Memorial Day 2019: Goodbyes, Spring Concerts & Soccer!
Last week was a tough week. I lost a good friend and mentor with the passing of George Akel…. He was a dear friend and great mentor to me for over 10 years. I will miss the many lunches we shared and our engaging conversations. We often talked for hours on a dizzying array of topics. He always inspired me, impressed me with his kindness, generosity & intellectual curiosity, and humbled me with his genuine humility… He made an undeniably positive impact in my life and on the person I am today – and I can’t thank him enough for that. Goodbye George – I will miss you my friend….
Wednesday
Laundry Chute
Sophie has finally really discovered the laundry chute this week! Oh sure – she has known it was there all along, but just in the last day or so has she started to USE it – and mostly in a creative, not-particularly-helpful kind of way. If Melani sets out a shirt for her to put on and she doesn’t like it (which happens quite often) – she will just drop it down the chute if Melani isn’t looking. Various other items have also mysteriously made their way down the chute as well. I guess it was inevitable – seeing how the other kids have gotten so much enjoyment out of it over the years!
Spring Concert
On Wednesday the kids had their Spring concert at school. I was so proud of them all! The theme was the Beatles and the kids were supposed to dress up like people did from the 60’s & 70’s. Dominick gave us a little trouble dressing like a greaser – but finally relented. And granted I am partial – but I do think he was rocking the look!
Gracie was so smiley and happy up on stage. She just loves school and all the activities she is involved with there. Dominick’s group was pretty upbeat and Dominick actually looked like he was having fun – which kind of surprised us! Annie’s entire class seemed like they were at a forced labor camp and couldn’t wait to get the routine over with!
When I wasn’t recording one of the kids numbers – I spent my time trying to convince Sophie that my knees were much more comfortable than her mother’s. She wouldn’t have any of that!
Friday & Saturday
Drainage Pipe Project
You may not know this about me – but I am quite fond of digging ditches! Since I work behind a desk all day – I enjoy being outside doing things with my hands. I also enjoy being able to see the results of my labor – and not just by small numbers changing on a screen. Anyways – over the last few years I have been digging away to redo the drainage all-the-way around the house. I have dug, by hand, through rocks, roots, grass and anything else that dares to get in my way. I have friends that tell me that there are machines that do this??? I have yet to see one of these mythical contraptions and am skeptical.
On Friday and Saturday I finished up around the left side of the house. All the older kids helped – with Dominick being particularly indispensable & enthusiastic! Dare I say that just maybe he has been bitten by the ditch digging bug as well?
When we went to get the pipe we needed at Lowes – I let the kids carry it through the store. They had a lot of fun doing so – and got a lot of smiles from other shoppers. They looked a little like Mario & Luigi!
They had fun and were actually helping me. I love when it is a win-win!
They were such good helpers that we took them all to Wolfie’s Ice Cream for a treat. That is the picture featured at the top of this post.
Soccer!
On Saturday morning the kids had soccer. Last week Annie had a game (scoring 1 goal), but Gracie & Dominick just had drills. This week they all played – and all did really well! (OK – I admit – the fact that I told the kids it was a 10X day – may have helped motivate them!) (For those of you unfamiliar with 10X day – please read this: Sports- Soccer)
I encourage the kids to be aggressive when on the playing field – because I regret not being more so when I was young. I always felt reluctant to ask for the ball or be aggressive – because I might make a mistake…. So I try to put things into perspective for the kids sometimes. I tell them – so what if you even went the wrong way and scored a goal for the wrong team!?! It’s just a recreational league – and it does not matter! We will laugh it off! Just get out there and go for the ball. If you make a mistake – laugh about it & learn from it!
Gracie played really well and was a real factor in the game. I must have asked Melani at least 10 times – is that really Gracie??? I could not believe that it was really Gracie! She was being much more aggressive than she was last year! I think it really helps her to have Dominick on her team – which he is this year – since he moved into the 9-12 year olds league. Even though she did not score – Gracie truly had an awesome game!
Dominick – is just ridiculous! Last year he was a dominant force when playing in the 7 -8 year olds league. He had a great year and scored 26 goals for the season. This year – with him being one of the youngest in the league – I told him he did not have to hold back at all – since there would be kids up to 3 years older than him on the field. Well – the kid definitely showed up ready to play! He scored one goal, got one assist and almost had a couple of other goals! The kid really loves the game – and it truly shows! He is a dynamic player – and a lot of fun to watch!
Annie is finding her stride! Annie is a natural on the field. She likes the rough & tumble and goes right for the ball. She scored both last week and this week. She really didn’t want to play last year – and I made her. The kid seriously has boundless energy. She only has two modes – 111% ON, and comatose (sleeping)! OK – maybe three modes – add “bunny mode” where she will sit still and talk, draw, write, etc about bunnies…. Anyway – she played really well – and as I mentioned to her when she got off the field – she was smiling A LOT when she was playing! All this from a girl who really didn’t want to play last year – and had to be forced to! My rationale was that she HAD to do something to help burn off some of that energy, and surprisingly enough, Annie can be rather shy and reluctant to participate at times. Sometimes she needs a little push. I strongly believed last year that she would really like playing soccer – and a little over a year after having to force her to play – it does seem to be the case!
To keep up on the stats for the kids – click here: Kids’ Accomplishments.
Sunday & Monday
Sunday was a rainy lazy day. It was a day of rest….
Re-Shingling The Playhouse Roof
Monday was a beautiful day – and a wonderful unofficial start to the summer! The kids spent a good part of the day helping me re-shingle the playhouse in the backyard. I have never done something like this – so I was a little slow & deliberate. I decided to use cedar shake shingles – and there is a little bit of a learning curve with them – and also a little bit of a curve on the one side of the roof! I am almost halfway done and the kids were great at handing up the shingles while I was on the ladder. I hope to get this project completed soon so Sophie can have her little playhouse back!
To close out the day on Monday I cooked out on the grill. The kids thought it was hilarious that I got pooped on by passing bird. Fortunately I had a hat on! One of only two times that has ever happened to me, I believe!
Kids’ Blog Pages
The kids all did some work on their blog pages (see them here: The Kids’ Corner) – and each of them has a one question poll on their page. There was a glitch with the polls the other day – but I have since fixed it. So I’m sorry for the inconvenience – and please try again if they did not work for you before. Thank you!
Sincerely,
