Halloween 2023
Month: October 2023
Thanking the Polish Community
Which raised several thousand dollars for the parish during the latest international festival…
Steve Hackett Live
It’s something D and I have wanted to experience since we were just a little older than the Boy: a live performance of old Genesis music, in this case, the entirety of Foxtrot, which includes their magnum opus, the 23-minute “Supper’s Ready.”
The whole show was amazing — but I obviously didn’t film the whole thing…
Coming Home
The Girl was heading out to Target.
“I want to go, too!” the Boy exclaimed.
What was going to be the reaction? She’s often reticent to take him anywhere, but surprisingly she simply said, “Well, you can come with me.”
So our children went clothes shopping alone.
Looking for Recipes
Soccer Evening
Hits
Some the the Girl’s hits at a recent game — never published it.
Neighbors
Playoffs, Game 2: The End of the Season
The Girl’s volleyball team played in the second round of the division playoffs tonight, facing River Bluff just as they had last year. Last year, the girls won in straight sets, but each set was by the closest margin.
This year, River Bluff jumped out to a 1-8 lead in the first set, and I was afraid it might be one of those nights. However, they fought back and eventually tied it at 13. That means they went on a 12-5 streak. And what did they do after that? They gave up 7 consecutive points, ending up at 13-20 in a heartbeat. This has been the story of this team this year: they pull back and tie a set or they roar ahead and dominate a set, only to give the points back. So they lost the first set 19-25.
The second set they jumped into the lead and held a two-point lead for a long time before River Bluff tied it up at 18. At one point, they were down again, 22-23, but they tied it on a big hit from L. They went on to with the second set 25-23, which is the same score they won their final set against River Bluff last year.
In the third set, it happened: they fell apart and could not pull themselves back together. It was 3-3, and suddenly that transformed into 4-10. Then it was 9-17. They just never managed to keep it together and ended up getting trounced 13-25.
I don’t mind so much when the Girl’s team loses when they just get out-played. I don’t like to see them beat themselves so badly.
Down two sets to one, the girls had to pull it out in the fourth set to send it to a final fifth set. They were doing fine, trading point for point until it was 5-5. But just as happened in the third set, they began playing uncoordinated ball and soon it was 7-13: a 2-8 run. They fought back to make it 18-19, but then they gave back three more points to make it 18-22. In the end, they lost the fourth set 20-25, thus bring their 2023 season to a close.
And in the end, tears. Tears because it was the end of the season, and seven seniors will be leaving this year. Tears because it was the end of the season after a state championship that they were all convinced they could repeat. Tears because of the stress of a whole season and the release when it all comes to an end.
There is a sliver of a silver lining in all this: the Girl desperately needs a break for her ankle to heal some. At least now she’ll get some rest before club season starts. But that’s little consolation when you see your daughter in tears.
But we have a 3-0 sweep and a subsequent state championship from last year to keep in the bank…
Blue Ridge Parkway
Baking
One Crazy Day
Reworking Pictures from 2013
Playoffs, Game 1
The girls took Blythewood (I think — I’d never heard of them) in straight sets tonight. Monday, we face River Bluff. We took them in straight sets last year, but we won each set by the barest margin, so we’ll see how things go Monday.
The Plan
This content is private.
Practice
When the Girl decided she wanted to play volleyball, when she tried out for the team as a sixth grader and didn’t make it, when she became really determined, she’d come ask me, “Padre” (She’d started calling me that by then) “can we go out to the front yard and practice volleyball?” I’d toss her balls, simulate spikes, help her practice running for balls — all the basic skills someone of my eager volleyball means could help with given our lack of a net.
At some point, she asked me for the last time to go help her practice. I didn’t realize it was the last time she would ask me, and to be honest, I don’t know if I even agreed to it. She might have asked, and I might have made some kind of excuse. Or maybe we went and practiced one last time.
She hasn’t asked me to do that in years now. She probably never will again. The last time, passed without knowing, fully past with complete knowledge.
So when the Boy asked if, instead of swimming tonight, we could practice basketball, I agreed. I didn’t really want to: I wanted to get some serious exercise in the pool. But he’s that age: how many more times will he ask? When will be the last time?
The Boy Returns
Our first camping trip with scouts was exactly six years ago this weekend — I didn’t know that until I checked the way-back machine at the bottom of the page. I was with the Boy during that trip, and I made sure he kept warm. And there was no rain, so keeping dry was a simple issue.
This weekend he was alone, and I had no idea how it would go. We went about our weekend, including a lovely walk this morning, as if everything had gone perfectly.
Still, the questions from Friday’s post lingered in our heads:
Did we prepare him well enough? Is he going to keep warm and dry this evening? Will he accidentally put his pack up against the wall of the tent and get his stuff wet? There’s no way to know until Sunday.
“Camping“
And so today, we found out.
“Did we prepare him well enough?” No, not really. We didn’t send him with a tarp to put under his tent, so he had to bunk with two other boys, crammed into their tent.
“Is he going to keep warm and dry this evening?” Most definitely not: the tent leaked.
“Will he accidentally put his pack up against the wall of the tent and get his stuff wet?” No, he didn’t do that, but the tent leaked badly enough that almost all his clothes got wet, so he was stuck with one tee-shirt and a pair of shorts for the rest of the trip.
But did he have fun? Most definitely.
“Did you want to give up?” we asked him.
“Yes, that first morning.” But after he and the boys he bunked with hiked back to the cars with one of the adults to get a spare tent and take back all their wet stuff — which was almost everything — things were fine.
Fine, but tiring — which you can see from the picture of his return:
Once we got home, and he took a shower and had some warm, tasty home cooking, he settled down with a cup of hot tea to relax for a couple of hours.
Company Picnic
Camping
The Boy has headed off on his first solo backpack camping trip. They left today at four, with the plan of hiking about an hour to their first site.
Tomorrow morning, they pack up and head further into the Foothills Trail, camping one more night before heading back Sunday.
And of course, it’s raining there right now. If it’s raining like it is here, it’s a light rain that shouldn’t cause too much trouble.
But it’s rain nonetheless. Did we prepare him well enough? Is he going to keep warm and dry this evening? Will he accidentally put his pack up against the wall of the tent and get his stuff wet? There’s no way to know until Sunday.
Volleyball
The Girl’s team had their final game of the regular season this evening. They won 3 sets to 1.