I think I'm gonna hurl.....

Cookie made his pitching debut last night...struck out five and only walked 3 while giving up 2 runs in a game his team won 9-7. I've said it before, but I am a zillion times more nervous watching my childrens' endeavors than I ever was when I was playing. The combination of wanting so badly for your child to have success and your absolute inability to influence the outcome is painful. His coach awarded him the game ball afterward and he beamed with pride. I think it might have made it into bed with him last night!

I've reverted to slug-like inactivity. I just can't find the motivation, and we're chasing our asses with kids activities. I'm determined that next week will be different, but I don't know how to make it happen.

Tommie's first communion was terrific. Always a good excuse to get together and drink some beer! it's the Catholic way!

groundhog day

Cookie had his first baseball game last night, and the results were painfully similiar to last years...a 12-2 loss to a team that's not that much better than us. We have to find a catcher who can catch and pitchers who can pitch or it will be more of the same.

Walked 3.75 miles this morning. I'm not as sore as Tuesday...hurray.

X yur thighs...

Did a lifting circuit last night...first time in months and the shoulders, arms and quads are reminding me of the gap.

Walked 3 miles this morning....went by the Hoffman Estates and then the Greifenkamp Grotto...like a little kid on a bike, hoping in vain that one of them might come out and play with me, but alas.

long time, no post.

I've become addicted to facebook. It's like crack for the 40 yr old set.

anyway Jules and I put a new floor in TA's room over the weekend. I think it looks great! The boss is getting really good at the laminate flooring thing.

Haven't been real diligent re: exercise. I've made a promise to myself to get back on the horse this week!

Homer is my homeboy...

Odyssey 

 /ˈɒdəsi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [od-uh-see]
–noun, plural -seys for 2.
1.

an epic poem attributed to Homer, describing Odysseus's adventures in his ten-year attempt to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
2.
a long series of wanderings or adventures, esp. when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc.

So, the family has returned from our great southwestern trek...scarred yet unbending. 5116 miles of automobile family fun. It was an amazing adventure, but not one I'm willing to replay. Too much time in close spaces reveals things that maybe should be left hidden. Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri. 14 days. Seven states...some of them twice.

I'm more convinced than ever that warmer climes are in my future. Arizona in March is just about ideal, to my way of thinking, and I'm willing to trade the three months of unbearably hot summer for the three months of unbearably cold winter here in Illinois.

odds, ends, random thoughts

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." (tip of the Texas Rangers Cap to George Bernard Shaw)

So, as I made the long drive across Texas, I was struck by the recurrence of man's folly. The failed campground in the middle of the oil fields, 60 miles from anywhere. The ramshackle trailers, unoccupied for years. The gas station without a roof, with nothing inside except the ghosts of failed dreams and rodents. Upon arriving here in Phoenix, the evidence of the real estate crisis leaps out on virtually every corner. I began to wonder what the thought process was...why did it seem like a great idea at the time? Where are the people who put their lifes' blood into these enterprises that seem so foolhardy in retrospect? Of course there's no way of ever knowing how they came out,but I have to give them their props for trying....

We've been busy doing nothing since we arrived. Wedding is today..then tomorrow its off to points west.

It's over...it's all over

Farewell to thee! but not farewell To all my fondest thoughts of thee:Within my heart they still shall dwell;And they shall cheer and comfort me (tip of the Tarheels cap to Charlotte Bronte)

Basketball season has ended, and I'm ambivalent. I won't miss the long road trips, the too many games or the loss of free time, but I will miss hanging out with the ten young men who comprised the team and with the other coaches, who realized that these are ten year olds, and the most important thing is to have fun. I don't suppose I've ever seen, nor shall I see again, another coach laughing so hard he was crying while losing a game by 15 points!

Ten ten year olds, who each made me laugh out loud at some point in the season; who frustrated me to no end at others. I enjoyed the ride, and I owe each of them and their parents a profound debt of gratitude.

Time change has me all fouled up. I was up at 4:15 this morning, so I lifted for 20 minutes. Then tonight I took cookie to the outdoor court so I could run suicides while he practiced shooting. He and I then played two games of pig...with the loser running sprints. I prevailed! Of course I ran with him...his misery loves company, and my fat needs the work.

Four and a wakeup before we set out on the BFA (big family adventure)