Sleeping arrangements
We have a 4 bedroom house. Mimi and I get one, and the other three go for the kids. For the longest time Denis and Tara have shared a room. The reason behind this is they're the best sleepers. They both go to bed easily, and they both sleep long and deep. So matching them seemed a smart idea. That left Liam with his own room (the smallest one) and Seamus with his own (the largest one, previously the nursery).
Denis finally started making noise about having his own room about a year ago. I didn't pay any attention - they always need something to complain about! But after he mentioned it a few times I figured it was time. He is the oldest, and he's shared a room for 6 years. And Tara's the only girl, so presumably at some point she's going to need her own space.
So I made the case to Mimi that Liam and Seamus should bunk together (Liam actually has a bunk bed in his room!) and Denis and Tara should get their own places. Resistant to change as always she initially said no, but eventually she saw the light and agreed.
Step one was testing out the new arrangement. I mean, could Liam and Seamus, our two, um, 'active' kids co-exist in the same room? That was far from guaranteed! So we moved Seamus into Liam's room to give it a shot.
We were pleasantly surprised when it seemed to work pretty well. Liam really does love being an older brother, and Seamus is a pretty social boy. So putting them in together far exceeded our expectations.
The next step was moving Tara into her own space. We were still a bit tentative, just testing it out. So instead of making the big move (putting bunk bed and furniture into the large room) I just moved Tara to the old nursery. She seemed happy about it, and took to the new room right away.
Tara goes to bed earliest, and she was immediately asleep in her new room. An hour later it was time for Denis to go to bed. So he went back to his old room and laid down to sleep. Only he didn't sleep. About 30 minutes later a sheepish-looking Denis appeared in front of me.
"I'm lonely" he said. This was new. He's never voiced that concept before. "Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?" I asked. "No." I was initially confused, but then it came to me. "Do you want me to move Tara back into your room?" "Yes."
I just about cried.
I mean, the kid never ones says a word about Tara. Nothing good or bad. Most times it's like she's not even there. But I guess there is some love there.
So I went into her new room, picked her up (yikes she's getting heavy!) and brought her into her bed in their old room. And they slept like they always do.
The next night again Tara went to sleep in the nursery, and again Denis asked for her to be moved. Finally on the third night I just put her back in the old room (I was getting tired of hauling her around!) And that's where they've stayed since.
It's been about 5 months since the initial move and return. And finally just yesterday Denis asked about having his own room.
You'll excuse me if I don't rearrange the furniture just yet.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Now *that's* a good boy!
I came home from work last night totally beat. The combination of a win in the competitive VB tournament, a late-night bar celebration, and an early morning phone call with my global team was a trifecta I didn't just bounce back from. So by the time I got back from a full day at work I was asleep on my feet.
To cap it off, Mimi was at a work dinner, so it was up to me to feed the monsters. Like any good dad in this situation I called for a pizza! Once my family obligations were out of the way I headed for my lazy-boy. Liam asked me if we could play pool. I felt guilty, but I said no. I was too tired (I'll make it up to him today).
I grabbed the remote and flipped on some women's college VB.
At this point Denis piped up. I expected some kind of request. Can I do this? Can I get your help with that. Something that would require me either saying no or moving (and the smart money would be on saying no).
But it wasn't that kind of request at all. What he did say was "Dad - can I get you a beer?"
He has never made that offer before. But he knew I was beat, and that I just wanted to kick back and relax. And he knows when I'm just done and relaxing that often (well, occasionally) I'll grab a beer. I didn't really want one at that point, but how could I turn that offer down? That unsolicited offer. I couldn't.
"Thanks Denis. Yes, please."
And somehow it just tasted better than normal.
I came home from work last night totally beat. The combination of a win in the competitive VB tournament, a late-night bar celebration, and an early morning phone call with my global team was a trifecta I didn't just bounce back from. So by the time I got back from a full day at work I was asleep on my feet.
To cap it off, Mimi was at a work dinner, so it was up to me to feed the monsters. Like any good dad in this situation I called for a pizza! Once my family obligations were out of the way I headed for my lazy-boy. Liam asked me if we could play pool. I felt guilty, but I said no. I was too tired (I'll make it up to him today).
I grabbed the remote and flipped on some women's college VB.
At this point Denis piped up. I expected some kind of request. Can I do this? Can I get your help with that. Something that would require me either saying no or moving (and the smart money would be on saying no).
But it wasn't that kind of request at all. What he did say was "Dad - can I get you a beer?"
He has never made that offer before. But he knew I was beat, and that I just wanted to kick back and relax. And he knows when I'm just done and relaxing that often (well, occasionally) I'll grab a beer. I didn't really want one at that point, but how could I turn that offer down? That unsolicited offer. I couldn't.
"Thanks Denis. Yes, please."
And somehow it just tasted better than normal.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Liam's team has had quite a run this season, but the season came to a close Saturday afternoon. As most of you know, they made it to the state tournament. Something like 40 teams qualified for the tournament. They had one game last week, then up to 4 games this weekend.
I still can't understand why last week's team didn't show for the game. That's a little crazy. To qualify then not show up. I'm thinking the coach got the game time wrong. Oh man he must be getting some kind of hate form the parents on that squad! I am glad I'm not in his shoes!
In any case, Liam's team made it to week two. You'll also recall that right before the forfeit game Liam sprained his ankle. He was so thrilled when they won; thinking that for sure he'd be healed by the time the next weekend came around. I'll save the suspense. It wasn't. When Saturday came he was still wrapped up. He was off his crutches, but was limping noticeably. He was so sad.
But if he was sad the rest of his team was crushed. They were sure they'd have him back. And they're no dummies. They know who the top players are. And when they found out he wasn't going to be able to go there were some long faces.
The sad faces were nicely matched by the weather. The weekend dawned cold and rainy. Essentially the worst possible weather. I actually prefer 28 and snow to 37 and rain. But no, I got the latter. It's sometimes worth it to sit in that weather and see your child do well. But when your son isn't even playing? That's no fun!
And yet there we were. Liam cheering on his team, me just taking up space, on a cold and windy Saturday.
Their first game was at 11:45. We got there about 11:35. Plenty of time! I got a parking space in front of the field they played at the previous week and sat and waited. When I didn't see them I called the coach's wife to ask if we were on the right field. No answer. I started to convince myself that game time was 12:45, and that I had gotten us there early for warm-up time. But then that didn't work either as there were no other kids from Liam's team warming up. Hmmm. I called the coach's wife again - and this time I got an answer. Yup - it is 11:45. But a different field. Damn! Well at least Liam wasn't playing! He would have killed me.
We finally got there towards the end of the 3rd period. There was no score. So I stood in the rain and watched as Liam tried to motivate his team. The 4th period started, and while his team had some great chances they couldn't convert them. And so the game ended in a 0-0 tie. But of course it didn't *end* like that. It couldn't. Someone had to go on. So they went on to penalty shots.
They grabbed 5 kids from each team and each of them, alternating by team, got a chance to convert a penalty kick. Our first one missed high. Then theirs missed too. Our next one missed, but they scored. 0-1. We both missed on the next round. The 4th round we scored and they didn't. 1-1. The 5th and final round we missed, and then our goalie made an amazing stop on a great shot. So we again tied, 1-1.
But of course it can't end on that. So they got the next 3 players from each team (they only play with 9 on the field, and they take all of the non-goalie player into penalty kicks, so that leaves 8, which they split up 5 and 3). So they get the next 3 and try it again. And again we get behind, but again pull even (but not ahead). So once more it ends 1-1. And the game isn't over yet.
So we go to a third round of kicks, with the original 5 players. This time we got off to the fast start. We got up 1-0. Then two misses. And then 2-1 in round 3. From there neither team scored and we won! Oh joy! So now I can't go home and instead have to come back for another 90 minutes in the rain. Lovely. On the other hand the kids were ecstatic, and it's impossible to be grumpy in that situation.
So Liam and I ran off to get some lunch. As we walked in to Wendy's I noticed my blue jeans. They were a nice pale blue in front, and a lovely dark blue in the back. Now I didn’t recall buying them two-toned. So I looked again and realized that the entire back on my pants were soaking wet. Ugh. Not comfortable. At this point I vowed to take a nice long bath when I got home. I told Liam and he looked at me incredulously. At his age baths are still a form of punishment for having too much fun. So he can't imagine someone taking one of purpose. But I was already picturing it. I finally smiled.
We got our lunch and got back to the fields. Liam had only brought a light jacket, and I happened to have an extra in the car, so I gave it to him to wear. And as chance would have it the jacket he got was my old HS letter jacket! The one with State Champs written across the front. He looked at it and thought it was a good sign. Several of his teammates commented on it. Liam told them that his dad's team won their state championship. "In soccer?" they asked. You could see them picturing me as a 9 year old dribbling up the field! Too funny. No, Liam said, some kind of running. Oh well, I guess my 25 year old exploits have somehow failed to impress the next generation.
Liam's team was now in the top 8 in the state. Pretty impressive, especially since they were missing their #2 player and best defender. They started the next game, and early on in the 1st period got behind one goal. I could see Liam seethe. I knew he was thinking that if he had been in they wouldn't have scored. And he was probably right! But he wasn't in, and they did score.
The rest of the game was a slug-fest. A few opportunities on both side, but no more goals. Eventually they lost 1-0. There were sad faces, and some tears (including Liam), but the parents were thrilled. And not just because they didn't have to come back to these cursed field the next day! They were amazed that there little boys had gone so far and done so well. There was a lot of pride there, even in a loss.
And I am certain they'll be back next year. All I have to do is keep Liam healthy! Wish me luck!
I still can't understand why last week's team didn't show for the game. That's a little crazy. To qualify then not show up. I'm thinking the coach got the game time wrong. Oh man he must be getting some kind of hate form the parents on that squad! I am glad I'm not in his shoes!
In any case, Liam's team made it to week two. You'll also recall that right before the forfeit game Liam sprained his ankle. He was so thrilled when they won; thinking that for sure he'd be healed by the time the next weekend came around. I'll save the suspense. It wasn't. When Saturday came he was still wrapped up. He was off his crutches, but was limping noticeably. He was so sad.
But if he was sad the rest of his team was crushed. They were sure they'd have him back. And they're no dummies. They know who the top players are. And when they found out he wasn't going to be able to go there were some long faces.
The sad faces were nicely matched by the weather. The weekend dawned cold and rainy. Essentially the worst possible weather. I actually prefer 28 and snow to 37 and rain. But no, I got the latter. It's sometimes worth it to sit in that weather and see your child do well. But when your son isn't even playing? That's no fun!
And yet there we were. Liam cheering on his team, me just taking up space, on a cold and windy Saturday.
Their first game was at 11:45. We got there about 11:35. Plenty of time! I got a parking space in front of the field they played at the previous week and sat and waited. When I didn't see them I called the coach's wife to ask if we were on the right field. No answer. I started to convince myself that game time was 12:45, and that I had gotten us there early for warm-up time. But then that didn't work either as there were no other kids from Liam's team warming up. Hmmm. I called the coach's wife again - and this time I got an answer. Yup - it is 11:45. But a different field. Damn! Well at least Liam wasn't playing! He would have killed me.
We finally got there towards the end of the 3rd period. There was no score. So I stood in the rain and watched as Liam tried to motivate his team. The 4th period started, and while his team had some great chances they couldn't convert them. And so the game ended in a 0-0 tie. But of course it didn't *end* like that. It couldn't. Someone had to go on. So they went on to penalty shots.
They grabbed 5 kids from each team and each of them, alternating by team, got a chance to convert a penalty kick. Our first one missed high. Then theirs missed too. Our next one missed, but they scored. 0-1. We both missed on the next round. The 4th round we scored and they didn't. 1-1. The 5th and final round we missed, and then our goalie made an amazing stop on a great shot. So we again tied, 1-1.
But of course it can't end on that. So they got the next 3 players from each team (they only play with 9 on the field, and they take all of the non-goalie player into penalty kicks, so that leaves 8, which they split up 5 and 3). So they get the next 3 and try it again. And again we get behind, but again pull even (but not ahead). So once more it ends 1-1. And the game isn't over yet.
So we go to a third round of kicks, with the original 5 players. This time we got off to the fast start. We got up 1-0. Then two misses. And then 2-1 in round 3. From there neither team scored and we won! Oh joy! So now I can't go home and instead have to come back for another 90 minutes in the rain. Lovely. On the other hand the kids were ecstatic, and it's impossible to be grumpy in that situation.
So Liam and I ran off to get some lunch. As we walked in to Wendy's I noticed my blue jeans. They were a nice pale blue in front, and a lovely dark blue in the back. Now I didn’t recall buying them two-toned. So I looked again and realized that the entire back on my pants were soaking wet. Ugh. Not comfortable. At this point I vowed to take a nice long bath when I got home. I told Liam and he looked at me incredulously. At his age baths are still a form of punishment for having too much fun. So he can't imagine someone taking one of purpose. But I was already picturing it. I finally smiled.
We got our lunch and got back to the fields. Liam had only brought a light jacket, and I happened to have an extra in the car, so I gave it to him to wear. And as chance would have it the jacket he got was my old HS letter jacket! The one with State Champs written across the front. He looked at it and thought it was a good sign. Several of his teammates commented on it. Liam told them that his dad's team won their state championship. "In soccer?" they asked. You could see them picturing me as a 9 year old dribbling up the field! Too funny. No, Liam said, some kind of running. Oh well, I guess my 25 year old exploits have somehow failed to impress the next generation.
Liam's team was now in the top 8 in the state. Pretty impressive, especially since they were missing their #2 player and best defender. They started the next game, and early on in the 1st period got behind one goal. I could see Liam seethe. I knew he was thinking that if he had been in they wouldn't have scored. And he was probably right! But he wasn't in, and they did score.
The rest of the game was a slug-fest. A few opportunities on both side, but no more goals. Eventually they lost 1-0. There were sad faces, and some tears (including Liam), but the parents were thrilled. And not just because they didn't have to come back to these cursed field the next day! They were amazed that there little boys had gone so far and done so well. There was a lot of pride there, even in a loss.
And I am certain they'll be back next year. All I have to do is keep Liam healthy! Wish me luck!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Seamus the 5-year-old soccer god
I just wanted to take a minute to recap Seamus' soccer season. As you know from my note back in July. Seamus had an amazing year on the field. I think it is safe to say that every parent of a 4-6 year old child who plays soccer now knows who Seamus is. And mostly for good reasons.
His team didn't lose a game all season. I think they played 10 times. They scored something like 60 goals in total. Pretty good for only 10 games.
Oh yeah, and Seamus scored over 50 of the 60 goals.
His coach came over the other night to drop off his and Tara's trophies. While he was there we reminisced about the season. He was telling me a story about the last game. It's a very relaxed league, and the coaches work together to make sure everyone has a good time. So at one point, after Seamus had scored his normal 4 goals in a single quarter, his coach put him in goal. And naturally as soon as he went in there the other team couldn't find the net. Finally the opposing coach asked our coach to pull Seamus from goal so his kids would have a chance to score. Our coach answered, sure, but where can I put him? If I put him on defense your kids won't get near the goal. And if I put him on offense your kids won't see the ball. And I have to let him play - he's already sat out a full quarter! So he stayed in goal. And the other team didn't score.
Just last night Seamus was talking about the season. And when it came to the overall results he said "I won every game." But Seamus, don't you mean your team won every game? "No." he said "I won them." I wanted to say he was a part of a team, that he can't win without his teammates, etc. And some day that will be true. But for today the honest truth is that he probably would go undefeated as a 1-man team. Crazy!
This is his last season of instructional play (thank goodness). I am very interested to see what he does on the bigger fields with the bigger kids. You can bet I'll be bringing my camera!
I just wanted to take a minute to recap Seamus' soccer season. As you know from my note back in July. Seamus had an amazing year on the field. I think it is safe to say that every parent of a 4-6 year old child who plays soccer now knows who Seamus is. And mostly for good reasons.
His team didn't lose a game all season. I think they played 10 times. They scored something like 60 goals in total. Pretty good for only 10 games.
Oh yeah, and Seamus scored over 50 of the 60 goals.
His coach came over the other night to drop off his and Tara's trophies. While he was there we reminisced about the season. He was telling me a story about the last game. It's a very relaxed league, and the coaches work together to make sure everyone has a good time. So at one point, after Seamus had scored his normal 4 goals in a single quarter, his coach put him in goal. And naturally as soon as he went in there the other team couldn't find the net. Finally the opposing coach asked our coach to pull Seamus from goal so his kids would have a chance to score. Our coach answered, sure, but where can I put him? If I put him on defense your kids won't get near the goal. And if I put him on offense your kids won't see the ball. And I have to let him play - he's already sat out a full quarter! So he stayed in goal. And the other team didn't score.
Just last night Seamus was talking about the season. And when it came to the overall results he said "I won every game." But Seamus, don't you mean your team won every game? "No." he said "I won them." I wanted to say he was a part of a team, that he can't win without his teammates, etc. And some day that will be true. But for today the honest truth is that he probably would go undefeated as a 1-man team. Crazy!
This is his last season of instructional play (thank goodness). I am very interested to see what he does on the bigger fields with the bigger kids. You can bet I'll be bringing my camera!
Sunday, November 09, 2008
It's Fall.
The way you can tell this is that it's impossible to see the lawn any more for the carpet of leaves covering it.
This does not bother me. You see, I've got a fairly large yard. So I have one of those riding lawn mowers to cut the grass. And a few years back, my old college roommate Chris Brown (aka CB, aka Cool Breeze), who had a lawn service company at the time, gave me an amazing tip. "Just put the bagging attachment onto your tractor" he said. "It'll suck the leaves up like a vacuum." Best lawn care advice I ever got! On top of bringing up all the leaves it also mulches them, so they take less space. What a deal!
I've been doing this for the last 5 years and I love it. It takes what used to be an incredibly tedious job and makes it just another day mowing the lawn.
Well it was Saturday, and the leaves were out there waiting, so I prepared to go vacuum the lawn.
As I was getting my clothes together little Seamus came up. He was very excited! "Dad!!" He said. "The lawn is covered in leaves" [I knew that part] "Let's make a leaf pile we can jump in!"
Damn!
What do you say to your 5 year old? "Sorry son - I've found a much more efficient way of dealing with the leaves that doesn't result in leaf piles"? Not that I wasn't tempted. But I just couldn't do it.
So instead of riding on the tractor for 45 minutes I spent 2 hours raking leaves so the kids could jump in them for 3 minutes.
And it was worth it.
Go figure.
The way you can tell this is that it's impossible to see the lawn any more for the carpet of leaves covering it.
This does not bother me. You see, I've got a fairly large yard. So I have one of those riding lawn mowers to cut the grass. And a few years back, my old college roommate Chris Brown (aka CB, aka Cool Breeze), who had a lawn service company at the time, gave me an amazing tip. "Just put the bagging attachment onto your tractor" he said. "It'll suck the leaves up like a vacuum." Best lawn care advice I ever got! On top of bringing up all the leaves it also mulches them, so they take less space. What a deal!
I've been doing this for the last 5 years and I love it. It takes what used to be an incredibly tedious job and makes it just another day mowing the lawn.
Well it was Saturday, and the leaves were out there waiting, so I prepared to go vacuum the lawn.
As I was getting my clothes together little Seamus came up. He was very excited! "Dad!!" He said. "The lawn is covered in leaves" [I knew that part] "Let's make a leaf pile we can jump in!"
Damn!
What do you say to your 5 year old? "Sorry son - I've found a much more efficient way of dealing with the leaves that doesn't result in leaf piles"? Not that I wasn't tempted. But I just couldn't do it.
So instead of riding on the tractor for 45 minutes I spent 2 hours raking leaves so the kids could jump in them for 3 minutes.
And it was worth it.
Go figure.
Liam's continued soccer success
Liam has had another great season of soccer. His team has again done extremely well. They actually had a loss this time around in league play. They lost 4-2 to St. Mike's. But they didn't have their top goal scorer and they had their weakest goalie in the net. So they were caught on a less that stellar day and lost.
They got to play St. Mike's again in the finals of the league tournament. This was a high stakes game. The winner would go on to the state tournament. Liam's team was totally fired up. And they struck quickly and decisively, scoring fast to go up with a 3-0 lead. They did allow some goals, but finished the game 4-2.
Which meant that they were on to the state tourney.
They made it last year as well. But the weather was terrible. They had one game called for weather. Another one delayed then finally cancelled. When the second week came around they finally got the chance to play and lost to the previous year's tournament champion. They had higher hopes for this year.
Yesterday was Saturday, and their first game was today, Sunday. Liam was playing in the yard with the neighbor boy. They were climbing trees, running around, the usual boy stuff. I was raking leaves. Eventually Seamus came up and told me that Liam was hurt.
Kids at that age simply haven't developed the gift of understanding severity. "Liam is hurt" could mean anything from he has a scratch on his cheek to his legs are no longer attached to his body. And I have a policy of not overreacting when the kids get hurt. I think they take their cues on concern from their parents. And when the parents freak out they do as well. So I don't freak out. In this case I didn't even stop raking leaves!
Eventually I see Liam hopping in my direction. Oh shit. My first thought is of the game today. He is not looking good.
He makes it to me and I ask him what happened. His answer is the same as always - a distracted "What?" like I had awakened him from a nap. Um, you can't walk, you hopped to me on one leg, what the hell do you expect me to ask you?
Well he was chasing his buddy, who ran down the patio stairs of the neighbor's house, slipped, fell, and rolled his ankle. Not good.
I got him inside and took a look at it. It was already huge! Really not good. I immediately put ice on it. I left the ice on for 30 minutes, and then compressed it in an ACE wrap. Later in the evening we iced it again.
Around bedtime I asked him how it felt. He still couldn't even put weight on it. It was then that it finally struck him - there was no way he was going to be able to play today. He was devastated. I guess he just assumed that 15 or so hours would be plenty for a badly sprained ankle. I wanted to tell him "Wait 'til you're 40, it'll be 15 days!" But I didn't. He was pretty distraught already.
Morning came and he still couldn't do anything. I got out the crutches, iced him again, and went off to the fields with him. Even though he couldn't play I wanted him to be able to cheer his team on. I had called his coach the previous night to let him know the scoop. Liam is one of the best defenders, so he'd need to re-think his lineup well in advance.
We got to the field late - the traffic was incredible. There is no good way to get 20 teams worth of kids/parents/grandparents into a park smoothly. When we finally did show up the game hadn't started yet. And why hadn't it started? Because the other team hadn't shown up yet!! Liam was beside himself with joy. He was so worried they'd lose because he couldn't play. But with no competition that wasn't going to be an issue.
We hung out for 15 minutes and they finally called the game. So they will advance. They'll play up to 4 games next weekend. With any luck he'll be healed by then. I'm not 100% sure he will be. I'm going to keep icing and wrapping every hour to maximize his chances. At this point all I can do is keep my fingers crossed. But (give his bad luck) he's been pretty lucky so far!
Liam has had another great season of soccer. His team has again done extremely well. They actually had a loss this time around in league play. They lost 4-2 to St. Mike's. But they didn't have their top goal scorer and they had their weakest goalie in the net. So they were caught on a less that stellar day and lost.
They got to play St. Mike's again in the finals of the league tournament. This was a high stakes game. The winner would go on to the state tournament. Liam's team was totally fired up. And they struck quickly and decisively, scoring fast to go up with a 3-0 lead. They did allow some goals, but finished the game 4-2.
Which meant that they were on to the state tourney.
They made it last year as well. But the weather was terrible. They had one game called for weather. Another one delayed then finally cancelled. When the second week came around they finally got the chance to play and lost to the previous year's tournament champion. They had higher hopes for this year.
Yesterday was Saturday, and their first game was today, Sunday. Liam was playing in the yard with the neighbor boy. They were climbing trees, running around, the usual boy stuff. I was raking leaves. Eventually Seamus came up and told me that Liam was hurt.
Kids at that age simply haven't developed the gift of understanding severity. "Liam is hurt" could mean anything from he has a scratch on his cheek to his legs are no longer attached to his body. And I have a policy of not overreacting when the kids get hurt. I think they take their cues on concern from their parents. And when the parents freak out they do as well. So I don't freak out. In this case I didn't even stop raking leaves!
Eventually I see Liam hopping in my direction. Oh shit. My first thought is of the game today. He is not looking good.
He makes it to me and I ask him what happened. His answer is the same as always - a distracted "What?" like I had awakened him from a nap. Um, you can't walk, you hopped to me on one leg, what the hell do you expect me to ask you?
Well he was chasing his buddy, who ran down the patio stairs of the neighbor's house, slipped, fell, and rolled his ankle. Not good.
I got him inside and took a look at it. It was already huge! Really not good. I immediately put ice on it. I left the ice on for 30 minutes, and then compressed it in an ACE wrap. Later in the evening we iced it again.
Around bedtime I asked him how it felt. He still couldn't even put weight on it. It was then that it finally struck him - there was no way he was going to be able to play today. He was devastated. I guess he just assumed that 15 or so hours would be plenty for a badly sprained ankle. I wanted to tell him "Wait 'til you're 40, it'll be 15 days!" But I didn't. He was pretty distraught already.
Morning came and he still couldn't do anything. I got out the crutches, iced him again, and went off to the fields with him. Even though he couldn't play I wanted him to be able to cheer his team on. I had called his coach the previous night to let him know the scoop. Liam is one of the best defenders, so he'd need to re-think his lineup well in advance.
We got to the field late - the traffic was incredible. There is no good way to get 20 teams worth of kids/parents/grandparents into a park smoothly. When we finally did show up the game hadn't started yet. And why hadn't it started? Because the other team hadn't shown up yet!! Liam was beside himself with joy. He was so worried they'd lose because he couldn't play. But with no competition that wasn't going to be an issue.
We hung out for 15 minutes and they finally called the game. So they will advance. They'll play up to 4 games next weekend. With any luck he'll be healed by then. I'm not 100% sure he will be. I'm going to keep icing and wrapping every hour to maximize his chances. At this point all I can do is keep my fingers crossed. But (give his bad luck) he's been pretty lucky so far!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Denis (no longer) the grouch
For about the last 6 months (year? 18 months?) Denis has been a realy pain. Nothing is ever perfect and all he would seem to focus on were the parts that weren't perfect. Seriously. We could have the world's best day. We could do 20 awesome things. And if there was one shitty one in there it would be a bad day. It was very frustrating. He was turning into a moody teen at age 10/11.
And then someone flipped a switch. Still don't have any idea what it was. Did he have a near-death experience and not tell me about it? Seems unlikely. But then the attitude change was pretty unlikely as well. So who knows.
Lately the guy has just been a joy to be around. He's more physical - he gives hugs when a year ago he wouldn't. He helps out around the house. Sometimes without being asked. He doesn’t grumble much at the tasks he used to complain about previously. I am loving it!
And I *really* wish I knew what brought the change one. I'd like to market it!
For about the last 6 months (year? 18 months?) Denis has been a realy pain. Nothing is ever perfect and all he would seem to focus on were the parts that weren't perfect. Seriously. We could have the world's best day. We could do 20 awesome things. And if there was one shitty one in there it would be a bad day. It was very frustrating. He was turning into a moody teen at age 10/11.
And then someone flipped a switch. Still don't have any idea what it was. Did he have a near-death experience and not tell me about it? Seems unlikely. But then the attitude change was pretty unlikely as well. So who knows.
Lately the guy has just been a joy to be around. He's more physical - he gives hugs when a year ago he wouldn't. He helps out around the house. Sometimes without being asked. He doesn’t grumble much at the tasks he used to complain about previously. I am loving it!
And I *really* wish I knew what brought the change one. I'd like to market it!
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