I left work yesterday with peace of mind. I feel that my work house is in order. It has been a long time since this was so. I believe it is because my focus has been there and I have hired a good team, my team.  By mine, I mean a team mostly of my choosing or doing, not of inheritance.

There are other ‘houses’ of mine that are not in order. But it certainly feels good to head home for the weekend with this one taken care of.

i cannot remember the last time my office was so clean and next week was so well planned out.

This could very well be our last trip to the Re Lax Inn. Dad had the place fixed up to sell. New siding. New decks – the upper deck is full sized and there is now a staircase winding between them. New hot tub.

It was a good New Years weekend for us.  We spent two days at the house.  Marcia and Eden went shopping.  The rest of us played putt-putt.  Liz got a hole in one on the last hole to win a free game of golf.  Noah beat me by one stroke.

Back at the house, I taught the kids how to play Hearts.  Somehow I lost every time!  Although I did once successfully shoot the moon.

We also had a hot tub party.  Great family fun.  Liz and I returned home on time to return to school and work, while the rest of the family stayed for one extra day.

I have a wonderful family.

I had Maggie and Eden with me tonight at Garrison Forest. Just the three of us working on stick skills. Simple stuff. The girls listened and worked hard. Eden played in her socks.

I enjoy coaching lacrosse. There is nothing I enjoy more though than playing with my kids.

Liz is a freshman. She is currently running track for Maryvale. She is running distance: 800m, 1600m, 3200m, or relays of some of these distances. She is already turning in some of the top times in the IAAM. She just competed on Friday in an IAAM meet and finished 4th in the 3200.

She is a runner. She needs to learn to close out a race, and she has been improving on this. I find that she is rather hard on herself as a competitor. There is no need at this point for us as parents to do anything but be supportive.  And be proud.

I read to Jack last night, Where The Wild Things Are.  And Marcia read to Luke from Beetle and the Bard.  I ended up sleeping with both boys in bed with me.  Not the most comfortable night of sleep. But these are precious moments that I enjoy as a dad.

Life is short.  Dad has been in the hospital since December 17th.  He was diagnosed with Miller Fisher Syndrome.  He has almost died twice.  It has been very scary.

And has caused him to examine his priorities.

I have been examining mine as well.

Jack was invited to a birthday party. He is so excited. He has been carrying around this invitation for the last 12 hours.  He even slept with it. And he has been saying that he wants to take all of his brothers and sisters. It is so refreshing. He is so sweet.

Mom just RSVPed for him.  It is official.  Jack is going to a party!

Liz is playing exceptionally well at lacrosse for her age.  I am really impressed with her.  She has stickwork that I am not seeing in other kids her age.  And she is a mature player.

She has been to Elite camps at UNC, Northwestern and Syracuse, and a few prospect days at UNC, MD and Johns Hopkins.  She is now talking to college coaches.  She is getting noticed everywhere she goes.  On Tuesday evening, she had a phone call with Tim McCormack from Northwestern.  She was nervous, but she handled herself well.  Another call on Wednesday night with Johns Hopkins, but the coach did not pick up at the expected time 😦   This happens, but it is disappointing, especially after you prepare.

This weekend, she plays at Johns Hopkins.  Regardless of outcomes, I am proud of my girl for taking care of her business.

Marcia took the three boys to Hershey for a lacrosse tournament for Noah. She left me with the three girls as Eden and I have a local tournament

we are in the middle of our tournament, and it is going well. A friend of Lizs is in town from North Carolina. It is fun to see her playing with him and having fun. She watched Maggie today and took her with her to a BBQ. They both were all smiles. At the end of the day they were watching shows in Maggie’s room before falling asleep

Eden is an amazing girl. She and her friends ran a car wash on York Road last night after her games. When we got home, she made us dinner before we watched a movie together, a movie that Uncle Bobby had a hand in making. She watched the credits until she saw his name. Then she paused, took a picture, and sent it to him

Today is the last day of our tournament. Stiff competition. If we win 3 games we win the championship. I am hopeful. Either way I am proud

I have been worried about this weekend. Big presentation at work tomorrow and I anticipated not getting much sleep. I planned to nap on Saturday, study Saturday night and get a good night sleep. Things have not gone as planned …

Forgot my laptop charger.  Took a nap on Saturday but woke with a fever. Got sick Saturday night and up most of the night. Needed to sleep in Sunday but chaperones bitching about power outage. Had to get up and go before 6am. Did not get to rest and had to stop on the way home to nap

Exhausted and still sick I have not yet prepared for tomorrow. Beyond my tough work week my father has put an extraordinary amount of pressure on me and Marcia by the failing business.  And tonight sick and alone I am missing my sons birthday dinner for the 2nd time

There is no time to rest any longer. Time to man up and take care of business