Friday, January 23, 2009

Bittersweet Ending


As some of you may know, last April my daughter Jillian tried out for the "Arsenal" soccer team here in Benicia. I remember how nervous she was for the tryouts--she was even contemplating what to wear. She was pretty convinced that she had not done well at the tryouts and made sure her hopes were not too high. When she got the call from her coach, Brian Chase, telling her she had made the U14 Class 3 team, she was ecstatic. I think she might have damaged his hearing with her joyful scream. They almost immediately began training and conditioning. At first, they were not so good. They were a newly formed and were still getting used to eachother's habits, abilities, things that just come with time. Their coaches made sure that every lost game was not a lost game, but a learning experience. I think this approach greatly helped the girls understand what they had to do to improve. As the season went on, something began to change in the girls. They basically began to understand how to work together and get those goals. They achieved their first win at a tournament in Sacramento. From then on, they won almost every game. One of the team's greatest games was one at the Benicia tournament. It was the first half and they were down by two. In the first 5 minutes of the second half, they had three goals. All of the parents including myself were beaming with pride. This Arsenal process has been extremely rigorous; for most of the season they had 3 practices a week, a game on Saturday, and occasionnaly a Sunday game or Indoor soccer game. I had officially earned the nickname "taxi". After a plethora of blood, sweat, tears, and stinky shinguards, the season was over. Ha! Not for these girls! They had won their League and qualified for Association Cup and planned to go in January. They practiced and scrimmaged right up until a couple weekends ago. We went to a freezing Association cup, and dissapointingly lost all the games. I was surprised to find that the girls had an amazingly positive attitude. Jill told me one day that all she cared about was the wonderful friends she acquired, and the experiences she had with them that she will cherish forever. Now, in a few weeks, I will be driving that same nervous girl to tryouts. This time, though, she will know what to wear :).

Friday, January 16, 2009

My Grandma


This is a photo of my grandma. She was a remarkable woman. As with many women of her generation, "the greatest generation", she was incredibly strong. This was our last Christmas together.

No frills, no fuss - just pure, honest beauty. She was a WWII vet, retired from Mare Island, the mother of three boys, the step-mother of one girl, grandmother to 6 and great-grandmother to 10. It's impossible to list the countless "strays" she helped raise, animal and human alike.

I wasn't a stray, but she certainly helped raise me. I grew up only a couple of blocks from her house and could basically see her anytime I wanted. Then, when my marriage broke up, I returned to Vallejo and lived in a house less than a block up the same street as her. She always meant safety to me - even as an adult. I lost her last November and I just can't seem to find a way to feel anchored anymore.

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I'd love it if you all would tell me about your grandmas too...

Saturday, January 3, 2009

New Year's Resolutions 'n Stuff

Does anybody know where this custom comes from? Why do we make resolutions at the start of each new year? Why do they almost always revolve around weight loss? I'm curious... Shouldn't we be vigorously working on self-improvement all year round?

Another random thought, my parents live in Vacaville, CA. As you enter this lovely city that snuggles itself up to I-80, you see that they have every available retail store known to man. The city is defined not by its culture or proximity to some gorgeous geography, but its shopping. With this in mind, one of the first retail establishments you see after crossing the city limit sign is a little shop called "Guns 'n Stuff." Yeeehaw! You are in Vacaville now my friends!

I miss you guys and hope everyone had a great break...

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