Week in Review

As previously predicted, this past week flew by.  I had tons of work to do all week leading up to our Day of Giving so the days went fast.  Thursday was a long day, though it went quickly, but 13 hours in the same chair staring at a computer screen is tough mentally and physically.  We were fed well and it was nice to be around my colleagues again (and have instant answers without Zoom), but we had to do it masked and my ears still hurt a couple days later!  I also started feeling cruddy on Wednesday, sort of a sinus/post-nasal thing, so I loaded up on zinc and vitamin C and felt much better by Thursday morning.  That would have been awful to miss the big day!  My boss was panicked at the thought of me being sick, but thankfully it all worked out.  But by Friday night I could feel it creeping back, which wasn't good either because I had my cousin's bachelorette on Saturday and I couldn't cancel my $40 Painting with a Twist reservation.  I hit up the zinc again, had a smoothie with pineapple, and hoped for the best.  I woke up with a killer headache and still had the post-nasal drip problem, but I tested negative.  I decided to medicate right before I left and wear a mask when we were sitting in place, just to be safe.  I felt functional enough once the medicine took the edge off my headache, and I think my painting turned out pretty decent considering I can't do this stuff at all!  My palm trees ended up pretty good, if I do say so myself! 

We went to a local cidery for lunch, which was delicious, and then I decided to try to make the most of my time while I was alone (the boys were at Jacob's tournament even though he wasn't playing) and try to keep myself moving because a nap at that time might have been problematic.  I stopped at Kohl's to scout out a couple things, and then went to Walmart so I could start some spring shopping--mostly seeds, garden stakes, and the spray I keep on hand for when the spider mites show up on the burning bushes.  When I got home, it was so nice out (cool but sunny) that I decided I needed to do a little yard work.  I edged the grass, pulled a ton of weeds, trimmed most of the dead wood off our fungus-infected spirea that's only half alive this year, and then put Miracle-Gro on the spirea, our pear tree, the azalea, and all of my mounding perennial geraniums, all of which get fungal infections and supposedly could fight them off better with Miracle-Gro.  We shall see.  I think I felt guilty that I didn't have the energy to buy and spread mulch, so I did everything else instead.  That pretty much exhausted me, so I came back in, ate my lunch leftovers for dinner, and caught the Kentucky Derby just as everyone was freaking out over the shocking win of a horse with 80-1 odds.  Then I watched a movie and wrote this post until the boys got home around 9:45.  

Sunday was Mother's Day, and while we normally go see our moms, this year was a little different.  As I mentioned, Jacob had a tournament this weekend but he wasn't playing because of his ankle.  Injured players have been known to go and support the team, so that was our plan.  I feel like we probably could have skipped Sunday, but we had been talking about this tournament all year because it was in Lyons, which is just down the road from our favorite gluten-free-friendly chicken and waffles place.  Ideally we might have gone Saturday to free us up for Sunday, but I had the bachelorette and didn't get done in time to go with them, so if we were going to go, it had to be Sunday.  I knew we'd all enjoy that and it would make for a good finish line for a family-oriented day, so I didn't push the idea of skipping Sunday.  But hopefully we can make it up to our moms soon.

Right before the first game of the day, all the boys came out with a rose and a handmade card for their mom.  The coach and another parent or two helped coordinate it, and it was really sweet.

  

Jacob's team won their first game, which meant they would play in the championship at 3:30.  We spent the time between games visiting the garden outside the community center and then finding food to get us through until dinner, which is always an adventure in a small rural town.  Carter and I enjoyed this garden last year (plus the gaga ball court) when it was a bit more in bloom and there were frogs and tadpoles galore in the pond.  This year there were mostly a bunch of tulips, and the pond had a bunch of sizeable tadpoles.  But the closest we got to spotting frogs was seeing a little movement under the water.  Still cool, though!

I loved that these had that little reddish edge!

The championship game started well, and in fact they led at halftime, but the team imploded in the second half and lost.  Both games were actually pretty intense with a lot of refereeing issues and bickering fans (and coaches).  It was a little exhausting to sit through, especially since we didn't have the benefit of any time watching Jacob, but at the same time it was nice to just be a fan and not be grumpy about Jacob's playing time (or lack thereof), or worrying what kind of pep talk/psychology session we'd be facing down after the game.  It was disappointing, but not unexpected since they lost to that team the prior day.  

After that we headed off for chicken and waffles down the road in Geneva.  It's a family favorite, for sure!  We had a very nice dinner as usual (and three of us are looking forward to leftovers soon).

My favorite Polish-style black cherry soda and thick country gravy as a side...yum!

It could be an interesting week ahead.  The weather is finally going to turn downright summery, which will be nice.  Carter starts soccer tonight, I have a blood donation appointment on Tuesday (as long as this cold goes away), the boys have a pediatrician appointment Wednesday, and Carter has a dentist appointment Friday before Craig and Jacob take off midday for an exclusive basketball combine on Friday.  Carter and I might have gone with them, but they're going to give a ride to Jacob's trainer (who invited him) and his brother.  Not to mention that they'll be busy all day each day so we wouldn't really be able to do anything as a family, and leaving them without transportation to do something on our own might have been hard.  So, we might have an adventure of our own if I can get up the nerve to do the one I want to do.  I should probably get a backup plan in case the weather doesn't cooperate or the long drive freaks me out.  Stay tuned, but hopefully I'll have something fun to report on next weekend one way or another!  We're due for a cool adventure around here, no doubt!

A Walk in the Park, The Sequel

Last year in late April I dragged Carter to Highland Park so I could see all of the beautiful spring flowers.  He wasn't thrilled initially, but lots of flowers, two playgrounds and some turtles later, he seemed to enjoy it.  The foliage was a bit delayed this year in comparison, but last weekend I knew things were starting to bloom there and I really wanted to go.  Unfortunately, Jacob's tournament schedule and the weather prevented that from happening.  But Monday night he had practice and the weather improved over the course of the day, so I decided Carter and I should make a visit after dinner. It wasn't the warmest night, but it was pleasant enough and we had a really nice walk.

The daffodils and flowering trees were peak, the azaleas, magnolias, and tulips were coming right along, and the lilacs were just starting to open, but barely.  The daffodils are always fun because there are so many different varieties.  These were two of my favorites...   

I love this spot.  The tree hangs over the walkway so beautifully.

We wound our way up through the azaleas, most of which were in bloom.  My favorite one, a melon colored one, wasn't open yet, but this light pink one was so pretty!

One of my favorite spots in the park is up on the hill where you can look out and see for miles.  In one little spot, there is a flowering tree that fascinates me--it has two colors of blooms!  I have no idea how it happened, but it's so neat!  It's hard to get a good picture of it because the blooms are small and the sky is usually too bright.  For example:

But here are a couple shots to illustrate how cool it is: 

Not just two colors on one tree, but also on one blossom!  Look at that pink stripe!

Here you can see the white and the pink intermingling.  It's so cool!

Everywhere you look it was beautiful!  There were families all over the park with their hired photographers!

We made our way up to the reservoir...

...and then started walking down toward the magnolias.  I wish this photo captured the colors of everything like it was in real life.  It was stunning!

I always think of my grandma when I see magnolias because she had a tree in her yard.  Hers were pink, but the yellow ones may be my favorite...

Some were starting to lose their petals, but others were just starting to open.  It was so pretty.

We finally got to the first playground, and Carter had it all to himself!  He climbed and slid to his heart's content.  We raced each other on the rock wall (timed, one at a time) and he found a way to make the slide feel faster.

It was getting closer to sunset so I encouraged him to wrap it up so we could keep moving. We still had a couple more spots to hit!  Unfortunately, we couldn't go in the Lamberton Conservatory because it was closed for the night.  We loved our walk through there last year, where we saw tiny quail, turtles, tortoises (one of whom roams free), and a ton of cool plants.  Hopefully next time we'll go and it will be an entirely different season!  

We did stop and sit on the big swing.  It's usually busy but that day it was empty.

Then it was off to the tulips!  I knew they wouldn't all be open, but I wasn't sure I'd get back before they were all spent, so we made do with what was there.  I just had it pop up in my memories when the deer ruined them during the early pandemic (apparently when they were coming up was in the thick of the stay-at-home push, and the deer got brave), but it was nice to see them thriving again this year.  I love these ones with the fringe.

So beautiful!  Especially those pinkish ones in the front!

I love that these ones are a different shape,  And their color was so bold!

There were lots of different colors and types.  I loved these, too, and the bed they were in was gorgeous.

As we walked toward the other playground, we walked through the Poet's Garden.  I noticed a couple flowers I haven't seen before.  I guess this one is a Lenten Rose.  

My plant app identified this charming little one as a chocolate lily.  I was obsessed.  It was so cute!  

  

I flipped it over to see the inside, and it was so pretty!

Then for some reason I got obessed with getting an underside shot by pointing my phone camera up at it.  It took a few tries but I was pleasantly surprised with this result!

While we were walking, Carter found a daffodil that had been detached from its stem somehow--not sure if it was a person or an animal.  He had wanted to pick one earlier and I didn't let him, but with that one I let him keep it.  We hoped to get it hope and revive it a bit, and while it did get a little beaten up in my purse (I didn't want people thinking we picked it), it did revive for quite a few days.  Carter is such a sweet, silly boy, and he does this thing when we're walking somewhere pretty where he does the whole movie scene thing, like, "Would you make me the happiest man in the world and do me the honor...", basically a proposal, and this one was extra cute with a flower!

 

Who could say no to that?

We finally got down to the natural playground, and once again, we had it all to ourselves.  That never happens with this one!  We balanced on logs and hopped between rocks, and Carter did his favorite part:

Those things are so tricky and he does really well with it!

We sat on the bench...

...and Carter got in the little tree trunk throne!

He worked so hard to get up on this log that I had to take a picture, but just before this I totally bit it trying to take a picture.  I backed up to get the whole log in the picture and there was a rock behind me that caused me to lose my balance and basically spin to the ground.  I hit the wood chips like a ton of bricks.  Carter was concerned, but thankfully I was mostly fine.  I think my pinky got a couple slivers, but otherwise I was lucky.  My arm muscles were pretty sore the next couple days so I must have somehow strained them in the process, but I was lucky.    

By that point it was starting to get dark and as we were just about ready to leave, I got a call from Craig that he and Jacob were going to either urgent care or the emergency room...again!  Ugh.  He stepped on someone's foot near the end of practice and twisted the same ankle he hurt a few weeks ago.  Darn it.  Thankfully, the emergency room was fast and he should be good within a couple weeks.

It was a bummer of an ending to a nice night, but I'm so happy Carter and I got to have that time, especially before the Lilac Festival took over this weekend!

How My Sports Career and Parenthood Killed My Fandom: A Retrospective

One night last week I watched the third period of the Buffalo Sabres game because it was the last broadcast for their longtime broadcaster, Rick Jeanneret.  He's been with the team for 50 years, and his voice has narrated big moments for most of their history.  It was fitting that they won the game in overtime, which made his last goal call a big game-winning one.  They celebrated him a few weeks ago by raising his initials to the rafters with the retired numbers.  He's 79 years old and his retirement is well-earned.  Watching the highlight reels during both nights brought back a lot of memories of a very special time of my life.  My Sabres' fandom literally set the stage for the rest of my life.  It made me want to work in sports, which led to my Amerks internship, which is how I met Craig and got my first career.  It was such a passionate time and I feel sort of guilty that I haven't been an avid fan in years.  On one hand I miss it, and on the other I know that I don't have the emotional energy to be a fan right now.

The Sabres have been terrible for years.  They haven't made the playoffs for an NHL-record 11 seasons.  They haven't won a series since 2007, weeks before the Knighthawks won their first championship of the four during Craig's tenure.  It went from bad to downright embarrassing.  It stayed that way through a good chunk of this season, in fact, and it just started looking up near the end.  They finally traded the guy who was supposed to be the savior of the franchise who had been injured for a while, and somehow, a switch flipped.  They played very respectable hockey after that, and you could just see the team coming together and having some fun with it for the first time in ages.  It's brought a lot of hope to the fanbase, and Rick Jeanneret's retirement sort of rekindled all of those good memories and brought people back out of the woodwork.  I'll be honest, it was enough to make me vow to keep a closer eye on them next year.

How my fandom actually faded away is the result of multiple factors.  First, they made a number of personnel moves that alienated a lot of fans and made players hesitant to even play there, let alone play well as a team.  There were times where they'd lose and it would be like, "Well, sort of serves them right."  That also coincided with the departure of most of the players we knew from their time with the Amerks.  After that it was downright depressing to watch them and be disappointed all the time.  When life is already a bit stressful, which if you've been here for a while you know that's been our norm for a long time, adding sports to that just felt foolish (at least ones we didn't have a personal connection to).  Not only did sports' importance pale in comparison to the seriousness of what we were dealing with, but I didn't need the added stress and sadness.  So, over time I just stopped watching.  

I'm sure it didn't help that Craig was still working in sports and probably one of the last things he wanted to do at home to unwind was watch an organization that passed him over for a job and made a lot of questionable moves over the years.  We often watched what the kids wanted to while they were awake, and then once they were in bed we focused on our DVR recordings.  So, it just sort of fell off our radar.

After I left sports but before we had kids, I went to Amerks games whenever I felt like it.  It felt like something to do on weekend nights when Craig wasn't home, but on weekdays or Sundays when it was easier to just hang at home, I did.  Once I had Jacob, it was a way to get out of the house a bit, and when he ended up liking the games, sometimes it was the easiest way to get a well-behaved night out of him since that was the one time he usually sat still.  Where most kids (including Carter) want nothing more than to get up and walk during games, Jacob loved watching the games and sat transfixed.  But once there were two kids and Craig no longer worked for the Amerks, we stopped going.  And honestly, by that point I suppose that after working in sports for six years and going to games for probably five or six more, it was probably okay to spend time another way.  I was sort of an oddball fan anyway.  While I did still cheer on the Knighthawks pretty strongly, spending 40+ nights a year in the booth focused on work definitely tamped down my goal reactions and made me more focused on arena promotions and signage most of the time.  It just sort of changed my fan experience and I went to more of a casual observer than an actual fan.  I think, too, that once you've known guys on the team personally, watching a bunch of guys you don't know just feels different and less important.  It almost feels wrong to let it be as dominant as it once was, but I also feel weird not being enough of a fan.

Anyway, there's a part of me that misses it, even if I know it's not realistic anymore.  That was such a special, exciting time of my life that's chock full of memories that are core to the person I am today.  My kids may roll their eyes when I tell stories, but they don't really understand how all of the stories are part of a joyous time, and one that brought me to where I am today.  My fandom was special, and my time in sports was life changing and a dream come true in many ways--even if it was exhausting and eventually led to some of the burnout that drained my fandom.

Last weekend, the Amerks miraculously claimed the final AHL playoff spot for the season.  They needed to win and then have another team not get a single point in their last two games, and somehow it happened.  Craig and I both said right off the bat that we wanted to go to the one home playoff game for this series.  Not only has it been forever since we've been to one, but it's been a long time since any local hockey team has done anything of significance in the spring.  They hadn't won a playoff game since 2014 (per the internet), and they haven't won a series since 2005, which is when I still worked for the team.  I've been gone a long time--two lengthy careers spanning 16 years--and Craig left the Amerks back in 2011.  We haven't missed much, sadly.  But now that there was something to maybe get excited about, it felt like the thing to do.  So on Wednesday evening, off we went.

Being there brought back a ton of memories.  The building was fuller than I've seen it in years, especially for hockey.  The Knighthawks did a good job filling the building for their championships, but hockey and lacrosse crowds have severely dwindled since.  The Amerks' average attendance is now in the sad realm of what the small market teams did 20 years ago.  But the building was hopping that night and it brought back so many memories of passionate playoff crowds from my heyday.  

Mind you, games now are a significantly different experience.  Game production is a far cry from where it used to be--the scoreboard is fancier, there's a ribbon scoreboard at the one end of the arena, the promotions and PA announcers are different.  The music guy is still a holdout, and the building workers are familiar, but the rest of the staff is different.  The whole mood is different in the front office, too.  We were workhorses, driving ourselves nuts for 50+ hours a week, going weeks without days off, making terrible money, and we were all very close from going through so many ups and downs.  We were each others' social lives for the most part, stretching our energy further by going out hard after games.  It was the epitome of "work hard, play hard".  Now, everyone sort of does the bare minimum.  It's not unheard of to miss games, which we never did.  Craig watches it all go down and marvels at what they get away with now.  It's a different type of career these days...unless you're Craig, I guess.

 

The game didn't go so well, as the Amerks trailed 3-0 after two periods.  I was hopeful they'd get a goal since the crowd was so ready to explode.  Jacob was asking to leave by the beginning of the third period, but it's the playoffs!  Then the Amerks scored...and scored again...and then with four minutes left, they scored again.  Tie game!  Despite not being die-hards, I'll admit that the playoff nerves kicked in.  It's been so long since that was the case for hockey, so it was strange but oddly familiar.  I could feel the shakiness and elevated heart rate just like the old days, even if the stakes didn't feel as high as they did when we worked there and always had a good chance to win the Cup.  

The Amerks went to the Finals when I was an intern, but we lost in six games.  I will never forget standing at the fax machine sending out the scoresheet to the media, crying and listening to the other team celebrating on the other side of the wall.  You could smell the alcohol and the cigar smoke.  We had somewhat unexpected early exits three years in a row, and then two very exciting runs.  We had amazing comebacks, big OT wins, played games at the arena in Buffalo, traveled to Hamilton by limo, and partied a lot.  So many memories in those two years alone!  

Anyway, in the midst of all of that comeback, Carter got a puck!  It flew a row or so behind us and the guy who got it gave it to Carter.  Even though he wasn't a big hockey fan, he was so excited!  He was fascinated by how cold it was, that it was Made in Canada, and that it had chunks taken out of the rubber.

We were excited when the game went into overtime, but admittedly, it presented us with a dilemma.  The kids had school the next day and I had my biggest day of the year, our Day of Giving.  That's usually a 13-14 hour day at the office and the last thing I needed was a short night's sleep leading into that.  But it was playoff overtime and you can't leave in the midst of that!  But playoff overtime can also go on for a while, so that was concerning.  I knew we'd need to make the call sometime, but I just hoped the Amerks scored soon enough that it wasn't an issue!  

As a side note, our seats were pretty good!  Despite all this time in sports, it's not too often that I've sat down that low.  I don't love that I can't clearly see the other end of the ice, but that's what the scoreboard is for, right?  If nothing else, we had a great view of some massive checks!

And we also had a great view of the game-winning goal!  It was incredible that the Amerks completed the comeback, and it felt so amazing to see them win.  It definitely felt like old times!

And yes, we were rather tired the next morning (Jacob pretty much napped in the car on the way to school, and I came to work armed with caffeine), but I still think it was worth it.  Then tonight as I finished off this post, they won Game 2 in overtime again and took the series!  I'm so happy for them and hopeful that we might get a little more playoff action around here this spring.  It's long overdue.

Watching the Sabres' last game, being at the Amerks' game, and then hearing the winning goal tonight sometimes makes me think I want to be a fan again.  Subconsciously I wonder if I'm just trying to throw it back to a time in my life that was much simpler.  Realistically I doubt there's space in my life for fandom the way I feel like it should be, but part of me hopes I can try.  As bandwagon-ish as this sounds, if they win, it makes it way more fun and way easier to make space for it.  Even though parts of life are less stressful than they once were, admittedly I'm not sure I have the space yet to let myself get dragged down by that kind of disappointment if they don't continue to improve.  But if nothing else, I'll enjoy it while it lasts now.  Hockey is such a foundation of my life, and it brings back so many good memories.  And I'll take whatever good I can get right now.  The playoff game felt good, and I hope there's more to come.

Consolation Prize

Saturday Carter and I were going to take advantage of the pleasant weather (still only mid-50s but sunny) and finally get to another playground.  I wanted to drop off old expired medication at an event at a Wegmans near us so I decided we'd check out the playground across the street.  We went there four years ago and had fun, almost as much on the playground as we did when we did a hike in the woods nearby.  Well, it's been four years and the playground was significantly less exciting than it was when Carter was five.  Not only was it not as big as it seemed before, now that Carter's a big kid, but one slide (I think) had been completely removed.  They just had some boards blocking off one end of the equipment where something had clearly been removed.  We played for a few minutes, but it lost its lure pretty quickly.  

Carter remembered the fun from our hike (mostly where he dropped a rotted log and ants spilled out), and he was happy to go for another one.  It was a different feel since it was still mostly bare trees and just very early growth elsewhere, but it was neat.

It's hard to see in this picture, but in the middle is a woodpecker!  We watched it peck for a bit and I tried to follow it to get a better picture but no luck!  

We walked along the creek for a bit.  It was so peaceful, aside from the rustling of leaves from tons of chipmunks!  

Just like last time, there were so many trees down.  We've had a lot of windstorms lately so I'm sure that didn't help.  A lot went completely across the creek but I'm not sure if they were moved that way on purpose or not.

This one amazed us because there were two trees down but one of them was still blooming!  If you click on the photo you can probably see it better.

This tree's trunk looked so different.  It almost made me wonder if it was one of those trees where the bark just peels off like paper.  

There were tiny purple violets scattered everywhere!

We chased this butterfly for a bit, too.  It's hard to see and you can't see its coloring at all, but you can make out its silhouette in the middle of the picture, stuck to the tree trunk.

We noticed a few instances of fungi.  This was a pretty big one on a fallen tree.

This tree looked like it had exploded!

This tree was completely hollowed out.  I couldn't tell if it had just rotted out or was struck by lightning.  It had quite the splintering break further up and it looked a little burned, but someone might have lit this little hollow on fire, too.

More cool fungi.  I saw this green one on the side, and then Carter pointed out some crazy colored stuff on the other side...

...which then led to the discovery on the end of this other log next to it.  It was a rainbow of colors!

Finally, we took a selfie on the bridge on the way back out of the trail.  We had a really nice little walk!

I felt bad that the playground was a bust, but at least the walk was a nice consolation prize.  Despite our best efforts we didn't make it to a playground on Sunday because Jacob's tournament was at the worst possible time and by the time we got home it was starting to rain.  I really wanted to go to Highland Park to see the tulips and flowering trees, but that wasn't happening in the rain.  I'm hoping the weather cooperates one of these evenings before all the trees are spent, but we'll see.  At least the 40s are out of the forecast for now, which gives me a little hope, even if it does appear to have been replaced by rain.  Arg.  As far as basketball, it was not a successful weekend on any front.  No wins, no points, very little playing time again.  There is a glimmer of hope that cropped up today, but it's going to take a few things to make it a reality, so we'll see.  Carter spent the weekend falling back in love with soccer, which should be starting any time.  The basketball venue had two giant fields and he had a blast kicking around his soccer ball, especially when there were other kids out there.  He's got quite a shot now, so it will be interesting to see how things go once the season starts.  We did find out today that at least one of his best buddies is on his team, so that was exciting.  Still waiting on his other friend who he's played with twice before.  But it will be nice to get him back into that groove even if it makes our weeks a little crazier!  Otherwise, it's going to be an interesting week since my work's big day is coming Thursday.  A 12+ hour day on tap for me, plus a lot of other prep work and wrap-up, followed by a massive amount of data coming next week for our last big mailing.  But Craig's season is over now, so that's really good timing.  I know we'll all be happy to have him around more, especially on weekends.

May is here (!), and the stretch run has begun!  Jacob has one month of school left and all the fun year-end stuff is coming for Carter.  But for now, off we go to another week!