a rather conservative game, and understandably so, but he was instrumental playing the anchor in the midfield. The team had a great performance (three wins and a tie)! 

Antioch 2-0

Overton 1-0

Ravenwood 1-1

Cane Ridge 2-0

I told someone last week I was not looking forward to school ball, but let me amend my comment. This is going to be so much fun to watch! I cannot wait to see how these talented boys play this year. 

Go Hawks!

Weekend of Soccer

Spring soccer means ID camps. We have a list of schools we are hoping to tour and a list of camps Keagan hopes to attend. With two of our showcase tournaments canceled, we feel the pressure to get in front of as many coaches as possible. This weekend marked the first, of hopefully many stops. 

Keagan and I flew to Charlotte for an ID camp. We took the car rental to our first stop, Lenoir Rhyne. Keagan likes this school because it has all of the programs he’s interested in studying, has a soccer program, and 30% of the students are athletes.  The town is small, but it’s very close to the city. These are all pluses in his school selection criteria, but this ID camp is not until April.

Sunday he attended the Wingate ID camp. This town was even smaller than the one we visited on Saturday, but the campus was a little nicer.

He had a great showing until his knee cap popped out of place. We got a chance to spend the rest of camp in the sports medicine facility. Clearly this is not a great start to our big spring plans, but we are trying to roll with it and not give up hope. We have two weeks until the next planned camp.

School Soccer

Today the school soccer team’s roster was released. While it wasn’t a surprise to see his name, it was a surprise to see him so excited for the school season. Our first pre-season game is in one week! 

Go Hawks! 

Forgiveness

A few months ago, our side of the church was labeled “social distancing” side. If you wanted people to stay six feet away due to health reasons or vaccination status, then you sat on our side. We continued to sit in our same pew, not because we were scared of getting Covid, but because we like our space. We don’t share a pew with anyone. In fact, all four of us can stretch out and fill a pew. We do it every week and prefer it that way. I was never more thankful for our social distancing than today. 

This week’s sermon topic was Psalm 51 and the forgiveness of sin. In the middle of the sermon, just as the pastor paused for emphasis, Keagan’s right nostril began to gush blood. While the building was in complete silence, I hear Keagan say, “Oh, $hit!” Wes and Keagan jumped up to make a run for the bathroom. It took a good ten minutes to get it to slow down and then to clean up the bathroom sink. Too embarrassed to return to the sanctuary with toilet paper plugging his nostril, the boys sat in the truck during the invitation and the closing prayer. While they were hidden away in the confines of the bathroom, all I could think is, “Did someone hear that?” I began looking in every direction noting we were safely tucked between senior citizens with (I hope) limited hearing and two rows away on either side. I’ve never been happier to be social distanced. On the off chance they did hear the bad word, I hope they took note of the pastor’s sermon and practiced it on the spot.

Keagan went to school today with a roll of paper towels because everybody knows those brown paper towels in the bathroom aren’t absorbing a darn thing. 

Soccer in the Sunshine State

Keagan played soccer in the sunshine state this weekend, but sadly, we encountered no sunshine. The cold weather followed us from Tennessee to Florida, and I had to kiss good-bye any hope of returning home sun-kissed. However, true to form our weekend of soccer turned into an adventure. This trip included toll roads - expensive toll roads. Keagan knows why they exist; I now know “exact change” means exact coins, and we know we should always take the lane that says “change needed.” It will be a miracle if I don’t get fined this week for stuffing a dollar in the coin filter. Lesson learned.

We played Long Island on Friday and came away with a 2-1 win. We were playing next to lagoons, ponds, and creeks. I had to wonder how many alligators were lurking in the water, and this freaked me out a bit. So I made a concerted effort to look up. This was my view. 

On Saturday we were up early to play Florida. We should have won, but we came up short by a goal after kicking the ball into the hands of their goalie no less than 16 times. 

And today we beat Maryland 3-1 - after the game was delayed due to an ibis on the field. I can’t say that has ever happened to us before. 

The boys met this weekend representing four different teams to play together in the tournament. Keagan didn’t even know all of the players’ names until today, and yet, the boys melded their skills and played great soccer. 

We flew back home today and to the reality of laundry and algebra. Keagan’s knee is swollen, his feet are bleeding, and his muscles are stiff. He’s in recovery mode and will spend the next few days getting caught up with schoolwork. I’m going to pray the Florida Highway department will understand this Tennessee gal had only honest intentions when learning the toll system. 

Wild Side

It’s a school night, and I’m at the Vol and Vandy basketball game. When I got the text from Evan today asking if I wanted to go, I couldn’t say no. It’s my last opportunity to spend time with him before he leaves for school, so this one night, I’m living life on the wild side! Who needs eight hours of sleep? 

We had great seats - even if our heads touched the ceiling. 

The best part? Our team left the court with the win! What a fun game to see! 

Caffeine will be my friend when my alarm goes off at 5:30.