Feels Like Teen/Team Spirit

Lots of action today at Hotweir World Headquarters.

First, the sports report: Balboa High's varsity soccer team defeated Galileo 3-0 this afternoon and now is guaranteed a playoff berth for the first time in a long, long time.

How long nobody seems to know, but the last time they were San Francisco City Champions was in 1981.



The only freshman member of the squad who has started and played every game was a happy (if exhausted) young man (#2 above) tonight, as were the parents of the seniors, who have never had a winning season until now. Their record is 8-3-2, with three games left in the regular season.


But we had another reason to celebrate in our family this evening. My youngest is turning 11 in a few days, maybe not a teenager in numbers, but as I am sure many others can appreciate, most definitely a teenager in spirit.

We held a little family party for her, and as the indulgent Dad I am, I gave her a bag of goodies, none of which were politically correct, health foods, or recommended by a certified nutritionist.

All of which, however, are certifiably delicious.

You know, the longer my run as a parent extends, the more I appreciate how hard all of this is for all of us, this work trying to raise responsible citizens who might in the future make contributions to help our society develop in a more responsible direction, as opposed to other, less desirable outcomes.

That so much can hinge on just one person doing one thing at one time is no relief for any parent. We do not want to make mistakes; we realize our kids are tomorrow's participants, perhaps even tomorrow's leaders.

Speaking only for myself, and as modestly as possible, all I have tried to do is help raise good people who respect others and are willing to work with anyone else to try and make things better.

The problems around us transcend sports triumphs or family birthday celebrations, of course. These are private moments, of definite meaning within our nuclear units but otherwise not at all significant in the great patterns of time, which is also one of the lessons we try to convey to our kids.

Later on, I know that none of us will necessarily remember this particular soccer victory or this particular birthday party. These are but the daily trivia of our collective present. But we are all down together in whether this year, 2009, yields a new national health care system, or an economic recovery, or a peace process in the Middle East.

None of us can ever let immediate concerns replace larger issues. Yet, none of us can afford to skip celebrating our little victories, minor though they may be, in the meantime.

So, that is simply what I am doing here tonight.

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