Goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maroonies - 2012

I took my coaching to a new level this past April and May as I volunteered to coach my daughter's U6 soccer team, the mighty Maroonies.  As opposed to the 3-4 year old set that I had coached in the past, these girls were able to understand me when I spoke, laughed at my goofiness, but fortunagely, they still had no expectations of greatness on my part.

I had a blast coming up with drills, watching them improve week to week and seeing their confidence grow day by day.  Sure, sometimes they were more interested in the "special treat" that was provided at the end of the game and at other times they wanted to practice cartwheels, but at the end of the day they seemed to have fun.  No score was kept and whenever they inquired or tried to keep track, it was discouraged (as an aside they dominated every team they played) as all I wanted them to do was have fun.

There are a few weeks left in my boy's 3-4 year old's season, and back I go to point them in the right direction, determine when they need to go potty, and try my hardest to make out just what they are saying......but one day they will be six and I hope I have laid the ground work for continued soccer fun.

Shark!!!!!!!!!

When I was a child I was into all things sports, especially baseball.  I was Rainman when it came to citing statistics of my home team, the Minnesota Twins.  I would drag my parents out to the old Metropolitan Stadium early so I could watch batting practice.  We then moved to Seattle and my love of baseball disappeared thanks in large part to the awful Kingdome and the awful Mariners.

It is with great pleasure that I now watch my little four year old and his love for......sharks.  I should say obession with sharks.  Long-nose chimera, thresher, lemon, black/white tip reef, goblin, and bull shark (just to name a few) are incorporated into every day activities and conversations.  Whether we are crossing the I-90 bridge ("I just saw a bull shark"), brushing our teeth ("This water goes to the ocean for the sharks"), or swiming at the YMCA ("Let's scuba dive with the sharks"), he finds a way to keep sharks in the mix.

Courtesy of a tip from an old high school friend (thank you Lorraine), we headed to the Point Defiance Zoo & Acquarium the other day where there is a shark tank.....jackpot!  While our little guy watched nurse sharks, lemon sharks and black tip reef sharks (as well as some very scared fish) swim around for a very long time, my wife and I simply watched the look of amazement on his face knowing it will not last forever.

Because of a great gift from our good friend Cathy, he now can also sleep every night with sharks - ok, it is a shark puppet, but every night it keeps our little guy company.  I believe the other half dozen stuffed animals sleep with one eye open now that there is a shark in the bed.

Three Year Plumber

It was a simple request that my wife made in mid-2008, fix the handle to the shower.  Mind you, the shower still worked just fine, it was aesthetically in need of some love.

I tried the patchwork approach - glue - but that failed within hours of application.  I then took the bold step and went to Lowe's and ordered a replacement of the entire unit.  The date on that order was November 2008.  I remember how excited Deborah was when the part arrived.  That excitement had to be tempered for three years.

I found a nice place for the box to sit and collect dust.  Each time Deborah asked me to fix the shower handle, I would mumble something and let her know that the current state of the shower handle had no effect on her beauty....or something like that.

Believe me, every time I showered I was reminded that I needed to get to the project, but just like electricity, water issues scare me (I will never do an outdoor lighting project).  I believe the fear comes from watching too many Three's Company episodes where Mr. Roper would attempt to fix something only for it to go awry.

Something finally froze over and I would like to say that as I type this, I hear the hum of the shower.  And yeah, it sounds a little different thanks to my handy work.