Mention
Monopoly
Some of E's friends came over for the day. They ended up playing Monopoly -- at last, someone to feed the Boy's addiction. I always feel a little guilty not being willing to play that game with him, but I swear we're all so sick of it that we'll be happy if we never play it again. All except for the Boy.
Orlando Traffic
Going to the convention center where all games took place, we traveled on Interstate 4. No matter the time of day, it looked like this:
Orlando Return
6
Driving back from Orlando today, I got to thinking again about the writing project I've been considering, and I came up with yet another organizational idea for it. Indeed, not just another organizational idea, but a somewhat altered focus. So two initial drafts get shoved aside for a third. Fortunately, I was only a few thousand words into the other two drafts, so there's no real loss there. I'm excited about the new approach and began jotting notes on my phone as I took the dog for a walk.
But the whole way, I think the Girl relived the highlights of competing in nationals.
Orlando 4
7
Our first experience with nationals is now over. The Girl's team finished 124th place out of 200+ teams. That's not great, but it's not terrible.
It represents the end of a strange volleyball season, one of several ups and downs, thrills and disappointments. The Girl improved a lot, both in her sense of court real estate (knowing and moving around the area of the court in a smart, effective manner) and ball handling.
The end of this year brings a bit of sadness with it, as do all endings. In this case, it's due to the fact that it's very unlikely these girls will play together again. Everyone will be going their separate ways from here. Since they don't go to high school together, they'll probably be opponents if they're on the volleyball court again.
So the third year of L's club play is officially behind us, and what lies ahead? The Girl has big hopes, big dreams. She wants to come back to nationals and win it -- or at least place in the top ten. She wants to play college ball, using her academic success with her academic skill to work her way through college.
In the end, though, the true friendships, whether among players or their families, will always last.
Orlando 3
8
Another day, more games, more frustration. It's tough watching the girls not doing their best, but there's something admirable in their effort, no doubt.
Orlando 2
Day 2 in Orlando didn't go quite as well as day 1. We have two more days, but the girls have a bit of a hole to dig about out of tomorrow. The girls are capable of it. It's really just more of a question of will, perhaps. Or maybe there's more going on.
Orlando 1
10
Today was a mixed bag for the girls in their first days at nationals. They lost two and won one, but they should really be able to compete with a lot of the teams here. They didn't get their butts kicked: instead, they got outplayed a little and kicked their own butts with silly errors that gave their opponents too many free gifts.
The Girl got some really big hits, and she got at least one monster hit that shot like a bullet to the back corner, the sound of the contact still echoing when the ball hit the court. It was a great hit.
The Boy discovered the joys of riding up an escalator and back down and back up and back down and back up and back down.
Planning Rides
11
This summer, I'm hoping to get back on the old mountain bike I left at Babcia's and ride a bit of the old areas I'd covered so many times in the early 2000s. Much of my riding then was on a road bike, which I don't have in Poland (or America anymore for that matter), but I rode a fair amount off-road as well.
To that end, I've planned at least a few rides I want to complete -- three of them completely new.
Ride 1
The first ride I want to do -- though not necessarily the first ride I will do -- involves crossing over the border at the top of Lipnica Wielka, the village where I lived for seven years. I'd always heard there were villages on the other side running somewhat parallel to LW, and I discovered getting to them is fairly simple. Since one can cross the border freely now, there's no risk of getting in trouble coming back into Poland without any documentation of entering Slovakia.
Ride 2
Next up would be a ride that begins the same ride four -- one I've done a few times but instead of turning left in the fields, I'll turn right. I never went right because I didn't know where I might end up. Turns out, I'll end up in Chyzne.
Ride 3
The third ride is through the fields of Lipnica Mała and Lipnica Wielka. It goes along the top of a ridge I'd looked at countless times when riding in Zubrzyca but never bothered to explore. I'll explore it this summer.
Ride 4
The small loop through the fields, I rode this route a few times in the past. It's a fun one, especially that climb at the start.
Dice
12
For whatever reason, the Boy has become interested in dice -- as in, the game. As in the gambling game. I'm not sure where this came from. He just came back from a trip to Target with K (or some other store) with a pack of six dice.
He learned how to play by watching a video after he bought the dice.
"How do you even play?" he'd asked.
"I've no idea," I admitted.
So he's learned and been playing betting with Monopoly money.
It's been entertaining watching him celebrate when he wins and get playfully frustrated when he loses. We're glad to see he's not really taking it too seriously -- that might be problematic for all kinds of reasons.
Today, I picked up where K left off in their game and promptly lost all my stash of $500 bills I'd inherited from K. "It's not real betting: why not just go crazy?" I thought.
And then I promptly won them all back. And then all his $100s. And his $50s. And his $20s. In short, all his money. His response: "Well, happy Father's Day!" with a smile.