Have you ever noticed that boys will Hi-5, pat their mates on the back or even give each other a massive group hug when they play team sports, roughing each others hair up and overwhelming happy to be on the team, but never interact with each other affectionately otherwise (unless they are brothers)? They don't greet each other with a hug when they come over for a play or see each other at the mall. Where as girls will meet and greet with hugs and kisses as they mimic their parents doing the same with their friends.
This link is an amazing story about an autistic boy who was very much part of a college basketball team as the team manager. He was their biggest supporter and overly enthusiastic at their matches. Watch the link to see what happens... it brings you to tears, of joy.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150382299923934&set=vb.111166098951926&type=2&theater
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Monday, 7 November 2011
Friday, 16 September 2011
The end of the winter sports
After over 6 months of taxiing and cheering both my boys in their soccer, hockey and basketball matches, it's time to put away the hockey sticks, the shin pads, the mouth guards, soccer balls and basketballs away for another season.
As like most families, weekends can be a bit of a juggle with sports. Luckily for us, Friday night was basketball starting anytime from 4pm to 5.45pm and finishing with some type of Friday night take-away. But Saturdays were always a headache. Soccer games were generally local, most starting at 9am (with training at 8.30am), but hockey could be anywhere from a 10 minute drive from the soccer game to an hour away or more. And of course, hockey started at 9.45am with a 9am start for training. So every week, the games clashed. When they both played home games, I would drop one off to soccer, drop the other off to hockey, go back to soccer to see the last half of the game, and return to hockey to see the last half of that game. But when they were polar opposites away, there were a few favours to ask from fellow parents who didn't need to do the Saturday morning shuttle with other kids. The boys only missed a handful of games during the season due to traveling, school concerts and the occasional logistics, so I think between us (and the help of the hockey coach and mums at school), we got there in the end.
I tried to make it as even as possible - miss one son's game one week, and the other son's game the next time venues clashed. It was the only way it would be fair. But last week was a hard decision to make - see the soccer star get presented his trophy for the end of the year, or see the hockey champ play in the semi-finals. I had to do the presentation, and his game went so well. They won 4-2 to an older team (FYI, they play the U8 and the U9 in the same competition in soccer, basketball & hockey, so there is always a younger group and an older group, which also means the 'more experienced group' and the 'less experienced group', not necessarily playing each other each round, but in the same rounds.). Our boys, who all go to school together, and most play in the same basketball team, started singing 'We are family, but not me' to the Sister Sledge song while doing the conga. It was very funny.
The hockey game apparently was a nail-biter as well. Our team were 4th on the ladder playing the top team on the ladder in the semi-final. They were even 2-2 up until the last minute when the other team scored the winning shot. Even if it stayed level, the other team would have won based on being first on the ladder. So it was a triumphant loss on the basis that they were so close to beating the top team.
So tonight was the final basketball match. Our team had started to shine over the last two-three weeks, and again playing one of the better teams in the league, the boys drew at 10-10 until we were fouled with 16 seconds to go, and the other team had to do a 2-point shoot out, missing the first but getting the second one to beat us by a point. The good thing about our kids is that they feel like they win even when they lose, because they know how far they have come from their devastating 4-30 losses to a more even game. They sing, they cheer, they Hi-5 each other, where you see other teams as bad winners and still hold a grudge for not doing a better job.
To finish off, we had pizza in the park as the sun set and the kids disappeared into the darkness. We had a small presentation where my 8 year old was 'most improved' and catering manager here (me) ordered the right amount of pizza to go around (there were only 2 slices left when we went home).
So now onto the summer sports... still deciding what to do, but it will be nice to have a couple of weeks off!
As like most families, weekends can be a bit of a juggle with sports. Luckily for us, Friday night was basketball starting anytime from 4pm to 5.45pm and finishing with some type of Friday night take-away. But Saturdays were always a headache. Soccer games were generally local, most starting at 9am (with training at 8.30am), but hockey could be anywhere from a 10 minute drive from the soccer game to an hour away or more. And of course, hockey started at 9.45am with a 9am start for training. So every week, the games clashed. When they both played home games, I would drop one off to soccer, drop the other off to hockey, go back to soccer to see the last half of the game, and return to hockey to see the last half of that game. But when they were polar opposites away, there were a few favours to ask from fellow parents who didn't need to do the Saturday morning shuttle with other kids. The boys only missed a handful of games during the season due to traveling, school concerts and the occasional logistics, so I think between us (and the help of the hockey coach and mums at school), we got there in the end.
I tried to make it as even as possible - miss one son's game one week, and the other son's game the next time venues clashed. It was the only way it would be fair. But last week was a hard decision to make - see the soccer star get presented his trophy for the end of the year, or see the hockey champ play in the semi-finals. I had to do the presentation, and his game went so well. They won 4-2 to an older team (FYI, they play the U8 and the U9 in the same competition in soccer, basketball & hockey, so there is always a younger group and an older group, which also means the 'more experienced group' and the 'less experienced group', not necessarily playing each other each round, but in the same rounds.). Our boys, who all go to school together, and most play in the same basketball team, started singing 'We are family, but not me' to the Sister Sledge song while doing the conga. It was very funny.
The hockey game apparently was a nail-biter as well. Our team were 4th on the ladder playing the top team on the ladder in the semi-final. They were even 2-2 up until the last minute when the other team scored the winning shot. Even if it stayed level, the other team would have won based on being first on the ladder. So it was a triumphant loss on the basis that they were so close to beating the top team.
So tonight was the final basketball match. Our team had started to shine over the last two-three weeks, and again playing one of the better teams in the league, the boys drew at 10-10 until we were fouled with 16 seconds to go, and the other team had to do a 2-point shoot out, missing the first but getting the second one to beat us by a point. The good thing about our kids is that they feel like they win even when they lose, because they know how far they have come from their devastating 4-30 losses to a more even game. They sing, they cheer, they Hi-5 each other, where you see other teams as bad winners and still hold a grudge for not doing a better job.
To finish off, we had pizza in the park as the sun set and the kids disappeared into the darkness. We had a small presentation where my 8 year old was 'most improved' and catering manager here (me) ordered the right amount of pizza to go around (there were only 2 slices left when we went home).
So now onto the summer sports... still deciding what to do, but it will be nice to have a couple of weeks off!
Friday, 1 July 2011
Let me introduce myself!
'Sex and the Single Mum' is an exciting new blog produced by Suzy J. Brown about the life, loves and loathes of being a single parent in this fast paced world. I will show you how you can re-invent yourself after the loss of a partner (either through the dreaded process of divorce, the unexpected announcement that your partner is off to the clink for a white-collar crime or the undeniable loss of losing your partner to God). I will venture into the realms of finding your own sexual liberty, how to juggle the struggles of survival, how to cope with sticky nose married people who think they have been in your shoes before, how to give your kids a life of adventure, to knowing how you can enjoy just being a mum. Some of the stories will be from personal experience, others will be stories I've heard from others and want to share.
As for me, I'm a single mum to two gorgeous boys who are almost ten and eight. I have a talented red head who tends to have life working 'for' him, and a struggling little charmer who does get by on his winning personality, but has recently been diagnosed with an 'auditory processing disorder' that accounts for his learning disability and there are other factors involved too, that are leading to tests in dyslexia and ADD. I have my own copywriting business that gives me flexible hours, good dollars, but heavy duty deadlines and I am known from working 16-18 hour days regularly. My boys play soccer, hockey and basketball, so there are only two days a week without an extra-curricular activity at the moment. My ex husband has the boys seven hours a month as he refuses to do anything that I've organised for them. He calls them once a month, if he's lucky and he pays me $280 a month for child support. We have our court hearing for finances and child custody in the middle of July, which essentially will mark my two year anniversary of being a sole parent.
As for my sex life, I have succumbed to indulging in a long-distance relationship with a beautiful man who is 17 years my senior. We live 8000 miles away from each other and try to meet up 2-3 times a year. We aren't exclusive, but with my own business, an exciting new book getting ready to be published, being a sole parent 99% of the time and difficulty finding time to sleep, even looking at the meat-market at this time of my life isn't that appealing... but for you, I will do some research!
My exciting new book is called 'On the Road to the Best Orgasm Ever' - it's the tale about an Australian woman’s journey in finding herself beyond the lies in her marriage to a newly-found freedom within the co-existence of personal independence and a New Mexican internet love.
OK, OK, yes it sounds like a tell-all about my gorgeous lover, but it's more about digging deep to find where your happiness lies (or should I say 'happiness truths') in your own independence.
The pic is of my boys and I enjoying The Grand Canyon with our friend 'Doc' - a ring in from New Mexico, if you know what I mean!
Enjoy my blog, be my Facebook friend (Suzy J Brown), follow me on Twitter, and hopefully you'll be able to read my book sometime soon!
Cheers,
Suzy xx
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