Happy Halloween!

Ok, that's tomorrow, actually--but I'll be busy. I just got done carving the pumpkins. I have the spider web and spider hung on the porch. Candy is bought. No costume--I think I'll be a football mom at work tomorrow... but maybe I should be a witch based on this quiz. A good witch ;)

You Are 55% Witch

You've got some pretty witchy stuff going on. Even if you're not a witch, you've got to admit that you're a little freaky. You have a strong independent streak - social norms be damned. More power to you. Luckily, the time when you would have been burned at the stake has passed!

Are You a Witch?

An inch away

I would like to congratulate the Bedford Varsity football team on their incredible season. They were an inch away from a playoff spot, at least in the officials' eyes. Those of us who were sitting in the stands know that they were in the endzone on each of the last two plays in regulation and should have had the win. However, that's not how it turned out,. While we are disappointed in the outcome, there is no way that we are disappointed in our boys OR our coaches.

It has been exciting to be a part of Bedford football this year. All three teams at the high school level had winning seasons. Coach Wood has brought much needed discipline to the program without being hard-nosed about it; most of the parents and the boys have great respect and admiration for him and his coaching staff. I had chills each time the varsity team sang the fight song after home victories, and they did that often. What a wonderful tradition to start. And I literally teared up on Thursday when the FRESHMEN lined up and sang to us after their win (as did the JV!).

I was privileged to spend a good part of the past 9 Friday afternoons with the Varsity boys when we gave them their pre-game meal. This is an outstanding group of kids--polite, smart, funny, and truly supportive of one another. I saw absolutely NO finger pointing the few times that things didn't go right. I saw boys turn into men as they accepted responsibility for whatever went wrong (even if it was beyond their control!), and spread the praise for what went right--no glory-hogging.

While we wish we could have a Halloween game, this season has been quite a treat! Good job guys.

To everything, there is a season

This passage from Ecclesiastes has always been my favorite...a time for every purpose ... At this time of year, the turning becomes obvious--the changing of the leaves, the chill in the air (and the need to turn on the furnace!). This weekend, I plan on switching my summer wardrobe for my winter wardrobe in my closet. This means I need to put together a few more covered wardrobe racks for my attic since somehow, I've accumulated more clothes than I had last year. And Angie, I promise I will pare it back as I go--but I still will need the extra organizers. Guess I should have the boys go through their closets and drawers as well since we never got around to that at the beginning of school.

Ah yes. Change is in the air. The election is only a few weeks off, and regardless of the outcome, there will be change. Work has been a constant stream of change, some for the good and some for the not so good. My workload has more than doubled in the last week alone, and I was already busy. Ugh. But life goes on, and somehow, it will all sort itself out.

Before you know it, we'll be inundated with Christmas sales and carols and all that jazz. Wait, that's already happening. I guess Christmas is turning into a 9 month season.

One season that I'd like to see extended is that of our varsity football team. They are making the long journey up to Chelsea for the regular season finale. A win will put them in the playoffs for the second time in school history and the first time in 18 years. They could make it with a loss but they're on the bubble there. Chelsea is always a top team, so it should be interesting. Go Mules!

All About Craig

Today is Craig's birthday. He is turning 17. He shares his birthday with Angela Lansbury, Tim Robbins, and Suzanne Sommers. He is a Libra--the scales and balance--which is very fitting for his personality.

Craig has always been a little ray of light. He was a sunny blonde as a child and had a smile and laugh that would light up a room. I wish I could post the video from his second birthday--between his giggles and antics, I roll on the floor every time I view it. I am going to scan in some pictures of him as a little boy so you can see just how adorable he was (ok, bad mom, but I've been swamped between work, football, and school functions).

Actually, Craig is still adorable. And now that he is driving and past that mid-teen point, he is human once again, at least in his relationship with me.

One of the greatest compliments a mother can receive is when others tell her how polite and helpful her children are. These types of comments are synonymous with Craig. I can also recall how he amazed a group of adults at his brother's christening. Craig was 3 at the time, and walked past a plate of cookies to get at a plate of carrots. How many 3 year olds would do that?

He is the pied piper around little kids. The toddler and elementary school set at church have this puppy-like adoration for him. And to our young Logan, he is the absolute hero. He'll make a good dad some day--he gets how to interact and lead.

His current passion is football. As part of this year's winning varsity team, he epitomizes what it means to be a team player. He isn't seeing as much field time as either of us would like, but he is extremely supportive of his "brothers" and understands that the scout team contributes to the overall team success since our starters wouldn't be as strong as they are if they weren't daily going against the talent of our scout team.

Craig is smart. He is currently carrying a 3.8 grade point average, and is in the top 7% in his graduating class. He is taking tough, challenging classes. As a 7th grader (years and years ago), he merged his smarts with his passion, and was named the league scholar athlete.

So, Happy Birthday Craig!

Homecoming 2008

This week marked the annual homecoming celebration for Bedford. With 2 boys in the high school, it was pretty crazy at my house. Wednesday night was Big Ball, then the Football moms helped to resurrect the traditional homecoming bonfire. If you haven't seen a big ball game, it is a pseudo-powder puff activity, but instead of football, the junior and senior girls move rather large medicine balls up and down the field. Of course, the boys show their class spirit, as pictured here:

On Thursday, we traveled up to Ypsilanti Lincoln to watch the Freshmen and JV games. Both teams won--the freshmen by a score of 36-21, and the JV by a score of 69-6 (trust me, it could have been MUCH worse!).

Friday brought the varsity game. The lovely and absolutely delightful Ashley was crowned this year's queen. I have known her since she was very young since her brother TJ and Craig played youth ball together. I am very happy for her. TJ also had a big night on Friday, helping to lead the Mules on to a 37-6 victory. Lots of incredible talent on that field--many big play makers including Nate, Joe, Shane, and Tyler. Way to go boys--one more and it's a winning season.

Saturday was the dance. Craig went with his friend Megan (whose brother is one of Matt's best friends!) This group is pictured below, as are just my boys plus the big bunch that went. All in all, I'd say that this year's homecoming was a smashing success.

Turn Back the Hands of Time

I try to live my life with as few regrets as possible. Raw circumstances and joyous occasions have made me who I am today, and I am generally pretty happy with the person that I am and with the place where I reside, speaking both metaphysically and physically--current funk notwithstanding.

Over the weekend, I read a book with an intriguing lure. (The Summerhouse by Jude Devereaux). In this book three women who had a happenstance meeting at the BMV on their shared 21st birthday get together again as they turn 40. Life has not been particularly kind to any of them, and they are given the chance to go back to one three-week period in their lives and re-write their life story, if they so desire. Not the same 3 weeks for all--but ANY 3 consecutive weeks for each. If they do so, they can either totally erase the memory of the other life and continue down the rewritten path, move on with the new life but keep the memory of what has transpired elsewhere, or stay where they are in the life they have already made. Each woman chooses something different (1 for each scenario).

So what would I do if offered the same choice? I don't know that I could pinpoint a three-week period that would have been life-altering. In retrospect, I could probably name a handful of isolated moments that I would like a re-do on, but only on the assurance that I would, for the most part, end up in the same spot I am in today. In doing so, my desire would not be for something better for myself, but to perhaps help others on the road not taken for them. I think I would have told the people I love how much I appreciate them more often, but I am not sure that we can EVER do that often enough.

If you could go back and change anything, would you? What?

Autumn Quiz

Love the linked site for funky quizzes (thanks Robin at Befrazzled!). Combine that with my favorite season, and here's what I get. Take the quiz for yourself and let me know how you stack up. I have to say that this is a pretty good description of me....

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a energetic, warm, optimistic person. You approach everything with a lot of enthusiasm. When you're happiest, you are outgoing and expressive . You love celebrations, and you enjoy showing off a little. You prefer change to come slowly. You need a long transition period when your life changes. You find solitude to be the most comforting thing in the world. Being alone with your thoughts feels very peaceful. Your ideal day is spontaneous and surprising. You like to play things by ear, and you always end up doing something interesting. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

hmmph

I am in a funk. My biorhythms must be out of sync, my cosmic doodads misaligned. I'm just saying. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is just off. I'm thinking about finding a deserted island for a week or two. Well, maybe not entirely deserted. I'm going to need a bartender and a masseuse. Maybe a chef and a pool boy.

On the positive side, the freshman football team beat Tecumseh tonight to move their record to 5 and 1. They had a devastating blow-out loss to Ann Arbor Pioneer last week--it was their first loss in 3 years, and it looked like they saved all of their yips for one fell swoop. They were still a little tentative tonight, especially on offense--which is usually their bread and butter. But they managed to get the job done.

We're hoping the Varsity team is ticked off enough from losing a game they should have won last week (gave up 2 touchdowns in the last 3 minutes to lose by 7!) to roll tomorrow night. I've already got my long johns out since it's supposed to be pretty frigid by game time (making that deserted island sound even more appealing!). ADDENDUM: GO MULES! They pulled off the victory 56-40.

What type of vacation sounds good? The desert island? A girls' shopping spree in Chicago? Some other exotic retreat?