Six With Sticks

Congrats to Eden.  She was named to the Reach U14 NIT team.  Great job, Eden.  I am really proud of her.  She does her own thing with field hockey.  Although Marcia and I have coached her in Catonsville, we put a lot less pressure on her than we did with Elizabeth.  Maybe we are learning, I don’t know.

I just enjoy watching her.  Marcia usually watches field hockey, but I watched her play an indoor game a few weeks ago when she was pulled up to the U16 age group for a game or two.  She scored a goal.  I was cheering for her.  I did not care if she got embarrassed.  I wanted her to hear how genuinely happy I was to watch her play.

Marcia got the email the other night from Eden’s coach that Eden made the team.  And then she called her down and we told her.  Marcia read off the names of the girls on the team, and after about 4 girls, she said, “Mom, they put me on the top team!”  She was proud but humble.  She listened as Marcia read off all of the girls’ names on the team.  She immediately asked about one of her friends whose name she did not hear.  She was sad to learn that she didn’t make a team.

Eden said that she is really good at defense, and that her coach is going to probably play her at defense.  She sounded really excited.  Last week was probably the first time that Mimi has actually come and watched Eden play in about a year.

Walking over the streets of Baltimore for my next meeting. Big meeting. Big ask. So far, the biggest of my career.

Busy day in Bmore looks like.  Life moves quickly beneath my feet.  I am hoping for some success.  Wish me luck.

Luke loves his new bicycle.  He got it for Christmas from Aunt Joan and Uncle Greg.  He helped me put it together yesterday.  We got the toolset out and put it together with a wrench and screwdriver.  And then took him for his first spin.  Since the sun came up this morning, he has been itching to get outside for another ride.

As I took him around the neighborhood, watching him enjoy the ride and be so proud of himself, I remember my first bike, a blue, banana-seated two-wheeler that I rode up and down the sidewalks of Roanoke Drive.  Luke’s Huffy is way cooler.  And he is loving it!

Liz won her first high school championship on Friday evening.  This is something that neither Marcia nor I ever enjoyed in our youth.  Liz’s Maryvale indoor track team won the IAAM Varsity A Championship on Friday night at the PG Sportsplex.

Not only was Liz part of the team, but she contributed to the win.  Liz ran and scored points in both the 1 mile and 2 mile run.  She finished 6th in the 1 mile, with a time of 5:47, and shortly after, finished 5th in the 2 mile, with a time of 12:43.  Neither times were her personal best, but she also had never competed for 3 miles in the same day.

Eden, Jack, Marcia and I were there to cheer her on.  We loved every minute of watching her compete.  Especially the way that she sprinted at the end of each race.  In the 1 miler, she sprinted to the finish line, and this ended up being the difference between 6th and 7th place.  And in the 2 miler, she sprinted the final half lap to hold off two runners hot on her heels.  When she finished the 2 miler, there were a number of teammates that met her at the finish line and hugged her.

Photo by Eden Kennedy

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.