Dear Jacob,
Where do I even begin? It's been an interesting year...but something tells me this is just the beginning of the crazy roller coaster ride of tweenhood!
I'm not sure if this year felt a little easier because you've gotten easier or because we've just gotten used to the daily chaos around here. You still do not get along with your brother 95% of the time because neither of you can resist getting revenge for whatever petty thing you did to each other. It's exhausting and exasperating, and hopefully one of these days you
outgrow it and realize how important it is to have a brother. But once in a while we see these glimpses of what you two could be like when you let that stuff go, and I hope those moments keep coming. We need them! Just last night you were playing soccer with him so nicely and it was awesome!
You've almost never been an easy kid to raise, but this year has definitely been a battle against your moods. One minute you're the coolest kid I know, and the next you blame me for everything and want nothing to do with me. The littlest thing sets you off (hence your issues with your brother) and sometimes no matter how I try to help you, it's not enough. I hope someday you realize how hard we're trying to make your life better and point you in the right direction. We don't always do it perfectly, but we're doing our best. I know these mood swings have only just begun, and teenagerhood is going to be even harder, but in the meantime I'll try to savor those moments when you're the kind of big kid I pictured myself hanging out with, and hope they're enough to get us through the bad times.
I think one of the big milestones of this year was you officially changing over from lacrosse to basketball. It really got started last spring, but between the Raptors' success, your hoop, and continued frustration with lacrosse, things officially took a turn. I think Dad and I are both sad to see lacrosse go, for so many reasons. It's fun to watch, and we especially loved watching you. You had a lot of skill and your passion took care of the rest. We know things have changed in so many ways, and we understand why, but forgive us if letting go is a little tough. The thing is, with you we know that there is no gray area for you--when you are into something, you're all in, and when you're not, forget about it. We're maybe not as decisive in that way, hence our slower acceptance. But basketball is "it" now, no doubt. We've learned to love watching you play another sport, and we're looking forward to seeing where it takes you. Oh, and the sneaker obsession this year was another added complication, but I think I'm finally getting used to having in-depth conversations about shoes!
I can't seem to get over how grown-up you're starting to look. I see friends post pictures of their kids starting with the age we're at now and then a couple years down the road, and I realize that very soon you're going to look like a true young man. And in many ways you act older, too. Not always, but we're getting there. But on the outside I know many changes are coming and it's a lot to process.
I know this is an obvious statement, but every year we get farther away from when you were born. I'm not just talking about time, though. Yes, it blows my mind we're already 11 years removed from that moment, but I almost can't reconcile the fact that the tiny baby I held that night is now this kid whose hands and feet are as big as mine! In another year or two you'll be taller than me. You're technically the same person you were way back when, and you still have that same adorable dimple to prove it, but I can barely connect that baby to who you are today. The funny thing is, even though our entire lives revolved around you from that first moment, it turns we didn't even really know you back then--not when you really think about it, anyway. You go from being this little cuddle bug who can't even speak, to this complex, ever-maturing kid that we've had 11 full years to get to know. I guess it's no wonder it's hard to connect that baby to you--so much has changed and evolved! So, as significant as they were, our first moments together were merely a blip--and someday I'll probably say the same thing about now. Life moves fast!
Speaking of which, tomorrow you graduate from elementary school. It seems like we were just sending you off to Kindergarten, but six years and two schools later, it's almost over. FYI - I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing seven years from now when you graduate from high school, so start getting used to it. Next fall you'll be off to a brand new adventure--not just middle school, but private school. It will be a whole new ballgame for all of us, and I just hope and pray it's a good fit. The stakes are pretty high, but the potential benefits are, too, and I hope you take full advantage. I'm already bracing myself for summer reading, uniform shopping, and all the early mornings to catch the bus, but hopefully the positives of this experience will be worth any struggles. This experience should set you up for a successful future, wherever you go. I know the NBA is at the top of that list, but getting a quality education should give you some options if needed!
School is just the first of many changes ahead. Between that, your physical transformation, battles with cell phone use and social media, an entirely new social life, the evolution of your sports career, and whatever else, the next few years are going to be a doozy. I hope we can all have patience with each other and work through this together. We're not the enemy, I swear. If anyone has your back, it's us...but that doesn't mean we won't let you learn a tough lesson here and there. That's part of the job, unfortunately, but you'll get it when you're older, I promise. We love you so much and we know there is so much passion and potential in you. We always want to help you find the best ways to put those qualities into motion. However, we also know we're on the verge of going into spectator mode as parents, which is a totally different experience than what we've had previously. This next year will be a game-changer, I'm sure.
I'm not sure I'm up to the task, but know that I love you more than you can ever imagine. In the words of one of my favorite singers, I will fight for you even if it means I have to fight with you. You're worth it. You've got great things ahead, assuming you can keep a good head on your shoulders...and you can bet I'll be holding you to that. Keep fighting for your dreams (heck, prove me wrong!), and we'll be here cheering you on. Love you so much! Happy 11th Birthday!
Love,
Mom
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Champions!
This really should be mostly a guest post from Craig, but I'm pretty sure it would never happen if I left it to him to write!
Last Thursday was a big night in our house--it was Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Raptors were coming off a tough loss by one point earlier in the week, and it made the difference between a championship victory and a devastating series loss a little too close for comfort. Jacob was obviously very upset and disappointed, and admittedly we were all a bit on edge with nerves as Game 6 approached. It made it even more frustrating when the NBA admitted that the referee botched a call late in the game that would have given the Raptors foul shots that could have won them the game. It was actually quite a crazy game even without the foul drama, as the Warriors' star player, Kevin Durant, came back from a calf injury. Many thought it was premature, but with the team down 3-1 in the series, undoubtedly it seemed like a necessary desperation move to get him back in. And initially, it paid dividends. He scored 11 points early on, but then as he took a sidestep around another player, he fell down. Upon further review, you could actually see something snap in his calf as he shifted, and it turned out to be a ruptured Achilles' tendon. As a human it's tough to see someone go down like that, but clearly it was a tiny sliver of light for our hope that the Raptors could win--whether in this game or later in the series. But when the Raptors lost by one, it meant they were going back on the road, and if they lost that game, it was on to Game 7, which is always a complete toss-up. Anyone can win, and the thought of blowing a 3-1 lead was devastating, particularly with the botched call and any other what-ifs from earlier in the series.
Game 6 was a very close, back-and-forth affair. Another star Warriors' player went down with a fluke injury (later announced as an ACL tear), which was again tough to watch but clearly seemed to boost Toronto's odds of winning. That's certainly not the way you want to win, but I would venture a lot of sports championship runs over the years have benefited from key injuries to opponents. Heck, Craig and I saw two amazing Amerks' teams destined for glory get decimated by injuries during our time there, and the Knighthawks had their star player out for the season a couple times in the midst of two separate sets of glory years. It happens. Even the Warriors benefited from it during their recent dynasty. Even still, the game remained too close for comfort. All I could think about during the game (and the days prior after the last loss) was how miserable Jacob would be if they lost again, and how intolerable he would be all summer if, God forbid, Game 7 slipped through their fingers as well. He's so passionate about this sport and about this team, and with how invested all of us have been through the playoffs (trip to Toronto included), I couldn't imagine how he'd process something like that. Character-building losses are important (I'm from Buffalo, so I'm well aware), but it just didn't feel like this should be one of them.
Toronto finally hit a couple key shots and took the lead late in the game, but it felt an awful lot like the previous game where Toronto led by six and then lost their lead right at the end. They almost blew it when they had the ball with the shot clock off (less time remaining than what would be on the shot clock), and they accidentally threw it out of bounds. Golden State got the ball back, but in a moment of desperation with 0.9 seconds left, they called a timeout they didn't have. Instead of the clock running out and the Raptors celebrating, there was an awkward five minute delay of them figuring out what to do with that. In the end it was a technical with foul shots, and finally those last tenths of a second ticked off and the Raptors were champions!
Jacob was, of course, thrilled! Craig and I were both thrilled for him, too (and relieved for ourselves). I actually wasn't as jubilant as I thought I'd be, though I'm not sure if that was because the boys kicked me out of the room as bad luck for a while (which was annoying) or if it was because I realized mid-celebration that I couldn't even go to the championship parade (which we'd been talking about) because my passport is currently in the midst of a renewal. I had sent it in after our last trip so I had a chance to get it back before our possible "vacation" before Jacob's last tournament, since we'll be right near the border. I totally forgot about the parade possibility, not that it would have mattered since it would have been possibly expired anyway. I should have done it months ago, I guess. Crap.
Over the next couple days, Craig found a cheap hotel right near the main site at City Hall, and we hatched a plan to drive separately to Buffalo for Father's Day so the boys could leave straight from there. And yes, we decided to let Jacob skip school. Look, it's a once in a lifetime experience and it's the end of the school year. They're doing minimal work right now. He won't be in elementary school forever (literally only eight more days at that point), so while it's still relatively harmless to do something like this, I'm fine with it. It warmed my heart a bit to see how bummed Jacob was that I couldn't go, but I was still excited for father and son to have this experience together.
They got to Toronto late in the evening on Father's Day, and went to check out the site near City Hall where the parade would end and the formal ceremony would be held.
If it looks familiar, it's because we went to this area (and stayed in a hotel right across the street) a couple years back. It was winter then, and much of this area was a skating rink. There were already people camped out for the night to secure their spot!
When the boys checked things out from their hotel window at 5am the next morning, they could see things already filling up, so they ventured out bright and early.
Unfortunately, people were taking full advantage of the law legalizing marijuana in Canada, and apparently the smell was rampant in that area. Two media outlets even mentioned it later in the day. The smell was making Jacob sick, so the boys decided to go back to the hotel and grab breakfast before checking things out again.
The area was filling up pretty quickly, and ultimately they decided to head down to the arena, do some shopping, and try to watch the parade from there. They were lucky to snag a spot under a tree, since it got progressively warmer as the day went on.
Jacob even got right up to the edge of the road!
In the meantime, I was sitting at my desk watching and listening to coverage online. The parade was supposed to start at 10am, and reach City Hall by 12:30. Well, it seems Toronto was pretty excited to have a parade, because they now estimate more than two million people came downtown. The parade started down along the lake at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, right near the team's practice facility. It was held up nearly from the start because the crowds along the route were thick, and apparently not enough cordoning off had been done ahead of time. As a result, it took forever for things to move, and I ended up on duty texting Craig updates of where the parade was based on what I could see in the background of the media coverage. The waiting was eternal so I was trying to help him grasp how much longer it would be. In the end, it took about 2-3 extra hours for the parade to reach City Hall!
The most shocking thing to me was when people started pulling off to the side of the Gardiner Expressway, the elevated highway that leads directly into Toronto, to watch the parade over the side while it was still near the lake. The Gardiner is very busy and traffic is always a challenge, so it was shocking that people thought it was okay to block two lanes of traffic with their parked cars! I guess it just gives you an idea of how crazy the city was for this team! I also very much enjoyed when I'd catch a glimpse of entire groups of construction workers hanging out to watch the parade. There was actually a group directly across from where Craig and Jacob were watching...
After hours of waiting, the parade started to make it to them...
Jacob loved every second! He had such a blast despite all of the waiting they did, and both guys said it was totally worth the trip and slightly sketchy hotel room!
The one downside to the trip was that there was an unfortunate incident that happened once the parade reached Nathan Phillips Square. Four people were injured in a shooting during the ceremony. Reality set in for the boys as they realized that they were in that area earlier in the day and could have ended up in that exact spot if they decided to stick around in the least crowded area of that overcrowded space. Overall it was scary how little security there was throughout the parade route and particularly in that area. Considering the Canadian prime minister was there, you'd expect more security. But they didn't check anything as people entered that area! It's sort of shocking considering how tough the security is at the arena for Raptors games! Thank goodness they stayed safe, but it's sad that we have to think about things like that in the midst of something so great.
The boys truly had an amazing experience! It's been quite a run with full family participation, from our trip last fall (and Craig and Jacob's preseason game before that) to all of us now being fully outfitted in an assortment of Raptors' gear! We had such a great ride through this spring's playoffs, and Raptor-centered life is now our new normal! Hopefully we can have a repeat next year, but in the meantime we've moved on to obsessing over whether playoff MVP Kawhi Leonard and Jacob's favorite Danny Green will re-sign with the Raptors or take advantage of free agency to go elsewhere. God forbid!
But like I learned with the Knighthawks' championships, nothing can ever take away the experience of this one. We will always know what it was like to cheer on the champions and see them win. And even better, Craig and Jacob will always have the memories of seeing this parade and all of our favorite players celebrating in person. Truly awesome all around!
Last Thursday was a big night in our house--it was Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Raptors were coming off a tough loss by one point earlier in the week, and it made the difference between a championship victory and a devastating series loss a little too close for comfort. Jacob was obviously very upset and disappointed, and admittedly we were all a bit on edge with nerves as Game 6 approached. It made it even more frustrating when the NBA admitted that the referee botched a call late in the game that would have given the Raptors foul shots that could have won them the game. It was actually quite a crazy game even without the foul drama, as the Warriors' star player, Kevin Durant, came back from a calf injury. Many thought it was premature, but with the team down 3-1 in the series, undoubtedly it seemed like a necessary desperation move to get him back in. And initially, it paid dividends. He scored 11 points early on, but then as he took a sidestep around another player, he fell down. Upon further review, you could actually see something snap in his calf as he shifted, and it turned out to be a ruptured Achilles' tendon. As a human it's tough to see someone go down like that, but clearly it was a tiny sliver of light for our hope that the Raptors could win--whether in this game or later in the series. But when the Raptors lost by one, it meant they were going back on the road, and if they lost that game, it was on to Game 7, which is always a complete toss-up. Anyone can win, and the thought of blowing a 3-1 lead was devastating, particularly with the botched call and any other what-ifs from earlier in the series.
Game 6 was a very close, back-and-forth affair. Another star Warriors' player went down with a fluke injury (later announced as an ACL tear), which was again tough to watch but clearly seemed to boost Toronto's odds of winning. That's certainly not the way you want to win, but I would venture a lot of sports championship runs over the years have benefited from key injuries to opponents. Heck, Craig and I saw two amazing Amerks' teams destined for glory get decimated by injuries during our time there, and the Knighthawks had their star player out for the season a couple times in the midst of two separate sets of glory years. It happens. Even the Warriors benefited from it during their recent dynasty. Even still, the game remained too close for comfort. All I could think about during the game (and the days prior after the last loss) was how miserable Jacob would be if they lost again, and how intolerable he would be all summer if, God forbid, Game 7 slipped through their fingers as well. He's so passionate about this sport and about this team, and with how invested all of us have been through the playoffs (trip to Toronto included), I couldn't imagine how he'd process something like that. Character-building losses are important (I'm from Buffalo, so I'm well aware), but it just didn't feel like this should be one of them.
Toronto finally hit a couple key shots and took the lead late in the game, but it felt an awful lot like the previous game where Toronto led by six and then lost their lead right at the end. They almost blew it when they had the ball with the shot clock off (less time remaining than what would be on the shot clock), and they accidentally threw it out of bounds. Golden State got the ball back, but in a moment of desperation with 0.9 seconds left, they called a timeout they didn't have. Instead of the clock running out and the Raptors celebrating, there was an awkward five minute delay of them figuring out what to do with that. In the end it was a technical with foul shots, and finally those last tenths of a second ticked off and the Raptors were champions!
Jacob was, of course, thrilled! Craig and I were both thrilled for him, too (and relieved for ourselves). I actually wasn't as jubilant as I thought I'd be, though I'm not sure if that was because the boys kicked me out of the room as bad luck for a while (which was annoying) or if it was because I realized mid-celebration that I couldn't even go to the championship parade (which we'd been talking about) because my passport is currently in the midst of a renewal. I had sent it in after our last trip so I had a chance to get it back before our possible "vacation" before Jacob's last tournament, since we'll be right near the border. I totally forgot about the parade possibility, not that it would have mattered since it would have been possibly expired anyway. I should have done it months ago, I guess. Crap.
Over the next couple days, Craig found a cheap hotel right near the main site at City Hall, and we hatched a plan to drive separately to Buffalo for Father's Day so the boys could leave straight from there. And yes, we decided to let Jacob skip school. Look, it's a once in a lifetime experience and it's the end of the school year. They're doing minimal work right now. He won't be in elementary school forever (literally only eight more days at that point), so while it's still relatively harmless to do something like this, I'm fine with it. It warmed my heart a bit to see how bummed Jacob was that I couldn't go, but I was still excited for father and son to have this experience together.
They got to Toronto late in the evening on Father's Day, and went to check out the site near City Hall where the parade would end and the formal ceremony would be held.
If it looks familiar, it's because we went to this area (and stayed in a hotel right across the street) a couple years back. It was winter then, and much of this area was a skating rink. There were already people camped out for the night to secure their spot!
When the boys checked things out from their hotel window at 5am the next morning, they could see things already filling up, so they ventured out bright and early.
Unfortunately, people were taking full advantage of the law legalizing marijuana in Canada, and apparently the smell was rampant in that area. Two media outlets even mentioned it later in the day. The smell was making Jacob sick, so the boys decided to go back to the hotel and grab breakfast before checking things out again.
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| See those arches in the background? People actually climbed on those during the festivities so they could get a good view. They're deceptively high and that was a super bad idea for so many reasons. Glad no one got hurt! |
The area was filling up pretty quickly, and ultimately they decided to head down to the arena, do some shopping, and try to watch the parade from there. They were lucky to snag a spot under a tree, since it got progressively warmer as the day went on.
Jacob even got right up to the edge of the road!
In the meantime, I was sitting at my desk watching and listening to coverage online. The parade was supposed to start at 10am, and reach City Hall by 12:30. Well, it seems Toronto was pretty excited to have a parade, because they now estimate more than two million people came downtown. The parade started down along the lake at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, right near the team's practice facility. It was held up nearly from the start because the crowds along the route were thick, and apparently not enough cordoning off had been done ahead of time. As a result, it took forever for things to move, and I ended up on duty texting Craig updates of where the parade was based on what I could see in the background of the media coverage. The waiting was eternal so I was trying to help him grasp how much longer it would be. In the end, it took about 2-3 extra hours for the parade to reach City Hall!
The most shocking thing to me was when people started pulling off to the side of the Gardiner Expressway, the elevated highway that leads directly into Toronto, to watch the parade over the side while it was still near the lake. The Gardiner is very busy and traffic is always a challenge, so it was shocking that people thought it was okay to block two lanes of traffic with their parked cars! I guess it just gives you an idea of how crazy the city was for this team! I also very much enjoyed when I'd catch a glimpse of entire groups of construction workers hanging out to watch the parade. There was actually a group directly across from where Craig and Jacob were watching...
After hours of waiting, the parade started to make it to them...
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| The guy in the red jersey is the Raptors' Superfan who has had season tickets forever and now sits courtside |
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| Bagpipers |
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| Coach Nick Nurse |
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| The Raptor! |
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| Cool float! |
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| Serge Ibaka |
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| Long time Raptor Kyle Lowry, who has been cradling the trophy practically since they won it |
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| Pascal Siakam |
And this is what happens when you're close to the road during a championship parade...
The one downside to the trip was that there was an unfortunate incident that happened once the parade reached Nathan Phillips Square. Four people were injured in a shooting during the ceremony. Reality set in for the boys as they realized that they were in that area earlier in the day and could have ended up in that exact spot if they decided to stick around in the least crowded area of that overcrowded space. Overall it was scary how little security there was throughout the parade route and particularly in that area. Considering the Canadian prime minister was there, you'd expect more security. But they didn't check anything as people entered that area! It's sort of shocking considering how tough the security is at the arena for Raptors games! Thank goodness they stayed safe, but it's sad that we have to think about things like that in the midst of something so great.
The boys truly had an amazing experience! It's been quite a run with full family participation, from our trip last fall (and Craig and Jacob's preseason game before that) to all of us now being fully outfitted in an assortment of Raptors' gear! We had such a great ride through this spring's playoffs, and Raptor-centered life is now our new normal! Hopefully we can have a repeat next year, but in the meantime we've moved on to obsessing over whether playoff MVP Kawhi Leonard and Jacob's favorite Danny Green will re-sign with the Raptors or take advantage of free agency to go elsewhere. God forbid!
But like I learned with the Knighthawks' championships, nothing can ever take away the experience of this one. We will always know what it was like to cheer on the champions and see them win. And even better, Craig and Jacob will always have the memories of seeing this parade and all of our favorite players celebrating in person. Truly awesome all around!
Monday, June 10, 2019
Not Quite How We Planned It...
This weekend was Jacob's first of only two lacrosse tournaments. I spent most of last week mathematically scheduling our week in my mind to ensure that everything that needed to get done beforehand got done. From daycare paperwork and soccer to lacrosse practice and school field day and spending Kohl's Cash and packing and grocery shopping, it seemed like there was an endless list of things to remember. It made the week go quickly, which is a good thing, but the ticking clock was a lot to manage!
Jacob had lacrosse practice on Thursday, so Carter and I ran a bunch of errands, including a haircut for him and an impromptu stop at Wegmans (I wasn't planning on going that day but we had prescriptions ready, and fortunately I remembered everything I had to get for the trip!). Soccer got rained out on Wednesday, so it was rescheduled for Friday, which was finally a beautiful day! Carter played so hard! He was super sweaty, but he ended up with a nice assist and at least "half" of his first goal--a couple players were kicking it in and he was part of that! He's so good about getting back defensively, and he just loves to run. We had fun watching him, and he really did great!
Friday night was spent watching the Raptors and packing, and Saturday morning I crammed in dropping the van off for an oil change, a run, more packing, and a trip to Kohl's. They boys had eaten lunch when I got home from Kohl's, so I just had to eat and finish all the last minute packing (mostly food) so we could leave for Syracuse. It seems silly every year to get a hotel in Syracuse, but when the team plays at 8am the next morning (which would usually mean we'd have to leave shortly after 5am to get to the field 45-60 minutes early as requested), the 4am wakeup call never sounds good...or really, doable. The first year we did the lantern festival on Friday night, and last year it was just Jacob and me but I got a deal on a cheap hotel so I justified it that way. This year a bunch of teammates were staying at a certain hotel, and of course when Craig looked at it and found out that it had a basketball court, Jacob was sold. I relented to the peer pressure despite it being sort of pricey for Syracuse (although we only needed one night this year) in hopes that Jacob would get bonding time with his teammates.
We got on the road by mid-afternoon so we could get there before dinner time. The hotel turned out to be pretty impressive. Well, maybe not our view...
The boys were calling it the "IKEA Hotel" because it was very sleek and modern. Hardwood floors in the room, modern headboards and platform beds, unique storage options throughout the room, and generally very minimalist furnishings and decor. The lobby, on the other hand, had everything--little work pods, a mini food market built into the reverse of the check-in desk "island", tons of movable lounge seating options, foosball, board games, a tiny basketball hoop shooting game, and even speed-charging self-service safes for electronics. Oh, and the breakfast area was there, too, but it was almost completely hidden. It was cool but I honestly found the room not quite as cozy as most! But it was fun to pretend to be fancy for a bit!
But the real selling point was this:
Talk about heaven for Jacob! He loved it! He played a bit with one of his teammates before we went to dinner, and Carter had a net to kick his soccer ball into.
Even I got into it! Pardon the unflattering picture, but trying to do Jacob's version of the NBA three-point contest is hard! I didn't make any, but I did hit the rim a bunch of times!
We headed out to dinner at Red Robin around the corner. As we were looking through the menu, Craig showed us that he now had pink streaks running down his hand to his wrist, coming from the infected finger that had been bothering him for a couple days. He figures it started with a hangnail, and my guess is that he picked up something in the cesspool that is our pool right now. It swelled up a bit and he tried to drain out some pus Friday night. He did get some out, which helped, but it didn't really improve. As we were packing up on Saturday I momentarily thought that maybe he should go to urgent care, but it hadn't really gotten worse so maybe it would be okay. But when he showed us the streaks, I knew that was a bad sign. We spent most of dinner Googling things, from infections to urgent cares. Jacob started to panic and was basically forcing everyone to inhale their food. We did get a bit more urgent when we realized there was really only one more open urgent care and it was closing soon. We managed to get there with about 15 minutes to spare.
They took Craig in quickly and he was back out pretty quickly as well. They ended up freezing it and slicing it open to clear out the pus. They gave him a prescription for antibiotics, and we figured we'd run over to the nearby Wegmans to fill it. Well, it was 8pm on Saturday and guess what apparently doesn't stay open that late anywhere? We couldn't find an open pharmacy for anything. Finally Walgreens told Craig where the only 24-hour pharmacy was, so he dropped us off at the hotel and headed there himself. Jacob went back to the gym, Carter and I watched some TV, and eventually went down to the gym ourselves before bedtime, just before Craig got back. It certainly wasn't quite the evening of teammate bonding or hotel enjoyment we had been hoping for. We had an early wakeup call, however, so bedtime came pretty early!
When we got up the next morning, the pink streaks were gone from Craig's hand, which was a good sign the antibiotics were working. We had to rush through breakfast at the hotel, but what a breakfast it was! It had yogurt and oatmeal with every sort of topping you could imagine. They had waffle boats and all sorts of sauces and syrups to top them. They had eggs and sausage, donuts, muffins, bagels and anything you could think of to top them. There was fruit and many different types of cereal. I had a hard time deciding what to have, so I mostly had as much as I could since eating is always a challenge at tournaments! Aside from the lack of my beloved Holiday Inn Express cinnamon rolls, it was the most impressive breakfast I've ever seen.
We've been to this tournament twice before, so at least we knew what to expect. It was a beautiful morning and we settled in for game #1, this year on the big fields! The fun ended pretty quickly, though, as it became apparent that they were overmatched. Granted, it was their first real game together and we weren't expecting greatness, but we at least expected a goal. Which didn't actually happen until game #3. We lost by a lot in game one, a few less in game two, and then finally scored a few in the third game, which we only lost by six. The final game was actually competitive. We actually had a 2-0 lead, but ended up losing 4-3 late. It was disappointing, but the coach was just happy to see improvement each game. They definitely have a lot to work on--loose balls, backing each other up, actually taking a shot when they have one. Much to Jacob's dismay he did not score, but he did help set up a goal, which was nice to see. It clearly wasn't the day we were hoping for.
The thing is, it was the complete opposite of what we experienced with our old team. We were the ones blowing out other teams by double digits and winning all the games. I always sort of wondered what days were like for those losing teams, and I guess now I know. It's not fun but mostly about clinging to the small victories. Hopefully by the time we get to our next tournament in a month, they'll have had plenty of time to get better. Without game action it'll be tough, but I'm sure this experience helped the coaches moving forward.
It was definitely a typical long, hot tournament day, though better than we had most of last year. It was disappointing on the field, but at least Jacob got more playing time than he used to. I was really hoping for a better outcome so Jacob might reconsider his decision to quit. We know it's the beginning of the end, which is sad, but I guess we just have to look forward to new friendships and experiences through basketball. Hopefully we can regain what we had in lacrosse in a different sport, but I have no idea how indoor sports tournaments differ to know what that looks like. But first, a few weeks of practice and one more tournament to go.
Jacob had lacrosse practice on Thursday, so Carter and I ran a bunch of errands, including a haircut for him and an impromptu stop at Wegmans (I wasn't planning on going that day but we had prescriptions ready, and fortunately I remembered everything I had to get for the trip!). Soccer got rained out on Wednesday, so it was rescheduled for Friday, which was finally a beautiful day! Carter played so hard! He was super sweaty, but he ended up with a nice assist and at least "half" of his first goal--a couple players were kicking it in and he was part of that! He's so good about getting back defensively, and he just loves to run. We had fun watching him, and he really did great!
Friday night was spent watching the Raptors and packing, and Saturday morning I crammed in dropping the van off for an oil change, a run, more packing, and a trip to Kohl's. They boys had eaten lunch when I got home from Kohl's, so I just had to eat and finish all the last minute packing (mostly food) so we could leave for Syracuse. It seems silly every year to get a hotel in Syracuse, but when the team plays at 8am the next morning (which would usually mean we'd have to leave shortly after 5am to get to the field 45-60 minutes early as requested), the 4am wakeup call never sounds good...or really, doable. The first year we did the lantern festival on Friday night, and last year it was just Jacob and me but I got a deal on a cheap hotel so I justified it that way. This year a bunch of teammates were staying at a certain hotel, and of course when Craig looked at it and found out that it had a basketball court, Jacob was sold. I relented to the peer pressure despite it being sort of pricey for Syracuse (although we only needed one night this year) in hopes that Jacob would get bonding time with his teammates.
We got on the road by mid-afternoon so we could get there before dinner time. The hotel turned out to be pretty impressive. Well, maybe not our view...
The boys were calling it the "IKEA Hotel" because it was very sleek and modern. Hardwood floors in the room, modern headboards and platform beds, unique storage options throughout the room, and generally very minimalist furnishings and decor. The lobby, on the other hand, had everything--little work pods, a mini food market built into the reverse of the check-in desk "island", tons of movable lounge seating options, foosball, board games, a tiny basketball hoop shooting game, and even speed-charging self-service safes for electronics. Oh, and the breakfast area was there, too, but it was almost completely hidden. It was cool but I honestly found the room not quite as cozy as most! But it was fun to pretend to be fancy for a bit!
But the real selling point was this:
Talk about heaven for Jacob! He loved it! He played a bit with one of his teammates before we went to dinner, and Carter had a net to kick his soccer ball into.
Even I got into it! Pardon the unflattering picture, but trying to do Jacob's version of the NBA three-point contest is hard! I didn't make any, but I did hit the rim a bunch of times!
We headed out to dinner at Red Robin around the corner. As we were looking through the menu, Craig showed us that he now had pink streaks running down his hand to his wrist, coming from the infected finger that had been bothering him for a couple days. He figures it started with a hangnail, and my guess is that he picked up something in the cesspool that is our pool right now. It swelled up a bit and he tried to drain out some pus Friday night. He did get some out, which helped, but it didn't really improve. As we were packing up on Saturday I momentarily thought that maybe he should go to urgent care, but it hadn't really gotten worse so maybe it would be okay. But when he showed us the streaks, I knew that was a bad sign. We spent most of dinner Googling things, from infections to urgent cares. Jacob started to panic and was basically forcing everyone to inhale their food. We did get a bit more urgent when we realized there was really only one more open urgent care and it was closing soon. We managed to get there with about 15 minutes to spare.
They took Craig in quickly and he was back out pretty quickly as well. They ended up freezing it and slicing it open to clear out the pus. They gave him a prescription for antibiotics, and we figured we'd run over to the nearby Wegmans to fill it. Well, it was 8pm on Saturday and guess what apparently doesn't stay open that late anywhere? We couldn't find an open pharmacy for anything. Finally Walgreens told Craig where the only 24-hour pharmacy was, so he dropped us off at the hotel and headed there himself. Jacob went back to the gym, Carter and I watched some TV, and eventually went down to the gym ourselves before bedtime, just before Craig got back. It certainly wasn't quite the evening of teammate bonding or hotel enjoyment we had been hoping for. We had an early wakeup call, however, so bedtime came pretty early!
When we got up the next morning, the pink streaks were gone from Craig's hand, which was a good sign the antibiotics were working. We had to rush through breakfast at the hotel, but what a breakfast it was! It had yogurt and oatmeal with every sort of topping you could imagine. They had waffle boats and all sorts of sauces and syrups to top them. They had eggs and sausage, donuts, muffins, bagels and anything you could think of to top them. There was fruit and many different types of cereal. I had a hard time deciding what to have, so I mostly had as much as I could since eating is always a challenge at tournaments! Aside from the lack of my beloved Holiday Inn Express cinnamon rolls, it was the most impressive breakfast I've ever seen.
We've been to this tournament twice before, so at least we knew what to expect. It was a beautiful morning and we settled in for game #1, this year on the big fields! The fun ended pretty quickly, though, as it became apparent that they were overmatched. Granted, it was their first real game together and we weren't expecting greatness, but we at least expected a goal. Which didn't actually happen until game #3. We lost by a lot in game one, a few less in game two, and then finally scored a few in the third game, which we only lost by six. The final game was actually competitive. We actually had a 2-0 lead, but ended up losing 4-3 late. It was disappointing, but the coach was just happy to see improvement each game. They definitely have a lot to work on--loose balls, backing each other up, actually taking a shot when they have one. Much to Jacob's dismay he did not score, but he did help set up a goal, which was nice to see. It clearly wasn't the day we were hoping for.
The thing is, it was the complete opposite of what we experienced with our old team. We were the ones blowing out other teams by double digits and winning all the games. I always sort of wondered what days were like for those losing teams, and I guess now I know. It's not fun but mostly about clinging to the small victories. Hopefully by the time we get to our next tournament in a month, they'll have had plenty of time to get better. Without game action it'll be tough, but I'm sure this experience helped the coaches moving forward.
Ironically, our old team didn't win their tournament either, losing by one goal to the same team we lost to last year at that tournament. I can't say we didn't feel a tiny bit of satisfaction with that news. It stunk not having our whole same crew to hang out with between games, but we did at least have our friends from church/school/town lacrosse, so that helped. That's who's spotting Carter in the picture below. And yes, he was hanging himself on that pole.
It was definitely a typical long, hot tournament day, though better than we had most of last year. It was disappointing on the field, but at least Jacob got more playing time than he used to. I was really hoping for a better outcome so Jacob might reconsider his decision to quit. We know it's the beginning of the end, which is sad, but I guess we just have to look forward to new friendships and experiences through basketball. Hopefully we can regain what we had in lacrosse in a different sport, but I have no idea how indoor sports tournaments differ to know what that looks like. But first, a few weeks of practice and one more tournament to go.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
June is not for Amateurs
Oh, June. You're killing me.
Keeping up with the papers coming home from school and all of the year-end school events is one thing. Add in Jacob's birthday coming up, plus a significant ramping up of our sports schedule (lacrosse twice per week, soccer once per week, and two tournaments in the next month) and that's another thing. But adding all of that on top of our normal appointments and countless other little things that we constantly need to get done? It's overwhelming. Oh, and this is my busiest month at work, too. I'm being pulled in every direction and there aren't enough hours in the day (or at least, enough energy and/or brain cells) to do it all in the timeframe I have.
The mental exhaustion is overwhelming at times. Having to remember every little thing and its appropriate timing is like a puzzle. I probably check my calendar two or three times a day right now--to make sure I'm not missing anything, to attempt to plan ahead if I can, or to make an appointment to remind myself of something I will inevitably forget otherwise. With so many things going on, it's inevitable that I forget or fail at something almost every day right now. Most of it isn't life-altering, but in most cases I can't afford to lose a day here or there, or it will throw everything else off. Normally when things get busy I just try to accomplish one or two big things each day, and hope that I'm feeling mentally prepared for another thing or two the next day. Eventually I get through it. But with so much to do and so little time to do it, even that's not working. The physical toll of all of this isn't much better, as I rarely drop into a chair before 8:15 or so these days, between post-work errands, dinner, and clean-up. And even then I'm usually looking through paperwork or something. Trying to squeeze in a workout on top of it all seems impossible, even if this is when I most need to be doing it.
At first I thought my frustration with all of this fell in the realm of the maternal mental load and the resentment it can bring. There's no doubt I'm handling the bulk of the stuff right now. Craig holds his own in a lot of areas, but the constant keeping track of stuff, the coordination of daycare/camp deadlines, and the stack of school papers is all me, and it's a lot. Whether or not he notices how much I have going on, I honestly don't know. And I'm honestly too busy to care, even if it would be nice for those around me (including my kids) to acknowledge all that's going on and maybe even cut me some slack. BUT...I figured out that's ultimately not what's bugging me.
I realized that the root of my frustration right now is that the ultimate reward I desire for getting through this insane to-do list is really just a shorter list--the feeling of accomplishment. But that's not happening either. Just when I cross something off, something else gets added. My dream of a lovely summer day with my feet up, a tasty drink next to me and a book (or maybe a phone) in my lap seems like a complete impossibility right now because it feels like I'll be working through this list every day and night for the foreseeable future. It seems never-ending. At work I cross off one project and there's always another waiting that needs to be done immediately. I cross that off just in time to have another added. At home, I pay for one of Carter's camps, and instead of getting to cross that off my list, I get a new stack of paperwork to fill out. I go shopping at one store only to realize I still need to go to another one for something else. I finish the dishes but there's always a messy table waiting for me. And every darn night I need to plan another dinner. We have a tournament to pack for this weekend, decisions to make about Carter's summer field trips, a potential mini-vacation to plan, and about five house projects that we need to call someone about. I keep forgetting to make doctor appointments, and it took me until two weeks before my passport expired to finally get around to sending in the renewal application--which could now limit our mini-vacation plans if it doesn't come back soon enough.
I don't mean to complain (although this blog does make for a convenient, low-risk venting spot) because I know that overall we live a very blessed life. We have a nice house (despite the projects), we have good jobs (even if we wish we made more), we have two generally thriving kids (even if they come with a lot of issues to manage), and we're relatively healthy ourselves. We have loving families and generally have all we need, and then some. But I'm tired. I look around at people doing amazing things and feel like I'm missing out on life...or at least like the quality isn't where it should be. People are traveling, running races, redoing houses, and I don't feel like I have the time or energy for any of it. Heck, I see fit people with lovely cut fruit every day at work and wonder how they find the time to work out AND cut fruit? I mean, they probably don't watch TV all night like I do, but do they ever really rest? I'm convinced the do-it-all women (our sister-in-law among them--she's amazing--full time job, four kids, in good shape, and still manages to bake a half dozen different types of Christmas cookies, for example) are just built differently. But that's beside the point. My life is so easy compared to some people, but some days it still just seems to be too much. What is wrong with me?
I've read enough mommybloggers to know I'm not alone, but it doesn't make the day-to-day easier. I just have to keep telling myself: a few more weeks before the worst is over, and then we'll be on to our next challenge--getting in the summer groove.
Keeping up with the papers coming home from school and all of the year-end school events is one thing. Add in Jacob's birthday coming up, plus a significant ramping up of our sports schedule (lacrosse twice per week, soccer once per week, and two tournaments in the next month) and that's another thing. But adding all of that on top of our normal appointments and countless other little things that we constantly need to get done? It's overwhelming. Oh, and this is my busiest month at work, too. I'm being pulled in every direction and there aren't enough hours in the day (or at least, enough energy and/or brain cells) to do it all in the timeframe I have.
The mental exhaustion is overwhelming at times. Having to remember every little thing and its appropriate timing is like a puzzle. I probably check my calendar two or three times a day right now--to make sure I'm not missing anything, to attempt to plan ahead if I can, or to make an appointment to remind myself of something I will inevitably forget otherwise. With so many things going on, it's inevitable that I forget or fail at something almost every day right now. Most of it isn't life-altering, but in most cases I can't afford to lose a day here or there, or it will throw everything else off. Normally when things get busy I just try to accomplish one or two big things each day, and hope that I'm feeling mentally prepared for another thing or two the next day. Eventually I get through it. But with so much to do and so little time to do it, even that's not working. The physical toll of all of this isn't much better, as I rarely drop into a chair before 8:15 or so these days, between post-work errands, dinner, and clean-up. And even then I'm usually looking through paperwork or something. Trying to squeeze in a workout on top of it all seems impossible, even if this is when I most need to be doing it.
At first I thought my frustration with all of this fell in the realm of the maternal mental load and the resentment it can bring. There's no doubt I'm handling the bulk of the stuff right now. Craig holds his own in a lot of areas, but the constant keeping track of stuff, the coordination of daycare/camp deadlines, and the stack of school papers is all me, and it's a lot. Whether or not he notices how much I have going on, I honestly don't know. And I'm honestly too busy to care, even if it would be nice for those around me (including my kids) to acknowledge all that's going on and maybe even cut me some slack. BUT...I figured out that's ultimately not what's bugging me.
I realized that the root of my frustration right now is that the ultimate reward I desire for getting through this insane to-do list is really just a shorter list--the feeling of accomplishment. But that's not happening either. Just when I cross something off, something else gets added. My dream of a lovely summer day with my feet up, a tasty drink next to me and a book (or maybe a phone) in my lap seems like a complete impossibility right now because it feels like I'll be working through this list every day and night for the foreseeable future. It seems never-ending. At work I cross off one project and there's always another waiting that needs to be done immediately. I cross that off just in time to have another added. At home, I pay for one of Carter's camps, and instead of getting to cross that off my list, I get a new stack of paperwork to fill out. I go shopping at one store only to realize I still need to go to another one for something else. I finish the dishes but there's always a messy table waiting for me. And every darn night I need to plan another dinner. We have a tournament to pack for this weekend, decisions to make about Carter's summer field trips, a potential mini-vacation to plan, and about five house projects that we need to call someone about. I keep forgetting to make doctor appointments, and it took me until two weeks before my passport expired to finally get around to sending in the renewal application--which could now limit our mini-vacation plans if it doesn't come back soon enough.
I don't mean to complain (although this blog does make for a convenient, low-risk venting spot) because I know that overall we live a very blessed life. We have a nice house (despite the projects), we have good jobs (even if we wish we made more), we have two generally thriving kids (even if they come with a lot of issues to manage), and we're relatively healthy ourselves. We have loving families and generally have all we need, and then some. But I'm tired. I look around at people doing amazing things and feel like I'm missing out on life...or at least like the quality isn't where it should be. People are traveling, running races, redoing houses, and I don't feel like I have the time or energy for any of it. Heck, I see fit people with lovely cut fruit every day at work and wonder how they find the time to work out AND cut fruit? I mean, they probably don't watch TV all night like I do, but do they ever really rest? I'm convinced the do-it-all women (our sister-in-law among them--she's amazing--full time job, four kids, in good shape, and still manages to bake a half dozen different types of Christmas cookies, for example) are just built differently. But that's beside the point. My life is so easy compared to some people, but some days it still just seems to be too much. What is wrong with me?
I've read enough mommybloggers to know I'm not alone, but it doesn't make the day-to-day easier. I just have to keep telling myself: a few more weeks before the worst is over, and then we'll be on to our next challenge--getting in the summer groove.
Monday, June 3, 2019
A Weekend Divided
One kid was very much looking forward to this weekend, and the other was not. Jacob was off to training camp for his travel lacrosse team, and Carter was solo with us for the weekend. Can you guess which kid was which?
We dropped Jacob off in the late afternoon. He was less than thrilled. Lacrosse hasn't been his thing for quite a while now. Between his house team that didn't win a game for a full year and his travel team that won with him getting very little playing time, the love affair slowly ended, right as his love for basketball bloomed last spring and into the summer. The final blow, I think, was not making his same travel team, and while he seemed to enjoy his brief stint with the new team in the fall, he spent all winter complaining about practices. He was dreading this weekend for many reasons, from the intense practice schedule and the food situation to being away from us. Why that last one wasn't an upside, I don't know, but I guess I should be happy he still thinks that way?
Check-in was easy since we got there right on time this year. No line for check-in, and more importantly, no line for the dorm elevator! It struck me how much easier it was to leave him this time than it was the first time we did it, but I guess that's the difference between an almost-nine-year-old and an almost-eleven-year-old, especially when they have two years of experience under their belt. It still feels weird driving away, mind you! Of course, Craig had to drive back right away because Jacob forgot his cell phone--at which point Craig snapped this picture...
The hardest part for me was actually running into his former teammates and their families, and seeing their happy social media posts afterward celebrating the reunion with their "FCA Family". Yeah, we loved that family, too, until they (or at least the coach) found family they liked better than us. This weekend definitely opened up that wound a bit, and it renewed my desire to express our frustration with our experience--on many levels--to the higher-ups once this is all over. It's still sad and it hurt a lot more than I thought it would all these months later. Just knowing Jacob is the only one not moving forward with them, and that he had no real guidance or feedback on why he didn't get playing time, it all just seems unfair. Seeing all of the older kids at camp and tournaments always felt like a preview of our lives a few years down the road, imagining Jacob as one of those bigger kids with the same crew of teammates that he literally grew up with. Now they're all going on without him, and camp just drove home for real that this is the last hurrah.
In the meantime, I picked up Carter from school and we were off for a gluten-filled dinner of his choice--pizza! Afterward we headed to a new playground for us, at one of the elementary schools in town. It was a really cool playground with many different activities, and despite my best efforts to get pictures of Carter, he was purposely eluding me! But between the two of us we managed to sneak a few!
On Saturday we had a lazy morning (well, aside from my run) and did some things around the house until it was time to go to a movie! It was supposed to be a cruddy day so we didn't plan much, but the weather ended up humid and cloudy but not rainy. We went to see "Missing Link" at the cheap theater, which was really cute. We did our pick for dinner this time, TGI Fridays, where we haven't eaten in ages. We also stopped at Tim Hortons on the way home for some Timbits, as Carter had requested donuts for breakfast. Sometimes you just have to do all the things while you can!
We finished off the night by trying out a gift that Jacob had gotten last year for his birthday that we never really got around to (and yes, it was his gift but we knew he wouldn't care). They're LED-lit rockets that you launch with air (by stomping on a pump-type apparatus). We had tested them out in the afternoon but knew they'd be cooler at night with the lights. Too bad my pictures of the action didn't work, but at least I got this one...
It was rainy by then but Carter had no problem running out to grab them from the yard as we launched them from the porch! Once we were settled in for the night, we got a few text messages from Jacob. He seemed to be doing well, even if he did ask once for us to come get him! I was expecting that most of the weekend, so to only get one was good!
On Sunday morning, we went to church through some pretty intense rain, feeling bad that Jacob was practicing in that at camp. Our plan was to go to his final practice in the afternoon, just prior to check-out. The rain lightened up a bit by then, thankfully, and stopped while we were there. The good news is that he was on a turf field, so his team and one other were the only ones that didn't end up a muddy mess by the end of the weekend! It was good to see him playing again, even if it wasn't with a bunch of other familiar faces.
After practice we headed back to the dorms for check-out. Once again we ran into a bunch of old teammates and their families, and it was a little extra weird realizing that next weekend we'll be in the same city but at different tournaments. We used to play both tournaments, but at this age the tournaments overlap. We're going to the one Jacob's team won last year (presumably they won't this year--they have very few subs so it could be a tiring day), and his old team is going to the tournament where they got completely hosed last year. I won't miss that one because the bathroom situation there was the worst! The one we're at isn't great--port-a-potties on one end, and real bathrooms a very long walk away--but at least it's not a couple stalls for thousands of women! It's still going to be weird and I might have to tread carefully around Facebook, but the good news is that Jacob said camp went better than he thought. He got along with his teammates, the food was better, and he seemed to feel good about the lacrosse. Of course, this morning he hated lacrosse again because he woke up exhausted (but the Raptors' game was also to blame, and he didn't mention that), but we'll see how things go this weekend. I have to get back in tournament mode ASAP, but mentally I can't even go there for a while. Too many other things this week!
We finished off the weekend with one of Jacob's favorite dinners and a cheesecake (from a craft show vendor's mix) that he'd been asking for. The Raptors lost, but overall it was a good weekend. Jacob ended up happier than he thought, and Carter got some quality time with Mom and Dad. We got some things done and had some nice downtime, too. This month is now going to fly by at breakneck speed (or at least, that's how my calendar makes it look), so I'm just taking a deep breath and holding on for the ride.
We dropped Jacob off in the late afternoon. He was less than thrilled. Lacrosse hasn't been his thing for quite a while now. Between his house team that didn't win a game for a full year and his travel team that won with him getting very little playing time, the love affair slowly ended, right as his love for basketball bloomed last spring and into the summer. The final blow, I think, was not making his same travel team, and while he seemed to enjoy his brief stint with the new team in the fall, he spent all winter complaining about practices. He was dreading this weekend for many reasons, from the intense practice schedule and the food situation to being away from us. Why that last one wasn't an upside, I don't know, but I guess I should be happy he still thinks that way?
Check-in was easy since we got there right on time this year. No line for check-in, and more importantly, no line for the dorm elevator! It struck me how much easier it was to leave him this time than it was the first time we did it, but I guess that's the difference between an almost-nine-year-old and an almost-eleven-year-old, especially when they have two years of experience under their belt. It still feels weird driving away, mind you! Of course, Craig had to drive back right away because Jacob forgot his cell phone--at which point Craig snapped this picture...
The hardest part for me was actually running into his former teammates and their families, and seeing their happy social media posts afterward celebrating the reunion with their "FCA Family". Yeah, we loved that family, too, until they (or at least the coach) found family they liked better than us. This weekend definitely opened up that wound a bit, and it renewed my desire to express our frustration with our experience--on many levels--to the higher-ups once this is all over. It's still sad and it hurt a lot more than I thought it would all these months later. Just knowing Jacob is the only one not moving forward with them, and that he had no real guidance or feedback on why he didn't get playing time, it all just seems unfair. Seeing all of the older kids at camp and tournaments always felt like a preview of our lives a few years down the road, imagining Jacob as one of those bigger kids with the same crew of teammates that he literally grew up with. Now they're all going on without him, and camp just drove home for real that this is the last hurrah.
In the meantime, I picked up Carter from school and we were off for a gluten-filled dinner of his choice--pizza! Afterward we headed to a new playground for us, at one of the elementary schools in town. It was a really cool playground with many different activities, and despite my best efforts to get pictures of Carter, he was purposely eluding me! But between the two of us we managed to sneak a few!
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| I had to totally fake him out on a pair of twin slides to get this one! |
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| He went through this tunnel and it became the "Hand Cave" when Craig stuck his hands through the holes to grab him! He was hysterical while trying to avoid him! |
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| I just love the rainbow colors in this shot! |
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| Always on the run! |
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| Not a flattering shot of me, but it took a lot of effort to push him off! |
We finished off the night by trying out a gift that Jacob had gotten last year for his birthday that we never really got around to (and yes, it was his gift but we knew he wouldn't care). They're LED-lit rockets that you launch with air (by stomping on a pump-type apparatus). We had tested them out in the afternoon but knew they'd be cooler at night with the lights. Too bad my pictures of the action didn't work, but at least I got this one...
It was rainy by then but Carter had no problem running out to grab them from the yard as we launched them from the porch! Once we were settled in for the night, we got a few text messages from Jacob. He seemed to be doing well, even if he did ask once for us to come get him! I was expecting that most of the weekend, so to only get one was good!
On Sunday morning, we went to church through some pretty intense rain, feeling bad that Jacob was practicing in that at camp. Our plan was to go to his final practice in the afternoon, just prior to check-out. The rain lightened up a bit by then, thankfully, and stopped while we were there. The good news is that he was on a turf field, so his team and one other were the only ones that didn't end up a muddy mess by the end of the weekend! It was good to see him playing again, even if it wasn't with a bunch of other familiar faces.
After practice we headed back to the dorms for check-out. Once again we ran into a bunch of old teammates and their families, and it was a little extra weird realizing that next weekend we'll be in the same city but at different tournaments. We used to play both tournaments, but at this age the tournaments overlap. We're going to the one Jacob's team won last year (presumably they won't this year--they have very few subs so it could be a tiring day), and his old team is going to the tournament where they got completely hosed last year. I won't miss that one because the bathroom situation there was the worst! The one we're at isn't great--port-a-potties on one end, and real bathrooms a very long walk away--but at least it's not a couple stalls for thousands of women! It's still going to be weird and I might have to tread carefully around Facebook, but the good news is that Jacob said camp went better than he thought. He got along with his teammates, the food was better, and he seemed to feel good about the lacrosse. Of course, this morning he hated lacrosse again because he woke up exhausted (but the Raptors' game was also to blame, and he didn't mention that), but we'll see how things go this weekend. I have to get back in tournament mode ASAP, but mentally I can't even go there for a while. Too many other things this week!
We finished off the weekend with one of Jacob's favorite dinners and a cheesecake (from a craft show vendor's mix) that he'd been asking for. The Raptors lost, but overall it was a good weekend. Jacob ended up happier than he thought, and Carter got some quality time with Mom and Dad. We got some things done and had some nice downtime, too. This month is now going to fly by at breakneck speed (or at least, that's how my calendar makes it look), so I'm just taking a deep breath and holding on for the ride.
Friday, May 31, 2019
A Raptor-rific Weekend, Part 2
When I left off, we were leaving the restaurant since Carter was spent and the game wasn't going well. We paid the bill, checked out a couple things outside the cool Hockey
Hall of Fame-themed Tim Hortons in the same atrium area, and took the elevator down to our
van. By the time we came up to ground level from the underground ramp
and got our satellite radio reception back, we heard the broadcaster say
that the game was TIED! It could have only been 15 minutes at the
most. We were stunned! Of course then we just had to keep driving to
keep the run going! I briefly suggested we just drive around the city
for a while, just in case, but since it was so late we just headed out
of the city back toward the hotel. It took the entire quarter to get
there, and then Jacob wouldn't let us get out of the van until the game
was over. It was tight at the end, but the Raptors pulled away, and
sure enough, they won! The Raptors are going to the NBA Finals for the
first time ever!
We headed right to our room to watch the postgame celebration, and figured we should take a picture of all of us in our Raptors' gear. This was about as good as it got...
It was so nice to see Jacob so thrilled with the win and grateful to have been so close by for it.
It was a bummer that we didn't stay downtown to get in on the party in the streets, but clearly one of our party of four was ready for bed!
Most of Jurassic Park was still set up, too.
Craig grabbed this great shot of the boys outside.
We walked back and forth a couple times, and eventually set off in search of a bathroom. I couldn't help but snap this shot of a cool LED light installation in a nearby building. There were countless strings of LED lights, and they were changing color in patterns. Hopefully someday I'll get around to posting the video, but still a cool shot, no?
They also had this lovely Swarovski crystal basketball...fancy!
Craig tried to take some shots of the boys on the cool wall near the arena doors...
...and then it was back outside. As we were strolling through, we were intercepted by a news crew from Global News. They were interviewing fans about the previous night's game, and they seemed to enjoy our story about coming from Rochester and not making it into Jurassic Park. I knew Carter would never make it through an interview, so we left Craig and Jacob to do it and just stood to the side taking pictures...
And believe it or not, Craig made the segment! You can watch the show below. The segment begins at 8:30, and Craig is right around 11:00.
Don't feel bad for Jacob for not getting any airtime. He did say a couple funny things that we explained probably weren't ideal (the word "choke" was used, for example), and he spent most of the day worrying about destroying his NBA future if that aired. But the guy shown before Craig had an absurdly cute family, and they didn't make it either, so we can't feel too bad. But it was cool nonetheless!
We had promised Jacob we'd try to make it to Wahlburger's, which has a very good gluten-free burger, and since we didn't make it there the previous day (or our last trip), we took a long but pleasant walk from the arena, past the CN Tower and Rogers Centre (aka Skydome), and down the road to the restaurant. The Blue Jays were home and fans were streaming in, so it was a fun walk. I'm not sure I ever noticed this art installation with a woodpecker outside the convention center, but I had taken enough other weird, artsy shots on this trip, so why not this one?
Wahlburger's wasn't very busy and we were seated right away. Even though we knew we were still pretty full from breakfast and we knew we'd be eating a relatively early dinner at my family's Memorial Day picnic, we knew how much Jacob wanted to go. Craig and I just opted to split a sandwich. Carter got a hot dog and fries, and Jacob got his burger. Well, we sat there...and sat there...and sat there. It seemed to be taking a while considering it wasn't that busy, so when the people behind us who came in after us got their food, we flagged the waiter down. He sheepishly came back to our table after checking and admitted he forgot to punch in our order. We were already running later than would be ideal, and now we had to wait longer! Then when the food came out about 15 minutes later, we asked if Jacob's bun was gluten-free, and without a word he took it off the table and walked away. So his took even longer, but I guess at least they didn't just try to replate it on a different bun! He never even refilled our drinks either, so yeah, the waiter was awful. He told us to not even tip him, it was that bad. Basically, that killed any good mood I had. We hurried back to our van as we were now running very late to get back to NT for the picnic, and I was in such a crappy mood I didn't even go look at the Chihuly-like glass sculpture at the entrance of the Soho Hotel we walked past. I saw it on our way and thought that it looked like a fun photo op, if nothing else. I figured I'd check it out on the way back, but my mood was so foul by then that I didn't. And come to find out, it was a Chihuly! Darn it. Next time.
We headed back to NT through some slow-but-not-stopped traffic and a terrible line choice at customs, but had a very nice evening at my family's picnic before heading back to Rochester. I'll admit it felt great to get home, and I was thankful for another day off to recover from a busy weekend! Of course, Monday ended up being another busy, physically exhausting day. I finally picked up vegetables for my garden and got them (and a couple experiments) planted, trimmed a tree, repotted my little pine tree, did some weed-whacking, cleaned up my bike and went for a nearly-seven-mile ride. Oh, and I think I did some laundry, too. Craig mowed the lawn and worked on the pool, which will never be warm, judging by the extended forecast. During one of my few breaks, Carter climbed up behind me at one point and gave me a massage, at which point I snapped this picture. Silly boy!
We headed right to our room to watch the postgame celebration, and figured we should take a picture of all of us in our Raptors' gear. This was about as good as it got...
It was so nice to see Jacob so thrilled with the win and grateful to have been so close by for it.
It was a bummer that we didn't stay downtown to get in on the party in the streets, but clearly one of our party of four was ready for bed!
It
was a late night, but a happy one! We slept in pretty well the next
morning and filled up on breakfast (oh, cinnamon rolls...) before
heading out and back downtown. Signs of the previous night were still
around, including this giant balloon on the ceiling outside the
Sportchek store across from the arena.
Most of Jurassic Park was still set up, too.
Craig grabbed this great shot of the boys outside.
We walked back and forth a couple times, and eventually set off in search of a bathroom. I couldn't help but snap this shot of a cool LED light installation in a nearby building. There were countless strings of LED lights, and they were changing color in patterns. Hopefully someday I'll get around to posting the video, but still a cool shot, no?
We
stopped into Sportchek (again) to look at what that location had compared to the Mississauga one, then
headed into the arena to visit the team store. It was hopping! Most of
the Eastern Conference Championship shirts were already sold out, and
the place was full of excited fans! We picked up a few things, from a
small ball for Carter to a keychain for Jacob's new house key (he's
going home after school for the next month, God help us). Since we have a few smaller versions at home, we did not
spend $100 on this cool stuffed Raptor who was half of Carter's height,
but how cool is he?
They also had this lovely Swarovski crystal basketball...fancy!
Craig tried to take some shots of the boys on the cool wall near the arena doors...
 |
| This one reminded me of a weird album cover for some reason. Maybe Carter's pose? |
...and then it was back outside. As we were strolling through, we were intercepted by a news crew from Global News. They were interviewing fans about the previous night's game, and they seemed to enjoy our story about coming from Rochester and not making it into Jurassic Park. I knew Carter would never make it through an interview, so we left Craig and Jacob to do it and just stood to the side taking pictures...
And believe it or not, Craig made the segment! You can watch the show below. The segment begins at 8:30, and Craig is right around 11:00.
Don't feel bad for Jacob for not getting any airtime. He did say a couple funny things that we explained probably weren't ideal (the word "choke" was used, for example), and he spent most of the day worrying about destroying his NBA future if that aired. But the guy shown before Craig had an absurdly cute family, and they didn't make it either, so we can't feel too bad. But it was cool nonetheless!
We had promised Jacob we'd try to make it to Wahlburger's, which has a very good gluten-free burger, and since we didn't make it there the previous day (or our last trip), we took a long but pleasant walk from the arena, past the CN Tower and Rogers Centre (aka Skydome), and down the road to the restaurant. The Blue Jays were home and fans were streaming in, so it was a fun walk. I'm not sure I ever noticed this art installation with a woodpecker outside the convention center, but I had taken enough other weird, artsy shots on this trip, so why not this one?
Wahlburger's wasn't very busy and we were seated right away. Even though we knew we were still pretty full from breakfast and we knew we'd be eating a relatively early dinner at my family's Memorial Day picnic, we knew how much Jacob wanted to go. Craig and I just opted to split a sandwich. Carter got a hot dog and fries, and Jacob got his burger. Well, we sat there...and sat there...and sat there. It seemed to be taking a while considering it wasn't that busy, so when the people behind us who came in after us got their food, we flagged the waiter down. He sheepishly came back to our table after checking and admitted he forgot to punch in our order. We were already running later than would be ideal, and now we had to wait longer! Then when the food came out about 15 minutes later, we asked if Jacob's bun was gluten-free, and without a word he took it off the table and walked away. So his took even longer, but I guess at least they didn't just try to replate it on a different bun! He never even refilled our drinks either, so yeah, the waiter was awful. He told us to not even tip him, it was that bad. Basically, that killed any good mood I had. We hurried back to our van as we were now running very late to get back to NT for the picnic, and I was in such a crappy mood I didn't even go look at the Chihuly-like glass sculpture at the entrance of the Soho Hotel we walked past. I saw it on our way and thought that it looked like a fun photo op, if nothing else. I figured I'd check it out on the way back, but my mood was so foul by then that I didn't. And come to find out, it was a Chihuly! Darn it. Next time.
We headed back to NT through some slow-but-not-stopped traffic and a terrible line choice at customs, but had a very nice evening at my family's picnic before heading back to Rochester. I'll admit it felt great to get home, and I was thankful for another day off to recover from a busy weekend! Of course, Monday ended up being another busy, physically exhausting day. I finally picked up vegetables for my garden and got them (and a couple experiments) planted, trimmed a tree, repotted my little pine tree, did some weed-whacking, cleaned up my bike and went for a nearly-seven-mile ride. Oh, and I think I did some laundry, too. Craig mowed the lawn and worked on the pool, which will never be warm, judging by the extended forecast. During one of my few breaks, Carter climbed up behind me at one point and gave me a massage, at which point I snapped this picture. Silly boy!
Thank goodness for a four day week, because we needed it to go quickly. Well, all except Jacob who is off to lacrosse training camp for a few days and has been very emphatic about how much he doesn't want to go. Between being completely over lacrosse and a less-than-ideal gluten-free situation, it's going to be a challenge. At least the Raptors won game one last night, so at least he has one less thing to be annoyed about! The bright side for us is a weekend with Carter, which is such a rarity. One of these days it will actually feel like summer outside, and we can get in full summer mode. Hopefully lots of fun adventures are ahead!
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