Where You Are, Isn't Where You Have to Be

My Youngest Son
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

With their lack of experience, small size and lack of aggression football hasn't been a walk in the park for the boys, but last week practices contained good omens.

While walking Alex to practice I noticed that he was dragging a bit, but then his eyes lit up; he saw that the boys were playing some sort of game without shoulder pads, just horsing around. Like a bolt of lightning he was instantly in the fray having a good time.

Later, at Michael's practice, our little guy was overjoyed that he got a tackle in a scrimmage. Thrilled to the bone he told me, "I never look forward to going to practice, but I always have a good time."

That is manna for my soul. I need to keep reminding them that on my first day of football practice I was the slowest kid on the field, but 3 years later I was the fastest kid in my school and anchored the 4x100 meter relay; Where you are, isn't where you have to be.

On Sunday, Alex had his first slobbernocker block and Michael 'hurt' an offensive lineman, both boys defeating opponents a head taller. They may not end of up as football machines 3 years from now, but they are starting to get it.
RAP (9.16.2008)

Dawn and Dusk

Morning Newspaper
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

In recent days, Alex has been sleeping hard; he has to coaxed out of his slumber and is asleep within minutes of ascending to his bunk. We think he is growing, and that is what is making him sleep so well; as soon as he has gained some altitude, we expect a return to covertly reading after hours with a flashlight under his covers. Although, he needs his sleep, he has always fought it, and it is quite amusing how he runs out of his room, with his eyes closed, as if the sandman were in pursuit trying to pull him back to bed.

Michael has never needed as much rest as his brother. Some of the happiest moments of my life were checking in on a 7 months Michael before I went to work. I would walk in to see him, and most mornings he was already awake, standing in his crib, bathed in the early morning light, patiently waiting with a contagious enthusiasm that made you glad to be alive. When the boys go to bed, Michael does not fall asleep quickly, but he doesn’t protest either; instead, he lies in his bed and thinks. He says that he "saves up his thoughts during the day to think about at night."
RAP (9.12.2008)

Joys that Lie Outside our Routine

In Honor of the 16th President
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Life has a tendency to be heavily planned; school bus at 8:20 a.m., practice at 6:00 p.m., and bedtime at 9:30 p.m.. Our lives are often very full, and even with the downtime here and there our modern conveniences fill our time enough that we never truly become bored.

As important as our schedules are to us, viruses and bacteria are indifferent to them. Last week was Alex's turn to be under the weather, and he had to miss school, enough school that he had his fill of games, television, and movies. At such a time, you need to look harder, and find other things to occupy your mind; Alex discovered a set of Lincoln Logs and had a grand time building a cabin. He was quite proud of it, and it was the first thing he wanted to show me when I stepped into our house. While being sick is unpleasant, it does also give us afford us the opportunity to escape our day to day and find the joys that lie outside our routine.
RAP (9.10.2008)

The Freedom of Childhood's End

Camp Out
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

It has been our tradition in recent years to have the boys camp out on the first and last nights of summer. This year the boys camped out not a single night at the end of the season; instead they spent the night under the stars for three consecutive evenings. They had guests, authored and performed plays, and even made the backyard seem infested with Titania's fairies at Summer's end. They loved every minute of it, but I don't know if was the woods were calling them so much as the freedom of childhood's end.

RAP (9.9.2008)

Lessons Learned from the Struggle

Nice To See You
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Shemy was in town last week before the home opener, and we made sure that we took the time to see him and his bride. He sat next to Alex, and talked about football with him as you would expect.

He chose to focus on the skills of the game, and was trying to set Alex's mentality in way to have him improve the way he catches a ball. You need that, but what I want the boys to get out of football is a bit more philosophical. Through out the years I have effectively communicated my "never give up" mantra such that it is now their own, but I am hopeful that football can help them take the step beyond resilience. Most things in life you can't control; for the most part one can't control whether you are the fastest, strongest, smartest, tallest, most charismatic or good looking; you can influence them, improve them, but you have to work with the gifts you were given. The only things you can control is the effort that you give and the attitude you carry with you, and the struggles involved in football, where attitude has such an enormous impact, are an ideal tutor for such a lesson.

RAP (9.8.2008)

Run to the Whistle

Take Him Out
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Football has been interesting. Alex has an aggressive mindset that should put him on defense, but he is a tight end. Likewise, Michael should be a wideoout, instead they have him as a 2 technique. Both are relatively small, because they foolishly group 2 years together, and our guys are both on the young side. It is not pretty in many ways, but one thing does bring my heart joy: they are now running to the whistle, and in the end that is the sort of thing I want them to get from their foray into tackle football.

RAP (9.5.2008)

The Arguing Narrators

Throwing Out the Script
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

The boys spent the final summer nights, those of Labor Day weekend, camping in our backyard, and as fate would have it inspiration struck from out of the blue. I was the lone sole awake as Michael came in, searching for a hard surface to write on. He wanted to create a play; his script was more of a story board with prose, due to his comics background, for a work he christened "The Arguing Narrators."

It was a tale about one narrator being interrupted by a second narrator with hijinx ensuing. In the encore performance you see here, Michael is the first narrator and Alex is his foil. The original performance was done in the tent that evening for the neighbor girls, Kami and Daniela. Perhaps Michael's inspiration was not mysterious, but a gift from a pair of young muses.
RAP (9.4.2008)