I don’t like ants or fruit flies or mice.  So, I don’t generally like food on the floor.

But you can’t beat these giggles.  They’re the best

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This has been a wonderful week, and I have had many blessings bestowed upon me by my children. Maggie graduated PreK last week. Eden and Elizabeth both brought home straight As. Noah did very well on his report card too. Elizabeth graduated elementary school, and is moving on to St Paul’s in the fall. Liz and her Redshirts team finally got to play their own age group this week; they beat Heros in an exhibition game. Our team didn’t even play that well, but definitively overmatched the opponent. And Eden won her first championship with the Redshirts Prep team. Lots of good things to come for Eden and her team; I think they will have a lot of success. And after the championship, we drove down to Virginia and got to hang out with my cousins, Kim … and DUSTY (home from Switzerland for the weekend).

And lastly, I am blessed to have a wonderful supportive wife. Marcia and Elizabeth helped throw a wonderful event on Saturday. The Maryland Tyker Championship was a great success. All of the teams had fun. We had a lot of compliments. We have a great team in the Kennedy household. Mom watched the younger kids. Dad and Marcia ran the event. Elizabeth and her teammates volunteered and made the event run smoothly. I coached. And Eden and her teammates brought me home some hardware.

Eden graduates PreK – kindergarten, here she comes!

Liz beats Heros and dominates the draw circle

Pinwheel

Maggie

Elizabeth – last day at Hillcrest Elementary School

Liz graduates elementary school

Eden – Champ!

Eden and Winnie

Redshirts Prep – MD Tyker Champs

Coaches

I arrived at halftime on Sunday.  I had been with the older team.  The older team dominated through both games (18-6 and 17-5).  I got out of the car, and Dave Blair and Paul Tomick gave me the quick rundown.  We’re down 4-3.  They need a motivational speech, Coach.

I’ve been there before.  I bring them into a huddle at halftime and talk to them, and they show up as this amazing team in the second half and the parents all wonder what I said to them at halftime.  The truth is I don’t always know what it is that gets them to play so well.  I tell them specific things.  Things they are doing well.  Things they aren’t doing well.  And I tell them to focus on one play at a time.  I usually tell them how much I believe in them and that they can beat this team.  What’s the name of the game?  Ground balls.  Shirts on 3, 1-2-3 – SHIRTS, WHAAAT?

So, this day was no different.  I ran across the field to join the huddle.  The girls saw me coming and got excited.  Eden’s face lit up.  She calls me, Coach Dave.  The way she was smiling, I knew we wouldn’t lose.  In this case, I had no idea what they were doing well or not.  Or what they needed to focus on.  So, I told them we need to beat this team.  We need to do it one play at a time.  One ground ball.  One pass.  One shot.  One save.  One draw.  One play at a time.  It starts with the draw.  We need to win the draw, and we need to get the ground ball.  I need someone out there that wants to get that ground ball.  Who wants to get the ground ball?  15 hands went up.

Cheering on the Redshirts

That is all that it took.  They were dominated in the first half by a bigger (2 years older) and more physical team.  But in the second half, they took over.  It was their game.  From the first whistle to the last.  And their coach was cheering them on from the sideline.

Caitlin and Eden

In the second half, we outscored the other team 7 goals to 1. We won the game with a final score of 10-5.

Grace and Beauty. Which is which? I don’t think the answer is important. These two took my breath away.

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Eden and Maggie each danced in their annual recital with Turning Pointe.  They were beautiful.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of them.  And I got choked up the entire time they were dancing.  Of course they were the best in their respective classes.  Maggie had a little move where she spins around moving her shoulders up and down and moving her hips.  Eden has stage presence and confidence, makes eye contact with the audience and smiles the entire time.

I hope both of the girls continue to pursue dance, because I am so proud, and I enjoy watching them.

Eden was nervous the night before.  This is different than a lacrosse game.  You work all year for one performance.  There is a lot of pressure on you up on that stage.  And Eden is the lead on a lot of parts of the dance.  She may have been nervous, but she nailed it.  I had to fight back tears the entire time watching.

Life is full of ups and downs.  Every year has its share.  Every week has its share of ups and downs.  Heck, with a family my size, there are several ups and downs each day.

There have been a lot of downs this week.  Noah with a severe allergic reaction and asthma attack.  Eden having trouble with kids at school.  Some people writing negative things about me on Facebook (I shouldn’t care about this).  And I had a bad day at work on Tuesday, very disheartening.

But the highs this week are outstanding.  Especially those that have to do with lacrosse.

First off, Noah’s team is dominating.  Surprise surprise.  We were missing some of our stronger players the other night, including Noah and Michael, and handily beat the other team.  The kids all had fun.  It was really cool to watch Ian get so excited after he scored a goal.

And secondly, it is a great week to be involved with the Redshirts.  We picked up a goalie this week for Eden’s team.  The family seems really nice and the girl is very positive and willing to learn.  She has a great attitude.  On Elizabeth’s team, we picked up two new players this week, and maybe a third.  We’ve ironed out coaches for next year for all of the teams.  And we’ve got the 2020, 2021 and 2022 teams’ cores already established for next year.  The core group of 2019s is really strong as well, we just need to boost the number of girls by a few.

Thirdly, I am wrapping up the spring season of the NPYGLL.  I have been a member of the board for a year, but stepped up this spring and took on a lion share of the duties of running the league.  I think I did a great job, although a lot of it is thankless work.  I am pleased that the league is so successful, and hope that the hiccups, as minor as they are, have managed to go unnoticed.

Lastly, Marcia is finishing up her class tomorrow.  She is signing up for a CNA course this summer.  And we have a plan to get some things about our household back on track, some things that have been causing stress for some time.

You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster.  Up, down.  Up, down.  Oh, what a ride!  I always wanted to go again.  You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together!  Some didn’t like it.  They went on the merry-go-round.  That just goes around.  Nothing.  I like the roller coaster.  You get more out of it.   — Grandma, Parenthood, 1989