Kind Words

Another Magnolia baseball season ended yesterday.  My thirteen year old team made it into the end of year play-offs, but were eliminated after two games.  There were some really tough teams in this league.  Solid teams that had too much talent.  We almost beat the #1 seed in game one, but lost in the end 6-5.  In game two we hung in tough for a bit, but too many non plays took us down in the end.

I was proud of the team.  Proud of their growth.  They did very well and I have high hopes for the team's future.

They were an exceptional group of boys.  I do not always say that.  There are always boys of great character on each team I coach, but this group did seem to have more, have more heart and were great listeners.

At the end of year party, one of these boys actually stood in front of all the parents, teammates and Bish and I and delivered a wonderful tribute to me in thanks for the season.  I was touched by his thoughts and impressed with his preparation, his delivery and his poise.  Thirteen years old!  I can only imagine the open road ahead for this boy.

My other catcher then stood and gave a wonderful talk about my other coaching half, Mark Bishop.  Again the poise and ability of these two young men impressed me.  All season long I observed this boy smoothly taking a leadership role among his peers.  In a soft subtle style he would gather the team, reiterate our words, prod his teammates in a gentle firm way.  He was always the one I would see talking with whichever teammate had just goofed up.  Talking them back to the positive world.

Isn't it amazing to observe others actually doing what we all preach.  Demonstrating the good side of all of us.  Isn't it amazing that by teaching young men how to act, how to grow, how to be that we can get lessons in return.  How teaching others how to treat others we can learn and be shown just how important it is to ALWAYS be like that.  To be the man your dog thinks you are.  To be the coach your team wants you to be.

Why I love my wife; why it is so damned easy

Peggy turns 53 tomorrow. That is one BIG reason I love her. She is my age, at least for a month. And she is the cutest little button. There are so many reasons to love her.

She is warm, open, loves animals, loves me, smart (close to being as smart as I am, but not quite SUPER GENIUS category), witty, funny and just has that easy way about her.

She is easy to talk to, or not talk to. Why we could talk or not talk for hours on end, and still find things to not talk about.

Warm, she just calms me by being around. And I want to be around her. Want to hear her talk, want to watch her work, want to be by her side. Love seeing the look of concentration on her face; love to see her day dream. Just love to see her move to music when she thinks she is not being watched. Love to see her cook. Love the way she walks. Loves the way she listens, love what she hears and can pull from me. Sometimes it is only what I mean but cannot say. I love to catch her eye from across the room.

Open, she can move freely through all my inner rooms and is always welcome. I have no fear that she will see anything, even things that I don’t like that ARE THERE that she cannot live with, things that she couldn’t see and love about me. I am open to her and love that she is open to me. No message, no judgment, she can see things as they are, things I don’t like but am trying to deal with. She helps me deal with them, and I am no longer afraid of what is there.

Her love of animals gives me relief. I see her love and where it comes from and know that I too can be loved, no matter what, and I think it makes me easier to love, more open to love.

Smart, she can even spell and knows grammar. And she can recall things that I have forgotten. Last night she brought up something that I have already forgotten. Things we learned in second grade can still be important, and she was listening then, and she listens now. She is smart because she cares so much.

Witty little thing can give me shit in ways that just make me feel more loved, like the things that are wrong about me are funny. I am glad they are not as scary as I thought they were.

And it is just amazing how much fun we have together and how much of this cruel hard world can be funny to experience when we are together

Happy birthday you wonderful, old, warm, loving, witty smart woman.