Time Flies

It seems like it was only yesterday that this photo (above) was taken. Actually, it was snapped over 10 years ago. The occasion was the Indian Run Pre-School picnic at Coffman Park. In the photo, Ian has his arm around his best friend at the time, Sarah. Yet, when he was very young, Ian had a strong fascination with little red-haired girls. In fact, Michele used to jokingly call him Charlie Brown because of this fascination. The little red-haired girl standing in front of him is Britt...

Ten years later, the occasion was the Dublin Jerome High School homecoming dance. We discovered that Ian had asked Britt to the dance less than two days before the big day. Up until that time, Ian had told us that he wasn't planning to go. I must admit that I was happy to hear that he had changed his mind, and even happier to learn that he had asked Britt.

Time flies by so quickly, and experiences like homecoming dances are precious, largely because of the evanescent nature of those memories. This blog was created with the intent of documenting those life experiences or glory days.

Ian and Britt joined more than a dozen other freshmen & sophomores on a party bus that whisked them off to Buca di Beppo for dinner. They all agreed that this time together was their favorite part of the night. After dining, they asked the driver to take his time returning to the high school so that they could arrive fashionably late for the dance. The actual homecoming dance received lukewarm reviews from most of the kids. Afterward, they all partied at a friends home. When I picked up Ian at the end of the night, the size of the smile on his face told the story of lifelong memories made, and shared, with friends.

At age 4

Karma

As Ian had handled some recent bad luck with an extraordinarily positive attitude, it was only a matter of time before karma sent some better luck his way.

Two weeks ago, Ian made it back onto the soccer pitch following a quick recovery from a broken collar bone. It didn't take him long to get back in stride. His touch was spot on and he was able to put a couple of balls in the net during the last three games of the JV season. On an extremely cold and rainy night, following his last JV game, he was asked to join the VARSITY team for their game that night against the number one team in the state: the St. Francis DeSales Stallions.

Michele and I were very happy for him, but I must admit that we were really looking forward to getting out of the cold...and Ian playing with the varsity meant we would sit on the those cold hard bleachers for another two hours. We thought that, as a freshman, he would simply sit on the bench and watch the upperclassmen play. However, after the starting center midfielder left the game with a concussion, Ian was called into the game. He played well. On the bus ride home, the coach asked him to join the varsity team for their run into the state playoffs! Last night, he played a good 60 minutes in the first playoff game against Marion-Franklin. He scored two goals and had two assists from his center midfield position. The next game will take place on Wednesday against the winner of the contest between Marysville and Pickerington.

UPDATE: Dublin Jerome beat Pickerington by a score of 6-0
UPDATE: Dublin wins District Championship by a score of 2-1

GO CELTICS!

Some action photos taken by another soccer dad:

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!