Basketball

I'm the opposite of a jock. Talking myself into any kind of exercise is a challenge, and I hardly ever consider it fun. It is for this reason that I am overwhelmingly thankful that my boy loves basketball.

I was on basketball duty tonight. Usually I go inside the gym and stay for just a few minutes before I head off to run errands or wander around the bookstore. Tonight I still wasn't feeling well from a cold I've been fighting all week, so I decided to plant myself on a bench and stay. I brought a book to read, but I decided to watch for a while. This is the sixth year that I've taken Connor to basketball practice, and tonight I realized that he has come a long way since those first years on the court. I guess I should have figured that out when he made the competitive team. He's never been an aggressive player, but he has always been an enthusiastic one. He loves the sport, and he enjoys every minute of it.

It's not the same game that it was when he was playing in the school gym in Marysville, either. This coach works these boys hard, and he expects a lot from them. Connor has to bring in a tally sheet showing he has done 500 shots every week. He also has a fitness routine he has to complete three times each week. Practices are intense, and I am amazed that those boys are still walking at the end of it. On Thursday nights a fitness instructor comes in at the end of their hour and a half practice and does a half hour workout with them. Knowing my somewhat lazy son, I would expect him to be complaining through the workout routine, but I noticed tonight that he does everything asked of him with a smile. And he's good at it! He not only keeps up with the rest of the boys on the team, he excels at these exercises! He is a far cry from his mom, and I am so thankful.

The team will play their first games next weekend in Guelph, and the boys are all excited, and a bit nervous. I'm looking forward to cheering them on, to cheering my boy on in the sport that he loves. What a great experience this is for him, to be part of a team, to have hard work expected of him, to learn to win and lose with grace. Twenty years ago I would never have thought I would add this word to a gratitude list, but tonight my heart is overflowing with it: I am so deeply thankful for basketball.

Crazy Calendar!

I'm struggling a bit with getting used to our new evening schedule. From Monday to Thursday every week there is some activity, usually two, on my calendar. This is the first year that I truly understand the meaning of the moniker "Mom's Taxi". Not that I would trade anything we have going on this year. If anything, I feel there are a few things we've neglected, like swimming lessons, but those are just going to have to wait a while, at least until we've settled into our routine. Last year I declared Tuesday "Crazy Day", and usually by the end of Tuesday evening I fell into bed, exhausted. This year I feel like every day is Tuesday.

It isn't really the driving that is the biggest challenge to me. Most of the activities aren't far away at all. Janelle's dance studio is less than one kilometre away. Our church is about two kilometres away. The home where we attend our community group is also about a three to five minute drive (depending on the traffic light between our house and theirs). And I usually don't mind ferrying the kids around. No, to me the issue is more the time we don't spend together at home. I am realizing that I really cherish our family dinners, the time that we connect around the table and recharge. I'm afraid those dinners will be at a premium this year. Chris struggles to get home from work before 6:00, and the kids' activities begin between 5:00 and 6:30. I'm going to have to be creative, but I'm determined to be able to find a way for us to have dinner together at least two of the four crazy days of our week.

Here's a quick run-down of our week:

Monday — Connor tried out for a competitive basketball team last week, and he made the team! We're so happy for him and we both think this will be a great experience for him. Connor has basketball practice 6:30 to 8:30 Monday nights, about a 15 minute drive from home. We'll probably alternate taking him, depending on Chris's work schedule. Chris and I have our Community Group, 8:00 to 9:30, not far from here, but for now we'll be taking turns since someone will be picking Connor up in the middle of that time.

Tuesday — Janelle's piano lesson, 5:00 to 5:30, about ten minutes away. I usually take her and Chris tries to pick her up since it is on his way home. That means I can probably manage to prepare us a family dinner that night. At 6:30 Janelle goes to Kids Night Out at Church, until 7:30. This is her busy night — homework has to get done right after school.

Wednesday — Busy last night because we had "Meet the Teacher Night" at 6:00, but usually Wednesday is just Connor's Jr. High Youth Group at the church, 7:00 to 9:00. That means we definitely get to have dinner together that night. Yay!

Thursday — Crazy night! Janelle has dance, just down the road, 5:00 - 6:00. Connor has basketball, about 15 minutes away, 6:30 - 8:00. Homework has to happen right after school, and who knows how we'll manage supper, but I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually. Today is our first day of the Thursday rush, so I'm planning to make homemade pizza (I'll try to remember to add the yeast to the dough that I forgot when I attempted this dinner on Monday!)

Weekends — For now our weekends are pretty easy. We are mostly focused on finishing the basement. The priority this weekend is to get to the half price paint sale that our colour consultant told us about when she came on Monday evening (yeah, somehow that got thrown into the schedule!) I may sign the kids up for a Saturday swimming lesson later in the year, but we'll see how things go before I do that. Connor starts weekend tournaments and exhibition games in November, with a tournament about once month. A couple of these will be in London, but others will be in Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Brantford, so we'll be travelling. Hopefully the basement will be finished by then!

I always swore I would have my kids involved in only one extra-curricular activity, aside from their church programs, and I'm still pretty convinced that is a good rule of thumb. Connor is only doing basketball and youth group, except for this month when he also has cross-country. He'll run a two kilometre race this afternoon, and then have a 90 minute basketball practice tonight. I'm glad it's him and not me! Janelle does have piano and dance, so I've strayed from my resolution a bit, but she so desperately wanted to try dance that we decided this year we'd make an exception. I'm not willing to let her quit piano, so it was really the only solution. I don't know how all those "Tiger Moms" do it, whose children are involved in and excelling at everything. I think this is as much as my kids and I can handle.

So I guess it's a good thing I'm not working right now. I'm far more able to cope with my evenings because my days are somewhat relaxed. The Lord knows how many balls I'm able to juggle. But I did apply for two more teaching jobs today. Still holding out hope...

My Calendar — The stickers help me remember things with just a glance. You can see how the craziness kind of snuck up on us in September!

Dancing the Afternoon Away...

When I dropped Janelle, her brother and her friends off at school this morning she had a big smile on her face. I'm sure the gently falling snow that she was catching on her tongue had something to do with it, but that wasn't the whole story. The main source of her excitement today is the first dance of the school year, being held for the grades K-3 classes this afternoon from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Where we come from, dances don't start until middle school. And when I was growing up, even those were discouraged by responsible adults. I think I only went to one dance in Junior High, and maybe three in high school. Dances were a pretty taboo activity for good girls like me, and knowing some of the things that went on at those dances, it might have been for good reason. But as a parent of kids of the 21st century, I feel like I need to really consider my attitude toward school dances and my kids' attendance at them.

Maybe dances aren't such a big deal. I went to sock hops in Junior High at lunch hour every Friday, and I loved them! I was a good kid, and I wouldn't have been involved in any "taboo" activity no matter where I was. And my kids are really good kids, too. I'm not volunteering at the dance today, but I plan to be a pretty regular presence at any and all of the activities that my kids want to be involved in. And this is one activity that Janelle really wants to be involved in! Last year we were only here for one school dance, and I was really quite surprised when Janelle said she wanted to go. I don't know why I was surprised, though. That is just so "Janelle". When I arrived to pick her up, she was happy as could be, singing and dancing with her friends, and eating a bag of Cheesies. It could not have been more innocent fun, and maybe it is a bit of a utopian ideal, but I think that if a school dance can be an innocent affair in Grade 2, it can be in Grade 12. It's really all about how involved we are with our kids, isn't it?

So this afternoon Janelle will be going to her second school dance, from 3:30 to 5:00. The dance for the Grade 4 to 6 kids is from 5:00 to 7:00, and Connor hasn't decided whether or not he is going to go. Last year he decided to go at the last minute, and he had a great time. I'm pretty sure he'll be going this time, too, when he finds out how many of his friends will be there. He'll go, but if he's planning to actually dance, I might have to sneak in with a camera!

Soccer Star

After seven summers of running back and forth to the soccer field, this is going to be my last summer as a soccer mom. Connor decided last year that he didn't want to play anymore, and we were supportive of his decision. We figured after 5 years he knew whether or not he loved the game. This year is clearly Janelle's last year.

She had a tournament on the weekend. While she loves to "be part of it", she doesn't actually want to "be part of it". She is happy to run onto the field when it is her turn and become an "on-field spectator", but she doesn't want to get anywhere near the action. My favourite is when she starts chatting with her invisible friends while she is standing out in the middle of the field. You can watch her hold long conversations with "someone" while her team is at the other end of the field battling for a goal. At one point on Saturday, after she came off for a shift, I had a chat with her about it. I said "Nellie, you know that your imaginary friends really aren't supposed to be on the field with you during the game". She replied "But Mom, they're in my head, so they have to go wherever I go. I can't just leave them behind!" Well, how can I argue with logic like that?

My girl is clearly not an athlete, much like her Mama, but she has a rich imagination and a definite flair for the dramatic. So soccer isn't her thing. I'm happy that she spent four summers "giving it a try". I'm proud of the fact that she will try pretty much anything. Yesterday we went to a brand new (to us) church, and when they called all the children to the front to sing a song for the congregation, Janelle headed right down to the front to join them. She didn't know the words or the actions, but she wanted to be there! Then she followed all the other kids, not knowing a single one, downstairs for children's church. I am amazed at her bravery. Maybe next year we'll find out what her "thing" is, whether it be dance or singing or drama or whatever. It's definitely something, and she's not going to shy away from finding it!

And here is a picture of the soccer star, taken this morning, after losing her second front tooth in the night. Cute or what?