WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

Football is over…..That is the games have concluded for the season…And now I am sad.  No more seeing my grandsons play football until next July.  Maybe by then they will be talking to me again.  They still won’t even look at me.  The Football Banquet is  November 12th and I will go to that no matter what.

the older grandson in 3 point stance

The youngest grandson carrying the ball

Last night was the play-off games.  As usual, I made the banner for the team to run through.  My mind must be off because for some reason, I thought the game was at 6….I left my house at 20 minutes till 5 and got their just in time.  The game started at 5!  I was rushing around doing things and didn’t get to take a photo of the finished banner.  The good thing is, there is a man from a local company who takes photos of some of the games.  He got a shot of most of the banner….The only thing is he has a web  business and charges $2.99 for a 4 x 6 photo reprint!  (I am in the wrong business because I have some of the same shots he does and I have been giving them to the parents!) We won third place with a score of 20 to 6…All the players and cheerleaders received medals for the win.  The Cheer coach came up to me after the game and thanked me for all my help with the 6 or 7 banners I have made for the team….and she gave me a medal! Some one appreciates me!

I talked with several parents and I will probably sit with them during the banquet.  The girl player, (“George”) had an interview with a news paper reporter on Thursday and was front page news today.  She had told us that she talked to a coach of the Junior High team about playing next year.  He told her she could join the team but she would sit the bench.  This is how the coaches wanted to advertise that she is one fantastic player and maybe, the junior High coach will acknowledge her talent by seeing it in the paper. The photographer even had a web album dedicated to just her.  She worked hard for the past 2 years and even played this year with a bruised sternum that she received during one game.

So my next step will be to keep checking both the Biddy Basketball and Youth Wrestling sites for their schedules and rosters.  I have been told that both grandsons will play Basketball for the South Elementary Stallions, and I have also heard that the youngest will also wrestle again this year.  My daughter may be able to stop me from talking to them, but she can’t prevent me from going to public games and matches.

For now, that will have to be enough for me.  Watching them grow both as young men and in talent from the sideline….and taking my best friend, my Camera to keep my memories….

Hugs and Love to all my friends reading this!

The party is almost over…..

So sad....
only 2 more football games. Wednesday our team plays the second play-off game.  Then on Saturday, will be the finals.  I will miss football as it is the only place I get to see my grandsons, even if they aren't talking to me. The weather today cancelled our last practice. Then it will be Basketball and Wrestling. I have friends who will keep me in contact with the various teams so I can at least go to games and matches. And I will take my best friend..."Raven"....my camera....
Thursday is officially "Beggars Night"....Halloween to most people is celebrated on the 31st, but in Ohio it's "Beggars Night" during the week...between 6 and 7:30 so it isn't even dark when the children go out in their costumes...I won't get to see my grandchildren dressed up.
Still haven't heard from my oldest grandson. The Army is keeping him busy I guess.  I still hope to go to his graduation, but the closer it gets to that date, the more I worry I won't be able to go after all....
But I am staying busy here in my hermit shell.....knitting, computer and catching up on sleep.....

Life goes on….and I must go on too.  Hopefully one day soon I can look back at this time in my life as a bad memory.  And create new happier memories..

Hugs and Love to all my true friends…

Football Play-offs; Oh What a day!

So….the regular season is finally over and play-off for the championship has begun.  It is what our coaches call the “Second Season”.  Now it doesn’t matter how many games you won or how many games you lost.  If your head is in the game, and your heart wants it badly enough, you can bring home the trophy. 
The day began with our team’s game.  In the regular season we placed 4th. There were 3 teams with the same win/loss record so the place was decided on who won against who…The other two teams both beat us once, but we beat the third place team once.  Their win against us was by more  31 points so in order to finish above them our win would have had to be more than 32 points over them….But, alas was not. So the way the play-offs start; the 1st place team plays the last place team, the second place team plays the next to last, the third place team plays the team in 6th place and the 4th place team plays the 5th place team.
We always make a big thing of the  first play-off game. A couple of years ago when I still worked and had money, I bought a flag from the Minnesota Vikings website and a Viking costume at Halloween from a local party store. The first year, one of the father’s volunteered to wear it. Last year, I wore it.  During a practice last week, I was asked if I still have the costume and flag.  I do, but because this year anything I take to the field I have to carry on my own, I haven’t been bringing everything.  One of the father’s said if the costume fit him, He would wear it this year. So I brought it to the next practice.

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Some of the players on some of the teams have shown their support by wearing pink duct tape.  We have a girl on our team….She decided to go all out for the game.  She is a 6th grader and this is her last year to play youth sports so she is ready to win the Championship Trophy.

I don’t know what they fed her the night before, but her mom tells me her and her brother were up at 7:30 a.m., outside warming up and wanted to be at the field at 8! (The game wasn’t until 10!)  She had 12 tackles in the game and recovered a fumble by the other team….I think we should have her wear the pink for the last 2 games…
It was an exiting game all the way around.  The players were pumped up, the parents were pumped up and the coaches were pumped up.  We won the game 28 to 0….The other team had to take “the walk of shame”….that’s when the losing teams have to turn in their equipment.  All players are told to make sure they bring extra clothes the first day of play-offs, as any team that does lose goes home….minus their helmets, shoulder pads and pants pads…
The next 2 games were no surprise. Both the second place team and the first place team won their games…The surprise came when the third place team played the 6th place team….Now the third place team has had a year filled with drama. One of their players had a weight issue before the season started, made weight for the first game, but refused to weigh in after the 5th game….Their team was “beating up” on every team they played up until then accumulating over 30 points against every team they beat…We were the first team to even score against them.  This player also has an anger management problem.  In the past he has been suspended for games and usually had at least 1 ”Un-sportsmanlike Conduct” call per game. He has made a habit of punching, hitting, pinching and making obscene gestures to members of the opposing team all season.  After the game where we beat them and he received a penalty for “Late hit out of bounds” where he ran one of our players into a bench (the other boy used to be his best friend), he was suspended for the remainder of the season.  His coach/father and head Coach were both fired for encouraging bad sportsmanship. He was at the game protesting…

This was just enough to fire up the 6th place team.  They came ready to play. The score didn’t get very high, but it got high enough….In the end, the 6th place team sent the 3rd place team home by a score of 8 to 6…..just 2 points….but the field almost broke into a riot as members from all the other teams who stayed to watch broke into a cheer….
Karma will get you in the end….
Next step….On Wednesday, our team will play the 1st place team at 6 and the other 2 teams play at 7:30.  The 2 winner will play for the championship game on Saturday at the High School; and the two losers will play for 3rd and 4th place.  This is the first time this has ever been done.  All the boys and our girl are pumped up and excited about playing on the “Big” field.  And as was proven this past week….anything can happen!
Good luck to all of them but most of all to my favorite team…..The Vikings!
Hugs and Love to all my friends reading! 

Blog, Blog, Blog…..

Okay…it has been several days since I have written anything.  I have made lots of changes and so far I have been doing very good. I did return to football practices and talking with my many friends there.  It sure brightened my spirit.  It’s nice to know that a few people can’t spoil it for others.  No word from any of my grandchildren; my cell phone has been almost deadly silent but I am managing to make the most of everything. I hope I will get a letter from the oldest grandson soon, but I know the Army is keeping him busy.
I made the banner for Saturdays game, and I started knitting a spirit scarf in team colors.  It’s hard to be upset and knit at the same time, so it really helps to occupy my hands and my mind at the same time. I will go watch all 4 games on Saturday and take pictures of at least 3 of the games for friends.  I am working on a photo album for the coach of our team, gathering photos for the team video for the banquet and I will also work on a book for my middle grandson’s last youth football league year….although since I can’t talk to him and he can’t talk to me, I will save it for the apology I get when he does start talking to me again….I’ve decided since I did nothing wrong, I at least deserve that much.
Thanks to my mother-in-law, my laundry is done.  She washed, dried and folded 2 loads of my clothes and now is working on my husband’s clothes. She has nothing to do this week and volunteered to do them for us….which saves us from going to the laundry mat…and since she just lives in the duplex next door, we only have to walk out the door to get them. I want my own washer and dryer, but we only have room for maybe a stackable set. I’ll add that to my “When I win the Lottery” list. (LOL!)
Yesterday at practice they had what they refer to as “Senior Hit Day”.  It is when the 6th grade boys who are currently playing their last year of youth football get to choose 1 coach on the team to “Tackle”….Don’t worry, they use a tackling dummy….otherwise I think some of the coaches may have ended up on their behinds!.  My Grandson chose the coach who originally chose him in the draft over 4 years ago.  In a way, I felt it was some kind of a show of respect. The poor coach is suffering from a torn meniscus in one knee, so he used that knee to block the pad. The head coach received 3 hits! Which is unusual as he very rarely gets any! And the girl on our team chose the newest of our coaches.  One of the 6th graders was not at practice, so I am sure he will get his chance next week.
So as for now, I am once again in good spirits.  I have decided I am not going to worry myself sick over something I have no control over.  I have my memories to keep me warm….and the hope that someday, things will start to look brighter for me and will go back to the way they were….Some things will never be the same as some of the damage done can never be repaired…Some Relationships will never be re-kindled, and others will be strained…
But to all my friends out there, and you know who you are; Thanks for always being there with your kind and uplifting words.  I love you all!
Hugs and Love to everyone reading!       

Another step towards change.

The other night, I did some “house cleaning”.

I went through all of my e-mail accounts and deleted people who I don’t know, or who I have not heard from in ages and never get e-mails from.  I also deleted family members who no longer talk to me, or I don’t talk to them or want nothing to do with me.  Then I made all my e-mail accounts private.

I also had 2 “My Space” pages with photo albums and blogs, and more contacts I really don’t know. I deleted both of them completely. Then, I created a new personal e-mail account that I will only give to those deserving of my friendship/relationship…and created a new “My Space”.  I sent e-mails to several of the contacts I had there that I do want to keep in contact with…(oops! Just remember someone I forgot to add!)

My thought process goes like this: Everyone knows where I live.  Most of my friends and family have my telephone number, e-mail accounts and facebook page. If it is someone who really cares about me, they will contact me.  If they don’t, it’s their loss not mine and I should not be bothered by people who only use me. I am tired of being a taxi, delivery service, “loan” company, supply company and messenger service.  Family only calls me when they need a ride, need me to pick something up, need to borrow money, need me to make something or need something they know I always have around or want me to “get a message” to someone. Don’t get me wrong! I like to be needed and to be helpful! But there has way to much giving and not enough getting in return.

I am tired of being the one taking the pictures, and not being in the pictures.

So my vow is to change.  I am going to learn how to say no, even if I feel guilty at first. I know after a few times of saying no, some people will not ask again. And that’s okay, too! I am not saying I will quit helping all together, but there will be a new me in town. I need to be happy if I am going to survive this hermit life I am living. 

From Now on, it’s all about me!

Thanks to all my friends on the internet who have stuck with me through my ups and downs. A big HUG to each of you! Thanks for your kind encouraging words, your uplifting thoughts and your prayers. I truly love you all.  My one wish is someday we could all meet and actually exchange those hugs!

Hugs and Love to all!

 

Changing my calendar

I have been having one of those months….and it’s not even over yet!

I have officially decided that I am deleting October from my Calendar next year. Between people who use me, and the people who abuse me, my emotions just can’t take another month like this.  And Yet, I know that my favorite month of the year, December, will be worse still! Why?? You may ask….Because this year, I will have nothing to look forward to Christmas day. Yes, I know this is only the middle of October, but with the situation with my daughter only escalating this past week, I will not be able to have any time with at least 3 really important people to me….3 of my grandchildren.  And I will not attend any family functions with my husband’s family. This would only remind me of what I have lost. My oldest grandson will get leave from the Army for about 2 weeks and I can look forward to seeing him for at least a couple of days.  The only people who would remember my birthday would be 1 son….my middle son; and maybe my oldest son along with all of my dear internet friends. But there won’t be any presents.

It won’t depress me much because I have decided that I can’t cry over this anymore.  From now on, I will go on and live my life alone if I have to.  I can decorate like I love to do, listen to my favorite Christmas Carols, address and send Christmas cards, and attend the Christmas Eve Candlelight service at the local church. I will plan and make Christmas dinner for my shrinking family and try to pretend it doesn’t hurt that my daughter has decided she no longer has any family besides her children.

I won’t hope for a reconciliation…I won’t wait for a knock at the door or the phone to ring. I hope it snows chin deep to a giraffe!

Do you think people would think I have lost it if I start decorating for Christmas the first of November??

But in the meantime, I did get out a Halloween costume….

 

What do you think? 

Why do I even bother?

I moved away from my family in Virginia to be with my grandchildren.

Now I can’t even have that. I went to football practice to see my grandsons, and they won’t even look at me or talk to me.  Because of something my niece said in a text message.  Something I have no control over.

I will go to the football games and watch the team.  I will go their banquet. And then, I will try to go on with my life without them….

If I sound depressed….I guess I am.  Now, I only have my internet friends to talk to…no one to hug me or tell me they love me….

Maybe when my grandson gets out of Basic training and comes home, he will come visit. I know he still loves me.

Now what did I do??

Don’t ask me how, But somehow I have managed to do it again. I have provoked the evil ugliness (formally known as my daughter).  I don’t know what I did to get her all riled up this time.

The County Fair  started a week ago and Saturday was the last day.  I went the first day i opened because it was the only free day to get in and my money has been tighter than you know what.  For the past several days, I haven’t felt well anyway.  I started getting a scratchy throat and then a cough which means I was headed for a nice case of a severe chest cold.  So I have been staying home as much as possible….

The only time I go out during the fair anyway is when it is absolutely necessary because as soon as you pull out of your parking spot, there is some vulture too cheap to pay for parking at the fair grounds, circling the block waiting to pull into your spot. That’s the down side about living a block away. It comes in handy during parades as I can see the beginning and the ending of the parade just by walking the length of my street. (of course usually the parades last 2 hours so I can’t see all of the parade twice.!)

Anyway, back to my story….My middle grandson, the 12 year old , called me about 4 and asked me if he could use my phone while he was at the fair.  You see, he is in middle school, and all of his friends have unlimited texting (and so do I) which seems to be the norm these days.  So I walk the phone over with the usual cautions; “Keep in in your pocket on the rides, don’t drop it, don’t lose it and don’t let anyone else borrow it….Call me on your uncle’s number when you are ready to go home and I’ll come get it”.  Then I go back home, rub some “Vick’s Vapor rub “ on my chest and under my nose and go back to bed. 

At about 8 p.m., the other vulture, known as “Starvin’ Marvin” (my youngest son) is circling the bed….He has decided it’s time for “Breakfast at Dinner time”.  He wants French toast until I inform him the one thing he didn’t buy was syrup, so I suggest fried potato and onions.  He says he’ll make bacon, eggs and toast to go along with that.  While I am downstairs cooking, I put a call into the grandson to see if he has any idea when he’s leaving the fairgrounds….He says when it closes at 10!  I remind him to call and go back to watching the potatoes.

When I don’t hear from him by 9:30, I start walking to the fairgrounds and put a call into my phone.  My grand-daughter answers….She says they are already at home and I should come there to get the phone….Now remember, I have been banned from entering my daughter’s house since graduation in June…It would be a stop out in the street for me.  The house is dark, but I can see the shadow of someone standing in the open front door.  My grand-daughter runs out and says “pretend you are handing me a chap stick.”  Uhhhh….Okay?!?

As usual, whenever my grandson uses the phone, the first thing I do when I get it back is delete all incoming and out going messages.  (have you ever tried to read over 20 messages sent between teenagers??) Then I notice my niece sent 2 messages while he had it… So I read them first  then delete them, and I read the reply that one of the kids sent back to her….This could be bad…Now, I am not saying my niece actually sent the messages, but someone using her phone did… Apparently, they ran into one of my grandsons at the fair and started talking to them.  My grandson did not recognize whoever it was, and they sent a text about my grandson being “alone” at the fair and talking to “strangers”; and how my “daughter” would really have a fit if she knew that.

So let me clarify this. My daughter took her 3 children to the Fair and dropped them off.  Two of them had cell phones, and when I took mine to the middle grandson, I told him to take the phone he had (a Safe-link) to the younger boy; so all 3 then had cell phones…in a place patrolled by policemen. I was not concerned for their safety, and apparently my daughter was not concerned either…..Why my niece (or family member) was is beyond me.

Anyhow, it stirred up a hornet’s nest.  The next thing I know, I am getting nasty messages from my daughter about “keeping her name out of my mouth” and “stay the hell away from her children-or else”.  I told her I had no idea what she was talking about….because, really, I didn’t!  I was at home, in bed, sleeping minding my own business! (Oh and by the way…my daughter would not let my grandson call home from my phone one day at football because she didn’t want me having her number!, and she sends me 2 messages from her number……)

I sent a message to my niece’s phone asking what had happened, and then I told her politely to keep her nose out of my daughter’s business because the only person that got hurt was me!  Now I can’t see my grandchildren! 

I am just hoping I can get through the next 2 weeks of football, and then the banquet in November without her calling the police on me for some stupid reason….

This probably just screwed up my chances of going to Kentucky in November to see my grandson graduate from Basic Training…..and I didn’t even do anything!!!!

At least my grand-daughter can message me from the phone she has that I pay for….but it may be a long time before I ever get to see my 10 and 12 year old grandsons outside of sports; in public places that she can’t prevent me from going….without a restraining order.

So here I sit….I can’t sleep…I have been up for over 2 hours after going to bed only 4 hours ago…..I need my friends!

Hugs and Love to all of you!

Am i mad or just upset???

What a crappy day….

I woke up with another headache, my hip hurting and the beginnings of a good old fashion chest cold…coughing, achy, scratchy throat….you know the symptoms.  So I go through my morning ritual….Let the dogs out, make coffee, go to the bathroom, feed the dogs and turn the computer on…..When my phone rings….Now it only rings when someone needs me to do something anymore….I don’t get the “Hello, I was just checking to see how you were today.” calls or invitations to go somewhere and do something….Mine are usually “What are you doing in 30 minutes? I need……” phone calls….A 10 minute ride turns into “well it could be an hour wait” and before you know it 2 hours are lost.

I still have not learned how to say no….

And of course to top that all off….it’s Friday.  My car insurance is due tomorrow….so after I run my husband the 28 miles to the Flea market and back, I head to the store with the $100 he gave me (to last 2 weeks!)…On the way there, my grand-daughter calls for a ride to work.  She is working in the dining Hall at the Fair this week for her Culinary Arts class in school….All volunteer work.

So I get to the store, paper in hand to pay the insurance, in a rush to get back to pick her up in time.  I get to the counter and pull the money out…..and somewhere I have lost $20!!!!! Great!!! To top that off, the idiot behind the counter taking my money can’t enter the account number in right and the 10 minute trip now is 20 minutes and I’m calling the company to make sure I know my own account number.

Now not only am I out $20 I was going to buy food with, but I’m angry, pissed off and in tears. 

The only highlight of today was getting to spend 10 minutes in the car with my grand-daughter…..

I’m going back to bed. 

A Modern Miracle.

Today is a dawning of a new day.

And for 33 men, their families and their countries, It is a very joyous day.  Seventy days ago, these 33 m3n were trapped over 2000 feet below the surface in a mine they were working.  The first miracle came after over 2 weeks when it was finally known that all 33 men were alive and safe. 

Then came another miracle.  Countries all over the world worked together to come up with a plan to rescue these men.  When it was said the rescue may not take place before Christmas, another miner who had been trapped in America said, “That’s not good enough”.  He contacted people and said we have the knowledge and the technology to rescue these men a lot sooner.  Along with NASA and the co-operation of many,  many people all over the world….the work began

Three countries started drilling. Three efforts to bore through the abrasive volcanic rock went forward simultaneously — known as Plans A, B, and C — but it was Plan B that broke through to the miners first . South Africa  (plan A) started with a 5 inch hole and then tried to enlarge it to 28 inches.  Canada (plan C) started right away with the 28 inch hole, but the United States (Plan B) was the first to complete the rescue shaft.  They started with a 5 inch hole, then enlarged to a 12 inch hole and ended with a 28 inch hole.  In the end, it took only about six weeks to do what mine safety experts say is a job with little precedent: drilling a precision shaft, wide enough to accommodate a man, to a spot more than 2,000 feet — almost half a mile — underground.

On Monday, the Phoenix I capsule — the biggest of three built by Chilean navy engineers, named for the mythic bird that rose from ashes — made its first test runs after the top 180 feet (55 meters) of the shaft were lined with steel pipe, the rescue leader said.  And finally late last night, the first miners emerged from their deep  trap where they have lived for over  months.

  the first miner arrives!

 “Super” Mario

Such a wonderful experience watching these men arrive from the capsule.  Who can forget the looks of the family members as they await the arrival of the capsule, the hugs, the tears and the cheers as they hug.  The Chilean President has greeted each miner; even the single Bolivian; waving his flag as he arrived. 

Now, just over 12 hours have passed….there are still over half the men left to rescue.  It’s a school holiday in Chile so every person in the country can watch these men….and all over the world, people gather around TV’s and large screen live video.

Congratulations to All involved.  May God watch over and protect all of these wonderful people….the miners, their families and their rescuers alike!

To all My On Line Friends

OMG! I forgot to Hug You!!!!

Get It Off Your Chest Day

I am starting a new day.   From now on, Mondays will be “Get it off your Chest Day”.
Unlike Wednesdays “Rant” Day, Monday will be the day that you can get off your mind everything that happened over the weekend that you just can’t wait until Wednesday to rant about.
For me I woke up Mad this morning, after going to bed mad.  I had a pretty uneventful week; that is after football….but there were just some things that happened that really set me off.  I am one of those people that can’t say no when someone asks for help.  I drop whatever I am doing to help anyone who calls and asks a favor.  But I hate feeling like a door mat, or that I am being used.  I’m not a taxi service or a delivery  service and if I was, I’d be getting paid for it!  I am also not a message service or an information officer!  Don’t pass my phone number out to people I don’t know and have them call me to get a hold of you!  Don’t call me because I live near something and ask me their hours.  If you don’t have the time for me any other time, why bother calling me at all.  This past week was no different and I feel like I have just been a free service.
Friday, I went for a walk with my dog and my best friend; my camera.  After all….my camera doesn’t ask me for anything, it’s there for me when I need it and it is a great source of comfort when I am sitting alone and need something to do.  We walked through the Fairgrounds that was preparing for the County fair and headed across the road to the park.  My idea was to catch some of the fall colors; but the trees have all just barely started to change their “clothes”.  We have been having unusually warm weather for fall for the past several days.

The Fairgrounds was a bustle of energy….venders setting up their booths, ride attendants making last minute adjustments to rides and testing them out.  Hay and wood shavings being distributed to the various barns….And workers preparing their “home away from home” for the week. 
 
Football On Saturday….No complaints there….I visited with friends who don’t expect anything out of me except friendly conversation…and watched 4 football games…
Usually, I buy a fair 6 day pass….it saves the price of 1 days admission.  This year, I couldn’t afford the pass, so I went on Sunday, the free day.  I may be able to go Wednesday with my son, and Friday when I do have a little money to spend.  I get the Pumpkin Funnel cake, a Pork Loin Sandwich and the Loaded Potato Fries from 3 different venders: and there is always the “Fair Food”…cotton Candy and fried candy bars!….“Free” day is usually pretty slow.  A great deal of the exhibits are closed for judging, most of the animals are still coming in, there are no special events such as horseshows, tractor pulls or concerts…Even some of the places that were set up, would not allow people to venture in before noon.  One lady was quite rude about it.


So after a short walk around, I returned home…Knowing I had probably just made a big mistake by walking so far on a hip that has been really giving me fits lately…Three days in a row of standing for long periods and walking is sure to make it scream even more.
Then my youngest son really set me off…He has lived here at home since graduating college and up until now, I have been the one paying for everything.  For the past 18 months, I have been out of working and looking constantly for employment to no avail.  So things are a little tight.  Instead of being able to go to the grocery store and fill up a cart, it is more like go pick up whatever $40 will buy…He gives me $40 every 2 weeks to “help out”….and most of that goes to pay his cell phone bill on my contract that I have been paying for for the last 3 years!  He has decided all of a sudden that from now on, instead of giving me money, he’s going to buy groceries! He spent over $114. Among these, he bought about 5 boxes of cereal; 2 of which only 1 of my son’s eat.  He later raised all holy cane after one box was eaten in 2 days!  I was so angry about him making a stink over a $2 box of cereal that I have sworn I will not eat any of the food he has purchased….There are things in the cabinets that he didn’t buy that will be enough for me to eat….and if not, I will just go hungry.
But of course, It is Monday….and I was expected to do things for people once again that don’t have anything to do with me the rest of the week…The difference is, today I am not doing it!  I will only do what I want from now on!
Hugs and Love to all my true friends!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! oops! Did I fall asleep again?

It’s been a long, long day!

Went to football at 9 a.m. and after 4 games straight, I finally got home…..after 6 p.m.!

First thing I did was notice a stack of canned goods on my table.  My youngest son went shopping and the cabinets and refrigerator are full….8 boxes of cereal…..Hmmmmm, only 1 that I eat among them (frosted flakes).  I noticed he bought a lot of hamburger helper….but no hamburger….

Then I get on the computer to download the 3 memory cards of Football photos.  There were some nice surprises in today’s games.  First game was ours.  The team we had to play has been a sore subject at the field.  At first, they weren’t happy unless they played their first string through the entire game and beat every other team by over 30 points….Normally, if a team was that dominating, the coaches would pull their first string after they scored 18 points and use some of their younger players to even up the field a little….After all, this is youth sports and they want the boys to continue playing; not get discouraged and drop out!  Then their was the weight problem….certain positions have weight limits. To monitor this, there is a weigh in before the first game, after the 5th game and before the championship play-offs…After all, kids grow.  Would you want your 40 pound third grader getting hit by a 120 pound sixth grader??? I think not. Low and behold, when one of their players was well over his weight limit, his playing was restricted to certain positions….But his attitude only got worse.  I have never before seen such poor sportsmanship out of a 12 year old, his brother and his coach/father!  All of a sudden, this team started losing, and when they did win, it was by just a few touchdowns, not 5 or 6! This boy was encouraged by his father to kick, punch, pinch and by any means necessary get the other teams’ players on the ground or out of the game……There is one slight problem, our coach is Vice-president of the league and could probably state the rule book word for word if asked.  So when the other team decided to throw the rule book out, play was stopped while the coaches, referees and league board members made it perfectly clear what the rules were….Stretching an 8 minute quarter into a 37 minute quarter! After clearing that up, the other team still reverted back to dirty play, rule breaking and had several unsportsmanlike conduct fouls called on them to the point that the 2 boys had to be removed from the game so they would not be suspended for the first 2 play-off games…..But that didn’t stop them from calling parents on our sidelines names!  When it was all said and done, they still got beat by our team!

my youngest grandson with the ball

My older grandson with the other 6th graders.

The next game was a nail biter. no score in the first half at all.  We were determined to stay to see which team won, as they would be our opponent for the first play-off game….Now we have only lost 3 games; These 2 teams have lost 6 a piece and are the 2 teams directly under us in the standings so far….I didn’t really care who won as I have friends who’s sons play for both teams.  Unfortunately, the friend’s team I sat with, lost. I know 5 families who have children playing for the Hurricanes, either through my grandchildren, or as friends I have met through football. And I know one family from the other team.

The third game was another upset. The Number 7 team who had only won 2 games, beat the second place team who had only lost 2 games….now 3. I sat with yet another friend who’s son was on the winning team….taking pictures of all the friends’ sons….

And the fourth game was a team I will always hold dear in my heart… It was the first team my oldest grandson played for for 3 years….And was second place in the league the last year he played….This year, they are undefeated….And I am glad for them.  The coach and his family are dear friends and he has had several medical problems this year that may or may not keep him from returning to coaching next year.  If he doesn’t return, it will be a great loss for the league.  He has coached since his boys first started playing….They are grown, in college and some have gone on to play professional basketball in a European league (no, I don’t name the team they played for!).

I never meant this blog to be this long but decided if I waited until the morning, I would probably be just as tired then.  So I got right down to it.  Now I can rest easy…knowing I have kept my friends informed as to why I was “lost” all day….

My bed is calling my name….although sleep may not be what I find….My mind wanders, and just laying there in the bed I think of many new things to tell everyone….So I will soon be back.

Hugs and Love to All!     

Do You Remember these?

Travel back to Yester year with me….

Last night these images popped into my head….let’s see if anyone else remebers these thing from their past.

 

   

And in the words of some of my fondest memories…..Happy trails to you, until we meet again!