I'm not talking about the type of senior moments that leave you wondering why you came into a room. Instead I am talking about the senior moments that occur during your last year of your high school education. The one that you will always measure a person's age by, like " I think she graduated in 1971, so she is probably getting close to retirement." Tonight was a senior moment for Steven.
Tonight was his last home basketball game of his high school career. The gym was full of cheering fans - and they lost. JCCHS Played Holy Family, a team they lost to earlier in the season. Steven had high hopes and a conviction that they could win tonight. They came close, even taking the lead for a short time right before half time. However, by the end of the game, the margin was much greater.
Steven always is disappointed when the team loses. He feels that they could win every game. He has such a spirit about him. He doesn't play most of the game, but doesn't care as long as they win. Tonight was different. His last game in front of the home crowd. He wanted to play and he wanted to win. He thought that he had a chance to play more because it was senior night and the seniors REALLY wanted to win this game. When neither of those things happened, he was sorely disappointed.
Nothing hurts a mother's heart quite like seeing your child's heart get broken. It doesn't matter if it is a girlfriend or a basketball game that does it. If only we could smoothe the road for them. Instead, we can only hurt for them, cry with them, and hug them tight.
I couldn't be prouder of Steven's performance on the basketball team if he had scored every point John Carroll made. He has such a good attitude and team spirit. He is a leader and is always the first one off the bench to congratulate or encourage his teammates. He knows every play and everybody's position. He has real insight in issues the team experiences. This year has been a tough one. One team member quit in the middle of the season. Another team member lost his academic eligibility. They struggled to pull together to play as a team. Steven didn't get the amount of playing time he wanted or felt he deserved. Through all of this, Steven kept his chin up and his attitude positive. That attitude and perseverance is what will serve him much more in life than scoring points in high school basketball.
Steven, I love you son and am so proud of you. I hope the rest of your senior moments are good ones.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Stuff We Keep
I have been handling a lot of "suff" lately, cleaning out Walter's houses, clearing out my own house, and going through Daddy's papers for the hundreth time. Starting with my own "stuff." I worked for at least two hours cleaning out my walk-in closet so that I could actually walk in it. I filled three boxes with clothes and shoes that I didn't or couldn't wear any loner. I organized my blouses/tops/sweaters by color. After doing this, I realized that even after filling three boxes, I still have so many that I hardly have enough space on that rod to see what I have in my closet. There is something wrong with that. I need to apply the one in and one out rule. I have so much more cleaning out to do. I want to take one room at a time and give away or throw out about half of the "stuff" in my house. I think that with less clutter, it would be so much easier to keep the house clean, which would let me relax at home.
My sister and I realize now that Walter was almost as bad of a hoarder as our father is, he just had more space to store it. We have thrown out bags of paper. He kept every piece of mail and the envelope that it came in. Now, having said that, I have found a couple of very interesting things that I am really glad he didn't through out. He had a cigar box of letters that my grandmother had originally kept (I guess hoarding is three generations deep). They were letters that he or my dad wrote when they were overseas during WWII and the Korean War. She also had kept newspaper articles about Walter's heroism that earned him the Bronze Star. He also had the letter sent to my grandmother on the event of her retirement from teaching in 1952 after 32 1/2 years. The letter showed that she was going to receive $52.24 per month in retirement.
Daddy is still looking for his checkbook he lost somewhere downstairs three weeks ago. He has looked through the same stack of papers 30 times. It is still not in there.
My sister and I realize now that Walter was almost as bad of a hoarder as our father is, he just had more space to store it. We have thrown out bags of paper. He kept every piece of mail and the envelope that it came in. Now, having said that, I have found a couple of very interesting things that I am really glad he didn't through out. He had a cigar box of letters that my grandmother had originally kept (I guess hoarding is three generations deep). They were letters that he or my dad wrote when they were overseas during WWII and the Korean War. She also had kept newspaper articles about Walter's heroism that earned him the Bronze Star. He also had the letter sent to my grandmother on the event of her retirement from teaching in 1952 after 32 1/2 years. The letter showed that she was going to receive $52.24 per month in retirement.
Daddy is still looking for his checkbook he lost somewhere downstairs three weeks ago. He has looked through the same stack of papers 30 times. It is still not in there.
Happy New Year
As a year ends and a new one begins, I think most people reflect on the past year and wonder what the new one will hold. I have done this and must begin by counting my blessings. Bill seized the opportunity to start his own business and it is going very well. He is much happier, which is worth all of the time he puts in. John started the year off great by starting law school. Then his and Jordan's wedding was wonderful. David survived the tornado, which was such a blessing. Jobs can be replaced, but sons can't. Steven made the varsity basketball team and seems to have a good idea of what he wants to study and do with his life. I have spent much time with my family, which has been a blessing, even though the reasons I have seen so much of them has not always been.
2011 also held some very difficult times, the most significant was Walter's death. I miss him. Daddy is now confined to a wheelchair, a difficult thing for him to accept and obviously brings many difficulties for him. Because I changed grade levels at school, I am missing the commeradarie of my friends in seventh grade. It has been much more difficult than I anticipated. I had to have my fourth surgery to repair a pelvic floor prolapse. I pray that it is the last one I will ever need. On the positive side, the surgery was actually much easier than the last couple have been.
Looking forward to 2012 will certainly have many changes in store for our family. Walter left Delores and me money and land in his Will. This should make our lives easier in the long run, but because I am executor of his estate, I am going to be very busy. I am more than a little nervous about it. Steven will be going off to college. Our nest will be empty. It is hard to imagine what that is going to be like.
Changes that I want to make this year include taking better care of myself. I have to carve out time to exercise. I need to eat more healthily. Hopefully, doing those two things will help me lose a few pounds. I want to do more counting of my blessings and letting go of my troubles. I also would like to let go of a lot of "things" and live more simply with less clutter and excess.
Out with the old and in with the new. I am looking forward to working on myself this year. I want to be happier and I know only I can make that happen. "God bless us, every one."
2011 also held some very difficult times, the most significant was Walter's death. I miss him. Daddy is now confined to a wheelchair, a difficult thing for him to accept and obviously brings many difficulties for him. Because I changed grade levels at school, I am missing the commeradarie of my friends in seventh grade. It has been much more difficult than I anticipated. I had to have my fourth surgery to repair a pelvic floor prolapse. I pray that it is the last one I will ever need. On the positive side, the surgery was actually much easier than the last couple have been.
Looking forward to 2012 will certainly have many changes in store for our family. Walter left Delores and me money and land in his Will. This should make our lives easier in the long run, but because I am executor of his estate, I am going to be very busy. I am more than a little nervous about it. Steven will be going off to college. Our nest will be empty. It is hard to imagine what that is going to be like.
Changes that I want to make this year include taking better care of myself. I have to carve out time to exercise. I need to eat more healthily. Hopefully, doing those two things will help me lose a few pounds. I want to do more counting of my blessings and letting go of my troubles. I also would like to let go of a lot of "things" and live more simply with less clutter and excess.
Out with the old and in with the new. I am looking forward to working on myself this year. I want to be happier and I know only I can make that happen. "God bless us, every one."
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