"...for dust you are, and to dust you will return." Genesis 3:19

Yesterday was the first day of Lent. While taking the girls to school I realized they would be going to Mass that morning so I made a quick phone call to work and was able to join them. I enjoy going to Mass with the school kids, and should try to do it more often. Its refreshing to see the kids performing the readings, the music, and helping out with the other duties. Not to mention that Father Chris explains things in simpler terms which...um helps me out too. Jenna sat by Julia, who sat by me; a small preschool boy sat on the other side of me. Something about holding his tiny hand in mine during the Lord's Prayer was moving to me, along with hearing all the little voices, including my two little girls', reciting the prayer.  I have to mention one of my favorite parts of Mass: when we all say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Anyway, we all received our ash cross on our foreheads and soon it was time to head to work. I noticed the sun was shining and the birds were chirping - promises that Spring will be here soon!  I'm attempting to give up chocolate for Lent. This is huge for me since I love it and indulge far too much. Jenna is going to give up temper tantrums and (try) to give up sloppy handwriting - she gets dogged for sloppy work fairly regularly at school, but she CAN do it, she just needs to s-l-o-w down. Jared is going to give up soda. I think Jeremy has yet to pin something down, if he does; he's never taken this observance too seriously. He does however stick religiously to abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, and on Ash Wednesday (Hello McDonalds fish sandwich).


I have to give a shout out to my girl Jenna. She's been playing basketball with a parent-run group at Kirksville Middle School. Her softball coaches put it on and I think this is her 3rd year playing. While it does allow her to practice drills, the "games" are more like loose scrimmages (played on a half-court) and for a while, pretty much anything went. Jenna was fouled at one point by a girl coming up over her head from behind and hitting the ball out of her hand. Jenna told me "I didn't know you could do that." I replied "Um I really don't think you can." There were basically no rules. Not knowing a whole lot about the game myself, I asked Coach Corbett to talk to Jenna a little bit about what constitutes a foul; what is okay to do and what is not okay. There doesn't seem much point to these scrimmages if the girls are just picking up bad habits and aren't taught the rules of the game - the games were actually getting ridiculously wild. He said he thought that would be good for all the girls and since then, they have started "pausing" at practices to point out illegal moves right when they happen, so all the girls can learn from it. At the games they are actually calling fouls and are now shooting free throws when fouled. It has helped tremendously to bring some accountability to the girls.
Turns out that MI is allowing 4th graders to participate with the 5th-6th grade basketball team. I asked Jenna if she wanted to play and she said yes. I took it that the 4th graders would be a back-up to the team and might only be played if someone was hurt or needed to sit out. I wasn't too concerned about her not playing in games yet; I just thought getting to practice with them would be a good experience for her. So now in addition to her Wednesday practice with KV, she practices on Tuesday and Thursdays with MI. MI practices right after school which is very handy. She loves it. She only got to practice with them twice before the first game on Tuesday this week. We headed to the game and I reminded her not to be upset if she didn't play; she was there to support her team. Let me tell you, she looks adorable in her uniform. I didn't get a picture but trust, I will. Turns out she did get to play quite a little bit. I was nervous. This was the REAL deal. A real game, real clock and buzzer, real refs, score keeping, calls made, playing in actual formation - a huge change from what she's been doing with Kirksville. And let me tell you, those girls were moving fast. And she was out there with 6th graders - one girl on the opposing team was taller than Jared. That little girl held her own. She kept up and had some really great plays. I was very proud of her. She was a little frustrated for not making her shots, but I thought it was a strength in itself that she was getting the ball and attempting to shoot; she'll get her groove in time - but for the first (very fast-paced) game she's been in, she did great.
I've decided that next year we'll drop the KV team and just play with MI. Being a small school and small team, she will get much more play time and more individual attention at practices. At Kirksville, the 5th and 6th grade teams are still parent-run and anyone can play, which makes for a huge team. Last year, I think there were 50 or 60 boys playing and I honestly think the chaos of it all may have turned Jared away from the game a bit. Overall, he's a relatively cautious person and not real aggressive; that may be part of his lack of enjoyment of the game too. It seems he may be better suited to sports that he can play individually such as track and swimming - where he is mostly competing against himself. Time will tell. I just want him to stay active regardless of whether he plays on any team. I'm learning that politics are a huge part of sports - playing intramural sports and just for fun may be the way to go.