Braggin' Rights

Yesterday it was my nephew; today it's my grandson! In a matter of time, I'll be bragging about everyone I know. I think it comes with growing older...the "rights" of passage.

So here's Nicholas, at 4-1/2, starting his second season of soccer. "Soccer" is somewhat loosely spoken: no goalies, no score. We're lucky if anyone remembers to go after the ball in the right direction, with coaches and parents on the sidelines constantly yelling, "Nicholas, look at the ball;" or "No, Graham, go the other way!" What a hoot.

Last fall, when Nicholas got his first taste of soccer, he was giddy with the excitement of his own ball, shoes, shin guards and team shirt with the number 6. He knew the game was about running around after a ball and kicking it into the goal but clearly had no clue about anything else. Most of the time he ran behind the pack, watching the shoes of those in front of him to give him direction of where to go. If the ball happened to pass his line of vision, it surprised him more than anyone. And if his reflexes connected quickly enough, he might even sometimes get a foot on it.
This year, with new shirts exactly like last year's, Nicholas chose the number 6 again. At the beginning of the game, it even looked like he had actually "gotten it," often at the front of the pack and obviously following the ball. Wow, we all said to each other. What a difference a few months make! But alas, within a few minutes, he was reverting back to the old patterns.

But, that was encouraging, yes!?! A tiny taste of things to come. He'll eventually get it and we'll think back on these days and laugh.

Guess who Nicholas called at the beginning of the game! Indeed, Donica (in Germany) doesn't miss much, thanks to all our modern conveniences.


The team coach is great. So patient and getting a kick outta everything as much as the rest of us...and yet still taking it seriously. Same coach as last year, through the YMCA. Nice.

Nicholas' dad, Nick (pictured here), Mommy, of course, as well as Papa Nick, and sometimes G'pa and G'ma Tiffan, Donica and myself--it's a tribe of us by the time we're all there. This kid is definitely loved and "spoiled" in all the right ways.

It does indeed take a village to raise a child, no doubt about it!