Feelings for my Children

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60_c7rA8IQM

End of the Tournament

Well, it's finally over! I'm "hockey'd out" for at least a few days. The boys played with only 11 on the team today; this is really when Harrison shines. He played great today and had some great checks. The team's only goal was with him on the ice as well. Too bad the "real coach" wasn't there today! Anyway, here are some snapshots of some of the play. We were at U of M Dearborn today. Harrison is number 19, red jersey. The first photo you see him working his man.


In the second one, which I happened to like, you see him leaning up against the boards between play. This is a pose a often see him strike in the time between playing.








The next one was of half our players in the box, but now it's disappeared! Hopefully, it will "reappear" when I publish the comment!

After that is another shot of play; Harrison is facing the camer skating with his stick out in front of him on the ice.




The last one is just before they were to score.





So, they ended up losing every single game, but they played quite well last night and today. Especially today.

I can't wait for the next two weeks to be gone. I know I shouldn't wish away time, but they are going to be so stressful. The week of Halloween is try-outs. Harrison wants to be on the team "for real" so badly; he practically lives to play hockey. I was talking with another mom of a kid who was cut last year and she shared a story of not only how heart-broken he was (and cried) but how they worked through it. It seems unfair somehow that the nicest kids are the ones who get hurt, or conversely, the meanest kids (on and off the ice) get to "win." Our coach last year, T. Battersby was AWESOME. He put together such a good team and it was a team of by-and-large great kids. They lost 9 of 10 preseason games, but in the end won the division championship (many of you may recall!). This was sportsmanship at it's best - Coach Battersby took a bunch of kids and taught them to play better individually and as a team and led them to victory over much better players and teams. I believe this was because he believed in these kids and the kids all appreciated the opportunity and had good hearts that never quit. I'm not so sure the "best" players are always the "best" players. I suppose one only need look at the quality of person many professional sports people are to see that!

So, here's to the next two weeks flying by and to a happy November! Well, I'm not so sure about the first week of November, either, now that I remember we'll be voting!! So, I'm going to enjoy the next 3 hours, which is all the weekend time I'm going to get before jumping back into another week. Wishing you all a better week than we will have!!

Big Bear Tournament

Last night we played a team from Hamilton, Ontario and lost 4/0. Arrived back at hotel around midnight, bed by 1. First game today against Sylvania, Ohio; we lost 5/1. Second game this evening against Tampa Bay, FL; we lost 3/1. Tomorrow will play for either last or second to last place in Dearborn - but we had kids thrown out of the tournament for fighting (see me sigh and shake my head), so we'll only have 10 players. I guess Harrison will get a lot of ice time and be exhausted. There he is in the middle of the picture (red jersey) in the game this evening against Tampa Bay. I'm pretty well burnt out on hockey at the moment, and especially not happy with coaching this fall - I know it's a dad volunteering because the "real" coach isn't allowed to coach until Halloween, but it's been ugly. I'm also tired of the overly aggressive play on our team and the fighting for the "real" coach to see play. This is just crazy and I don't believe high school kids should have to be this competitive and cut-throat in order to play a sport they love. I know a lot of parents would disagree with me and say things like "well, they have to learn about the real world sometime..." but I ask why now! I also doubt most adults ever work as hard at it as these kids are right now. I think it sets them up to see the world in a more jaundiced way and encourages them to learn cut-throat behaviors that may never be necessary in adult life. Well, enough bitching on my part! I better get to bed so I can drive from here (Ann Arbor) to Dearborn in the morning - well, later this morning I guess!

GOAL!

Harrison and I are off to Ann Arbor for a hockey tournament this weekend. The team played a game last night, and Harrison scored a goal. He was extra excited because the "real coach" was watching (and will be this weekend as well) ... tryouts for the "real team" are the week of Halloween. I'm still struggling to be OK with having these kids play for 7 months on the team, practice 3 times a week, give up entire weekends (like this one!), spend thousands of dollars on ice, equipment, hotels, etc. and they don't even know if they're actually on the team until Halloween. It really is wrong to my way of thinking. Anyway, I'll bring my camera and give updates when I can!

"Fake" holiday

I have mixed feelings about today (Columbus Day)! First of all, I'm not a fan of what I call "fake holidays." These are days there is no mail, the banks are closed, but every other business and organization still is working! I also am not sure it's a day to be celebrated. The Spanish brought with them more Europeans. That brought sexual transmitted diseases (these did not exist in the Americas), small pox, chicken pox, and the cold (also unknown in the Americas), as well as indentured servitude, slavery, and oppression as well as outright slaughter of many native nations and tribes. Millions of people died. In addition, the Vikings were here long before, so Columbus didn't really "discover" the Americas. And, Amerigo Vespucci mapped it all, so we got his name. Also, the Siberians and Mongolians crossed over the Bering Straights as long as 10,000 years ago, so remembering Columbus' journey is really just commemorating the Europeans finally getting here. On the other hand, I suppose my grandparents wouldn't have come here if it hadn't been "discovered" by Columbus, and I like being here, so I'm glad in that respect! Well, it was a sunny, warm day, so not all bad!

Clayton

This morning, I had the pleasure of attending a ceremony at Clayton's school as he was selected a "student of the month." We're very proud of him, as this is a real accomplishment for anyone selected. The kid must be nominated by a teacher, then all the teachers for the grade and administrators have a chance to vote. If one of them has a negative comment, the kid is out. (Kind of reminds me of "black balling" in sorrority rush!)

So, there were some doughnuts and muffins, as well as hot chocolate and institutional coffee. I opted to wait until I got back home to eat breakfast! Plus
the whole thing was just too early for me! The cermony started at 7:45 am. While I am at my best in the morning ... it needs to be MY morning time!!

We also got Clay's midterm report card today, which was GREAT! Actually, both boys are doing fabulous this year; they both have the best overall grades ever. I truly believe homeschooling math was a "magic bullet" for Harrison. It seems that getting that monkey off his back allows him to feel in control and positive about his school day. He's also been pleasantly surprised at the math skills he's gained, which he's been able to use in chemistry!

We're expecting a beautiful weekend, and let me say - I sure can use a dose of sunshine!

moran?

I saw this picture and at first, it wasn't even funny ... as I thought about it, it became amusing, but unfortunately very aptly portrays a large section of our population. Ever see the movie "Idiocracy?" I highly recommend it!

There is a theory right now that we, as a world population, are truly becoming less intelligent. This theory was developed by Dr. Richard Lynn. He has written a book on the topic: "Dysgenics: Genetic Deterioration in Modern Populations." Basically, the theory is premised on well documented data showing the most intelligent people in modern societies are having the least children, whereas the least intelligent people have the most. Thus, we are slowly pruning away the most intelligent genes and increasing the genetic pool of the least intelligent. There are a lot of discussions on this (the "big" one is it's not the least intelligent, but the least educated ... however, that argument doesn't hold water because it has been shown over and over and over, world-wide, that the least intelligent also attain the lowest educational levels).

At any rate, I'm really glad to work with some very, very bright young people. On that note, if you read this and understood it the first time through, please have lots of kids! I know I haven't had enough ... but my awesome neighbor and friend "Truly Blessed" has FIVE! Now that's making a serious dent in this issue!

False history gets made all day, any day,the truth of the new is never on the news.

Adrienne Rich