Gobble-Gobble

I have been inspired.... I was going to post today or tomorrow on things I am thankful for but I just read a friends blog (http://isthisthingon-ckd.blogspot.com/) and it made me want to write now. If you read this blog, you should check out hers....it's great and she is exactly the same in person!

Anyway....I usually call Thanksgiving Turkey Day because for the most part, thats what we think about but given my moment of inspired thoughts, I am going the true spirit..here are things I am thankful for...in no particular order...

My two boys. They are great boys that love life and bring nothing but hapiness to me.

My wife, Marna. A beautiful person inside and out that loves me despite my faults.

Friends, in general. Good times and bad, they are there for me. Thanks for all you have done.

Bridget. A co-worker who has become a friend over the past year. She has had a tough year but has kept her chin up through out. She has showed me that even in tough times its best, and possible, to have a postive attitude....even if on the inside she would rather not.

Tony. A longtime friend who opened up the door to our friendship once again after a long period. A motivated person with a big heart that proves that its ok to take chances.

Derek. Another longtime friend. Derek has always been honest and straight forward with me, especially when I needed it the most. Though he is 800 miles away now, I know that I can rely on him if needed. A great person with a great family.

My parents. The have done so much for me over my life that I do not know where to start or how to begin to thank them. As a parent myself, I can now appreciate the sacrifices they made to give me the things they did and the life I had.

Health. Though I need to do a better job of taking care of myself I realize that things could be much worse.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Random Thoughts...

Is it going to rain or not?
Does turkey really make you sleepy?
Will I ever break 100 in golf?
Will Timmy the Kid get another Cy Young award? Will he sign a long-term contract?
Will Jack Bauer get thrown in jail? Will the jail hold him?
Is the First Man (on 24) evil?
Will the 49ers ever be good again?
What school will my son go to next year?
If I kept all the fur that my cats shed, would I have enough for a pillow?
Will there ever be a cure for lactose intolerance? And I dont mean those pills that rarely work.
The world would be a better place of we tolerated lactose...at least my world would be better if I could tolerate lactose! Damn I miss ice cream!
Will I see any of my old high school chums BEFORE the next reunion?
Is my hair really growing at a slower rate now?
Will the nurse poke my arm more than once tonight when I donate blood?

Thats all.

Well...what happened?

So I have been asked how my soccer team did in its playoff game a couple of weeks back.... we lost. It was a good game, one that I think we should have won, but my team came out flat. There seemed to be no energy that day and it showed. In the end, a couple of goals we should have stopped but did not were the deciding factor. My boys played hard and were a little down afterward but I think I rallied the troops by handing out some "awards" that I had printed up for them.
It was a great season and the team came along way. I hope they learned something this season and take it with them to other teams.

Go Fire Strikers!

I have mentioned the soccer team I coach before. My youngest son, Xavier, plays on this team and this is the first time I am coaching him. When the season first started I was wondering what I got myself into. I had an assistant coach signed up with me but he was a no-show. It turns out he had family stuff that wouldn't let him commit to the time but he is still actively involved in the team as his son plays. He's kind of an assistant coach but not official. So, in the beginning it was me and 12 8-9 year olds...I bet you can almost feel my frustration already. Since this is an AYSO league, all kids play. I have no problem with that but what it means is that there are usually kids on the field that do not really want to be there or arent the most coordinated. No problem, really...just makes things interesting.
As the season started, I saw potential in these little guys. They all had played soccer before (same league, lower age bracket) and they all seemed like they wanted to be there. Phew, what a relief. My task became to teach these boys some soccer (each division adds more of the regular soccer rules to the game) and find a lineup that worked. The "regular" season doesnt count in this league as wins and losses arent tallied. At the end of the season there is a round robin tournament, then a playoff system if you qualify.
I tinkered with lineups almost every week for games hoping to stumble across the right one. It is not easy when no one wants to play goalie or everyone thinks they are the next Beckham, let me tell you. So we had our ups and downs. We lost some. We tied some...and we won some. Through the course of the season I have worn the hat of peacemaker, motivator, disciplinarian and coach for the kids... and sounding board, baby sitter (in a good way), friend (I hope) and coach to the parents. It has been a "job" that I have taken seriously, cared too much for, couldnt wait to be over and enjoyed immensely at one time or another through the course of the season. In short, looking back, I had a great time.
This Saturday, the Fire Strikers or U10 B-07 (as we are officially known) will play in the semi-finals. We entered the playoffs as the #1 seed after finishing the regular season in the middle of the pack (unofficially). If we win Saturday morning, we play at 2pm the same day for the Championship! I have half jokingly told some parents and the team, that its all about having fun...BUT, its more fun when you win! I know, bad, bad bad....but we all know its true. However, this past weekend, I witnessed my team play soccer like it has yet to all season and it was beautiful. Passes were made. Shots were taken. Defense was played...it was awesome. I saw kids on my team who didnt seem to have an aggressive bone in their body take the ball and dribble past defenders like there was no tomorrow. I saw kids move back into position before I could yell at them to do so. It was as if the all the practices for the past 12 weeks finally sunk in at the same time. I was more proud of this team, my team, than ever before. As much as I would like these boys to win the championship...and I know that not winning it will seem like such a downer to the team....if our season were to end Saturday morning, to me, I was successful. We were successful. I saw all I needed to see last weekend. Regardless of how this all ends up, these boys had a great season and nothing can take that away from them. Thats my new task...to show these boys, if we dont win, that it was all great anyway. Just between you and me, I hope I dont have to complete that task! GO FIRE STRIKERS!

WOW

Change is good. Good things do not always come with change but when things are not going well (and they are not for this country), change should be welcomed.
I made it a point to listen to Obama's victory speech last night and I liked what he had to say. I agree that we must all work together to right the ship. I agree that "yes, we can" make an impact, each of us, if we put our minds to it. But we must work together...all of us. Blue or red, it doesnt matter. And remember, if you didnt vote, shut up.