The Beautiful Game

168/365
4:35pm

Editor's Note: Guest Blogger John

Soccer is a funny game. And 3 vs. 3 tots soccer is even funnier, especially when it's 82 degrees, you're squaring off against the best team in the league and only three boys actually show up for the match. Did I mention that Coach Nate had to leave for vacation, leaving me to make my long-awaited managerial debut versus the Dragons in the most pressure-packed game of the season?

It was a tough task, made more complicated by Jack, Connor and Jeffrey rejecting my 1-1-1 tactical scheme in favor of a less organized 0-3-0. We started out poorly, with the Dragons rattling off several (read: 6?) quick goals and breaking down our belief. Connor (at right) needed to take a water break for much of the second quarter, leading to us play a man down early.

I gave an inspiring halftime speech, and I could noticiably feel their sprits rise coming out of the tunnel. And that's where Jack kicked into gear-- scoring three goals in a row, and playing stellar defence. Fatigue makes cowards of us all, and the Wolverines are no exception-- at one point, Jack told me that he hated the Dragons. But despite being totally gassed, he gave a superb two-way effort, netting four goals, saving several others and running hard for the entire game. I was pretty proud of the effort.

Ultimately, the Wolverines were defeated (13-6?), but not conquered. All in all, it was a great debut season for Jack (and for me as well. Yesterday, I was appointed manager of Newcastle United!) Later this summer, Jack will move up a class level onto a team with 5 & 6 year-old-boys, and will test his breakaway skills on a whole new level.

I took this picture from the middle of the pitch while yelling at the boys to get back on defence, while also attempting to get out of the way of the oncoming ball.

The Jewels of June

167/365
12:54pm

Last fall I enthusiastically purchased a tiny berry colander at an extremely generous discount. I had visions at that moment of it brimming with freshly-picked, sun-warmed, and tender strawberries that would tumble out of green market quart containers. I imagined us all surrounding the tiny white colander on the dining room table and eagerly devouring the berry bursts to our June heart's content, tossing the intact green hat on bright yellow plates as if discarded from a Strawberry Mardi Gras parade.

The only thing I didn't foresee was telling the family they had to wait, patiently drumming their fingers, while I photographed our scarlet treasure before the rest of the image was brought to fruition.

Family Time

166/365
8:12pm

The boys had a wonderful time when Grandpa and Grandma Nancy came to visit for few days. We had perfect Madison weather--light breezes, fabulous bright cumulus clouds against deep blue skies, temps hovering around in the mid-70s, and, as Charlie belts out from the Sound of Music, "RAY! A drop of golden suuuuuun!!" We had park time, play time, bike time, Farmers' Market time, and time to chat with my Texan brother on our brand-new deck. No matter how tempted you may be to correct me, it's a deck, not a glorified stoop. If you would have seen what was there before, you would heartily agree that we now have a deck.

Maiden Spill

165/365
6:47pm

It's gotta eventually happen to everyone. Bike, boy, hill....and there he went in seemingly slow motion. Given the choice of getting cleaned up with some TLC or getting back on the dog that bit him, he chose the dog. That's right, after some necessary tears screams, he dusted off, through his leg over the seat, and pedaled away proudly displaying his first road rash. While we certainly hi-five the sustained enthusiasm, I'm pretty sure we're all grateful for this respiratory thing called exhaling and the body's remarkable ability to pull your heart out of your feet and return it to its primary location.

Dreaming

164/365
10:54pm

Oh, the sweetness!

In the morning, there's a fifty percent chance he'll tell me he was dreaming about pineapples. The other fifty percent chance is slated for a hairy, red monster with five eyes, three horns, and a ferocious ROAR, and who makes it impossible for Charlie to talk about without falling down laughing.

Ah, for now, stillness. How wonderful.

Croakers

163/365
10:36am

We spent a chunk of the morning exploring frogs, tadpoles, and other pond inhabitants all while navigating an insurmountable amount of goose poop at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Despite Charlie spending his evenly distributed time between digging in the mud and running in the weeds, we'll joyfully return and mind the frog's call often this summer.

In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them. --Aldo Leopold

Wanted: Bacon, Lettuce, Mayo

162/365
2:40pm

I say "PAH!!" to anyone who says your palate doesn't mature throughout your life. Growing up, I didn't appreciate tomatoes, good cheese, avocados, spinach, or even chocolate. Surely, my preferences were not from a lack of opportunity or culinary adventure; we were the first people on the block regularly eating artichokes. Who would have guessed that twenty thirty years later I would try add as many of these items as I could to our weekly menu? That said, I can easily pass on winter tomatoes, skip a regular grocery store cheddar, walk on by a slightly bruised avocado, and have no trouble waving off a waxy milk chocolate. Not picky, discerning.

But all these luxuries in their Perfection are flawless .