Our Weekend

Yesterday, my youngest child's team lost a heart-breaking soccer game, 0-1 in the final minute of play. Her team is in last place, winless, and they were playing the first place team. Nevertheless, the game stayed scoreless until that minute. Then, as one her teammates tried to clear the ball from their zone, she inadvertently sent it straight into Julia's shoulder, where the ball then bounced into their own net, creating a goal for the opposition.

A minute later the game was whistled over.

That is a defender's greatest nightmare, and I knew Julia was devastated as she walked off the pitch, holding her face down and her hand over her eyes. As I reached her and we hugged she started crying.

Soon, her teammates gathered around her and took over the hugs. Everyone knew it wasn't her fault. Luckily she did too.

As her mood improved, she smiled and told me, "I don't know why I cried. I think I was just angry. A girl on the other team cheered in an ugly way when they got that goal."

This is, of course, what I love about sports for girls. They get to experience these difficult things, which will prove useful as they mature and move forward into a professional world still unfairly dominated by men.

On our way home she and I stopped at a store where she got a treat.

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Today, her brother and former coach, the guy who really taught her how to be a defender on the pitch, was lost in his own world, drawing (photo above). His art, which I have posted here, is strangely detailed and exotic. He continues to work on a big piece. As he does so, none of us can even get him to respond to our inquiries. He seems lost in the patterns.

I'm not quite sure what is going on with him. I worry sometimes.

Meenwhile, my youngest son and I today worked on his college applications. I was surprised that, despite his lackluster approach to classes, he has a 3.0 GPA at Lowell, very high SAT scores and impressive AP test scores. Maybe he can get into a good college, after all.

His essays focused on his work at St. Anthony's dining hall, where for months now he has been a volunteer feeding homeless people and mentally ill people. He describes himself as a cynic, not an idealist, but someone who believes the best any of us can do is help improve the world one life at a time...

Congratulations to my special nephew Andrew on his wedding in Atlanta this weekend. I wish we all could have been there with you!

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