Last (and maybe first) cigar of the month, lengthening days, warmed in flannel, I sit with evening sky. My throat is already scratchy and achy from coaching a morning full of basketball games. What harm is a cigar on top and to wind day down?
Evening’s colder than they’ve been. Winter is not fully passed (or maybe I should find my beanie misplaced somewhere since returning from the ski slopes).
Still, I like the shade of green in the lawn and the sight of garlic breaking through in the garden.
Oats are showing too, volunteer from last year’s cover that went to seed. I spread more yesterday and harrowed it in with a spike hand-roller to hide what I could from the chickens. I’ll probably leave them caged for a while until there are enough bugs to deter them from the easy seed.
We lost all three of our games today, but we played better as a team each game, even when score didn’t show—sometimes that’s how it goes; score doesn’t say it all, nor a win or loss. We haven’t played for a month, and we played a lot like we did in beginning of the season. Maybe there’s something to that “you’re either getting better or worse” saying. Still, it’s fourth grade, and to keep love of the game and building everyone up (even when coaching tough), and we were smiles and a team by the third game in spite of how it went. Sometimes we need our losses as much as our wins to remind us we can’t just coast and it’s important to stay humble and to appreciate when wins and success come.
We got that today.
After, we went to Bass Pro. Life goes on. Don’t stay down when the reason and cause are already done. We cheered up: camouflage, pocket knives, mounted animals, corn dogs, and cookies—it’s hard to be a boy and stay down with these.
Owen wanted a pocket knife. I said “no” one less times than the number he asked; and I guess that’s a lesson too on the value of optimism and persistence.
We’re cooking deer steaks to night—loins wrapped in bacon with Montreal and Cajun seasoning. It’s hard to be a boy and stay down with these.
And that’s another lesson: win or loss—keep going and find and enjoy the little things that lift us up.