Freak of nature

As described in a previous post, Ian broke his collar bone four weeks ago. After an initial x-ray on September 3rd, he was told that he would be unable to play soccer for another six to eight weeks. He quickly did the math and determined that this prognosis would essentially end his high school soccer season. Ian asked if there might be any chance that he could play yet this season. The doctor told him, "well, I suppose that you could be some freak of nature whom completely heals in four weeks."

Fast forward four weeks: A follow up x-ray showed that Ian's right clavicle had completely healed. The area around the break was now almost twice the size of his left clavicle! I guess there is a benefit to drinking nearly a gallon of milk a day.... and it doesn't hurt to be a freak of nature either.

Needless to say, Ian is happy to be playing again.

Wish him luck.

Unlucky

In a previous post, I described how Ian had broken his arm playing soccer this summer. He couldn't wait to get the cast removed in time for his first official high school soccer game on September 1st. That game saw the Dublin Jerome Celtics defeat the Westerville North Warriors by a score of 2-0.

In the second game of the season, Jerome played Olentangy Orange in a chippy, brutal match. The Celts were not playing well, so Ian was determined to make a difference. In a tenacious move through the middle third of the field, he was tripped up by two Warrior defenders. Subconsciously protecting his recently broken arm, he went down hard to the turf on his right shoulder. Incredibly, no foul was called. Ian jumped back up and resumed play for another five minutes or so, until the pain became too much for him.

On the sidelines, the trainer recognized a suspicious bump on his right collar bone. A trip to urgent care resulted in Ian hearing the words he was dreading...."broken clavicle"...."no soccer"...."six to eight weeks." I could see him quickly doing the math in his head. He'll likely be cleared to play again for the very last game of the high school season. However, he is taking the news pretty well. The club soccer season begins November 2nd.

Here are some photos of Ian's high school debut:

Winning a 50-50 ball.

Celebrating a goal...good times.

Anticipating the aftermath of a hard, solid slide tackle.

Going up for a header in close quarters...maybe too close.

White men CAN jump.

....and new seasons begin

The 2009-2010 school year started this week in Dublin. Nathan began the seventh grade at Grizzell Middle School, Ian went into the 9th grade at Dublin Jerome HS...and I began to feel like an old man. Both boys have been working toward their new beginnings all summer, with preparations for their respective fall sports seasons.

Nathan went through summer conditioning and two-a-days to prepare for the football season. He has already played two scrimmages in which he started at center and logged a lot of playing time at defensive back. He worked really hard in conditioning seesions and it is paying off for him. At the end of a recent scrimmage, the mother of one of his teammates commented that she had noticed how hard Nathan was working in practices. She stated that he finished first in all of the wind sprints which come at the end of each practice. When I congratulated Nathan, he was modest and said that the only reason he won each race was because he "ran with the hogs" on the offensive line. As with everything he does, we are extremely proud of him.

Ian started preparing for high school soccer back in June. He would do weight training in the morning, and would attend open field scrimmages in the afternoon. In July, he broke his right arm in a collision with another player in one of the open field sessions. He wore a cast (which his trainer wrapped with a huge, hideous foam contraption) for all of his remaining scrimmage games - during which he started at center midfield. Some Columbus Crew players (Robbie Rogers, Danny O'Rouke, and others) signed his cast. After this, Ian didn't let anyone else sign it. The cast was removed last week, just in time for his first game, against Westerville North, which will be played on Tuesday, September 1st.

Michele has joined the PTO, and was very active in freshman orientation activities. Tonight, she and the boys attended the tailgate party before the first Jerome football game of the season.

GO CELTS !!

Another season ends...

I can't believe that summer is almost over. When I was younger, the conclusion of baseball season was always a foreboding that the end of the summer was near and that the FUN would soon become a little less free-spirited and a lot more structured. The end of summer baseball season meant that the dread would be ever-present, as a return to school was imminent.

Nathan had a good season of baseball in the Dublin Youth Athletics Bronco Major League. At the end of the post season tournament, he was chosen as an all-star. This meant that he was eligible to play in the annual all-star tournament. His all-star team was called the Dublin BLOOD PIES. The league commissioner stated that he wanted to name the team after "something Irish." He was hungry, so he came up with the Bangers, Mashers, & Blood Pies (all Irish food). While Blood Pies is an unusual name for a baseball team, it sure beat playing for the Dublin Haggis or the Dublin Fish & Chips.

In the final all-star game, Nathan made a crazy, diving catch in the outfield to rob the other teams big hitter of a sure triple. If the cameras had been rolling, I'm certain that you would have seen it on ESPN's Top Ten Plays. Of course, I could be a little biased...

That's Nathan in the back row, first on the right, and trying hard not to smile. I'm sure some of you will have questions about the kid in the front. Did you ever see the (original) Bad News Bears? By the way, this classic is on my list of the top five sports movies ever made. Maybe I'll have a separate post about this topic sometime. Anyway, the kid in the front row is the real-life version of Tanner Boyle. During the trophy award ceremony on the field after the game, I expected him to yell, "Hey Yankees, you can take your apology, and your trophy, and stick them straight up your @$#%!" while non-alcoholic beer sprayed everywhere. It would have been 1976 all over again.

Carolina STILL in my mind

It's been over a month since our return from vacation in Charleston, SC. So now I'm longing to go back! These family getaways bring out the best in each of us, and remind us of what is important...

each other.

While visiting, we stopped at Rosebank Farms on Johns Island. This place is one of our favorite stops on the road back from Kiawah Island. Michele and I first stopped here in 1992 (B.C. - before children) for peaches, tomatoes, and fresh seafood - our beach staples. Rosebank is much, much more than a roadside stand. They also have a menagerie of low-country farm animals, which include chickens, rabbits, goats, pigs, cows, mules, and others. Since Michele has a special connection with all animals, you can guess where she gravitates when we visit...

Michele and a new friend.

Nathan inherited Michele's love of animals. I'm somewhat surprised that we did not "accidentally" drive away with a new pet hidden in the backseat. And yes, his teeth are blue...a result of his new blue braces and Grape Nehi.

Ian found a friend in Bluebell the Mule.



My niece Jessie recently blogged about skimboarding. Ian first learned to skimboard when he was 7, and has gotten to the point where he makes it look easy (it's not, so I don't even try anymore).



This was the first beach vacation in which we were able to take the entire family. Suzanne and Mark were kind enough to invite Guinness, too! She handled the drive well, and was a real good dog. Of course, driving 1400 miles affords many opportunities for riding with your head out of the window, so she was an extremely happy pooch. Although it is not the best photo, I love how Michele and Guinness appear to have the same facial expression. Like mother like daughter, I guess...

We can't wait to do it all again, soon!

Carolina in my mind

In my mind I’m goin’ to Carolina
Can’t you see the sunshine

Can’t you just feel the moonshine

Ain't it just like a friend of mine

To hit me from behind?

Yes I’m goin’ to Carolina in my mind

-James Taylor

I couldn't believe that it had been a whole year since our last family vacation. As always, I desperately needed to see the water, hear the waves crash, and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. Something deep within my soul demands that I make a pilgrimage to large bodies of water at least once a year. Evolutionists might say that this is some instinctive behaviour passed down from some ancient ancestor. Well, I'm not so sure about that, but I do feel much more alive when I'm at the beach for some reason....

This year we headed to South Carolina to visit Michele's mom Suzanne, who has recently moved to Charleston with her husband, Mark. Michele has always been extremely close to her mom, so this move has been somewhat hard on her. Yet, Charleston is one of our favorite cities, so I'm sure that we will happily visit often. Mark & Suzanne live along the Ashley River, near the old plantations, just southwest of the city. They also are only 20 miles from Kiawah Island, Folly Beach, Sullivans Island, and other beaches... an added plus! The entrance to their subdivision is on Rhett Butler Drive (really). The live oaks and spanish moss signal your arrival in the ol' south.

On our first day, we went down to the waterfront to see the final departures of the tall ships which were in town for the Charleston HarborFest. Mark's office is in the Maritime Building, just steps from the waterfront park pier, from which these pictures were taken:

Personally, I don't consider it a "vacation" unless a boat is somehow involved. Luckily, we were all able to take a boat from Bohicket Marina on Johns Island to the mouth of the Edisto River at the Atlantic Ocean. Michele and I have taken this trip a few times. However, the new Sea Pro boats are much nicer than the old Carolina Skiffs (floating bathtubs) we used to rent. The Sea Pros came equipped with GPS, depth finders, marine radios, live wells, etc.

Before we arrived, Suzanne had been bragging to Mark about my supposed skills as a boat captain. We'd had an outstanding boating experience in these same waters over 17 years ago, and she used this as evidence for her claim (it's a good story, which has been properly embellished over time). My own family doesn't share Suzanne's confidence in my skills. Although I did get a "nice job, captain" from the marina's harbormaster, following this most recent trip, when we docked and tied up in a very tight space.

One of these days, I hope my family appreciates the experience and knowledge they've gained on boats. Michele is an awesome first mate. After numerous trips like this one, she instinctively knows what to do (and when) without any instruction from "the captain." We make a pretty good team, I think. Michele mans the anchor and bow, and she remains the best fisherman in the family. Nathan is learning to navigate, and Ian is....well, Ian is a good passenger.

We beached on the (mostly) deserted Botany Island. The boys, Michele, Mark, and Suzanne jumped ashore while I anchored in deeper waters. The beach scenes in the movies "The Patriot" and "Cold Mountain" were filmed right here. "The Notebook" was filmed just across the river on Edisto & Wadmalaw Islands. I can see why... the natural beauty of this place seems untouched by time and modernity.

After a short stroll and some shelling, everyone hopped back into the boat for a little fishing. We tried the nearby shell mounds (prehistoric trash dumps), which were likely built by the Edisto Indians over 4000 years ago. We didn't fare too well there, so we moved the boat closer to Privateer Point, on Seabrook Island. The fishing and crabbing was much better here. Ian worked hard to hone the fine art of crabbing with a chicken neck tied to kite string. He was able to catch one Atlantic Blue crab and one hermit crab using his trademark "toe method"....when you feel a tug on your toe, just pull up the line.

Michele caught a few nice fish, but the "big ones" just weren't biting on this day. Maybe next time. When we got home I took a peek at some previous vacation photos. I'd guess that I have at least 20 photos (dating back to 1989) of Michele with a fish, and they all look just like this current one...she just doesn't age.

After some dolphin (plus one shark) watching, and swimming (just me, due to aforementioned shark), we cruised back to the marina...another awesome day in the Carolina low country!

Heaven on Earth

Heaven on earth.

Even though I believe my little family views me as the stereotypical bumbling father (e.g. Homer Simpson, Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor, or Ray Romano) they must still love me. For Father's Day, I was given this beautiful red hammock. When I'm lying in it, I feel like a king.

"Hammock-eye" view of the "kingdom."

Loyal subject.

Thanks, Family.

I love you, too.