Month: November 2015

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner.  I am so looking forward to  the football, the cooler weather, the time with family and friends, and most of all, dinner.  We like the traditional foods.  But, we often ask the kids for ways to improve our Turkey Day menu.  Here are a few of this year’s more interesting ideas.

Sushi.  Skyler requested it this year but the idea didn’t make the final cut.  I will eat sushi, but I don’t go looking for it.  The kids seek it out.   I offered to make a turkey roll made up of seaweed, rice, turkey, salt, pepper, and sriracha.  The idea didn’t fly, kind of like turkeys.

Disney’s turkey dinner.  Before traveling soccer overwhelmed our lives, we enjoyed long November weekends in Southern California.  When we made it to the Magic Kingdom we strolled across “New Orleans Square,” rode the “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and then ate the turkey dinner at “Cafe Orleans.”  There is still no where like the “happiest place on earth.”  It is a great place to share Thanksgiving dinner with thousands of your closest friends, just not this year.

Cereal.  Seems just like yesterday.  After a day at Sea World in San Diego our plans to enjoy dinner at a nice restaurant were thwarted.  My dress pants went unpacked, we ended up at Denny’s.  Meredith was four and enjoyed every spoonful of her frosted flakes.  I was the turkey that day.   Cereal just isn’t going to happen.

Fish eggs.  One holiday we made our way to NorCal.  Reservations were made for a classy Japanese buffet in San Francisco. (Yes, the dress pants were packed.)  Klayton filled his plate with turkey, stuffing, green beans, and cranberries.  Then he came face-to-face with fish eggs.  He wasn’t quite sure what to do with the caviar but he took the risk.  He liked it.  Maybe this was when the quest for sushi was born.  The pumpkin pie was pretty good, too.  Looking forward to the pie this year.

Oyster casserole.  So the kids never requested this side dish, I did.  I was never sure why it was always on my parent’s Thanksgiving table.  It grew on me.  Sadly, the idea was rejected out-right by my family.  No little oysters had to give up their shells to continue this family tradition.  Is it ironic that my family prefers raw seafood on Thanksgiving?

What will you be serving this year?  This afternoon we did the hunting and gathering.  21st century grocery getting is a bit different than what the Pilgrims experienced.  But like the Pilgrims, I am thankful for my family and friends.  I am thankful for the opportunities I had to travel to distant places and meet so many kind people.  I am also thankful for times with students past, students present, and students yet to come.  Hmmm, that sounds like a theme for a Christmas blog.

 Thanks to all of you for taking a little time to read these posts.  If you enjoy, sign up for notifications.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

I don’t understand the whole hashtag thing.  I’m pretty sure it doesn’t take a super savvy techie to figure it out.  I have seen what people hashtag, it’s not rocket science.  I never MySpaced, Friendstered, Facebooked, Snapchated, or Instagramed.  Don’t have a Twitter account either.  For someone who attempts to write a blog, you’d think some of this social media would be helpful.  Maybe, someday.   For now, let me share a few #thoughts.

#98.    From day 1, the pool was my classroom.  Twenty-four seasons with high school swimmers and divers was extremely rewarding. The good news, the Trojans women won 98 swim meets, the bad news we placed lower than first 98 times.   Pretty middle of the Bell Curve results.  While coaching I never wore enough sunscreen.  Never put on a Speedo, either.  The fun was in challenging young minds to overcome self-imposed limitations and encouraging teamwork in an individualized environment.

#191.  Winning a game isn’t a prerequisite for being a champion in life.  However, competing and winning with integrity is a whole lot more fun than losing.  In the end, my goal was to win 200 high school soccer matches.  191 wins is close.  Thankfully, I was given 196 additional chances to get the other 9.  Instead, there were 188 losses and 8 ties.  Again, pretty much middle of the Bell Curve results.  If you add it all up, that was a lot of games.  There were thousands of practices and tens of thousands of hours of preparation and hundreds of thousands of super positive experiences with student-athletes who are champions.  We competed in soccer, but the lessons learned went far beyond the goals that lit up the scoreboard.

#warriors.  Since retiring I have spent time reflecting on my career. It took five months, but I am now ready to accept the change.  In July I went back to work teaching at Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona.  I have been back at it for nearly three months, but the time away traveling kept a true sense of being a part of the community on the horizon.   Today, I simply accept the past is in the past and that the future at GLAAZ offers incredible challenges and rewards.  It is time to revel in the opportunity to build relationships with colleagues and students that will be cherished as at GLAAZ, just like those I hold dear at my former school.   “Trojans Forever” wasn’t just a throw-away line.  Too much blood and sweat and too many tears were shared and shed for it to be forgotten.  That experience is my foundation.

#hashbrowns.  I love hash browns.  Those shredded spuds cooked up on the stovetop are awesome!  Please don’t confuse real hash browns with the glorified tater tot you get at the fast food restaurant.  Hash browns don’t come as a patty served in a wax-paper sleeve.   I prefer mine with rye toast and eggs over easy.  Nothing better than mixing in the runny, sunny, yellow yolk with every bite.

#purplereigns!  The 200th may still come as a Warrior.

 

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