Senior Night and Treasures of The Heart

They call it Senior Night.

The last home game of regular season play for the Seniors.

I knew it was coming.

I've done this before.

This is the eighth consecutive season that I've had a kid on the BHHS Boys' Soccer Team.

I also knew that this one would be a little different for a couple of reasons.

1) It's the last time.

And
B) This kid of mine loves this game down to his toes.

My good friend Deanna took time to come shoot for me during the presentations.

Thank you Deanna.




The coaches asked the Senior boys to each prepare something to say.


None of them really wanted to go first.

Since Dylan is the team captain he stepped forward and started first.

He thanked us for helping him with everything and for always being there for him.

And that's when the magic happened.

My boy could say no more.

He choked up a bit...and so did everyone there.

Our hearts all full of love.

Full of pride.

I can't think of a time I've been more proud to call this boy mine.

And he gives us lots of opportunities.

It was one of those moments.

 The kind when you know you need to soak it all up.

Squirrel away every piece of heart burstingness.

Draw a big 'ol circle around the whole thing and store in the corner of your heart.

So you can find the playback button later.

Here's the thing that surprised me....

I now technically have four adult sons.

I had no idea that my heart would keep making room for these things after they were grown.

There is no limit.

Hearts stretch and grow all the more for handing out what's inside of them.

I knew in my head...but still it surprised me.

I am so blessed and grateful.

Dylan had a great game and played his smelly shin guards off.

There were a few shots that didn't quite work out.

Some nice passes in the midfield.

And there was this:

A beauty of a pass from Thomas to Dylan.

Under a bit of pressure.

Dylan shoots with the left foot.

And in it goes.

The two of them work so well together.




And little later a similar set up.
The pass...

A little footwork.

One defender down...three trying to catch up.

Right foot shot this time.

And in it goes.

Add a little defending for good measure.

And call it a day.

The game ended in a tie.

The Bruins go into post season play on Thursday.

We've got a few more memories to soak up before this week is up.

Waitin to see how my heart gets stretched next,

Cath

Homecoming 2010 and Metamorphosis

There was lots of Homecoming silliness this past week.

And since my boy is a Senior he and many of his good friends were in the midst of it.

There were a couple of soccer games.

And you know how I love to watch the boy play.

And Friday brought the main events.

A big fat Bruin assembly with lots of strangely dressed Bruins in the house.

Let's just say the blue and gold were present in abundance.

Then there was the homecoming parade.

Friday morning I told Dylan to try get a spot on the float where I could see him.

I didn't have one single homecoming parade shot during his whole high school experience where you could actually pick him out.

Mission accomlished:

So here's my baby boy...

My honor roll student....

My little AP classes genius....

Who apparently has some difficulty with which way is up....

 Should I be concerned??





Friday night brought the big football game.

For many of Dylan's good friends it was Senior Night.

So we went to check it out and cheer on the Bruins.

I was telling Rich later that I went to snap this photo real quick I thought about Dylan's choice of attire.

The boy hardly ever does anything without thinking about it.

So this was interesting to me.

 What we've got here is the classic letterman's jacket ...

Loaded with patches...

And under that...

The bright orange sweatshirt of his most likely future college.



As we talked Rich said....
"Huh.  Kinda like he's ready to turn into a butterfly...
All he needs to do is peel off the high school jacket and keep moving forward"

He nailed it.

That's what this time is all about for Dylan right now.

I'm lovin watching the metamorphosis.


Cath

Happy 18th Birthday Dylan!

On September 8, 1992,

in a little house in Oceanside, CA....

literally...

he was born at home.... 

we welcomed Dylan into our world.

Arik and Collin checkin out the new guy...

He was a whopper.

Ten pounds, eight ounces.

The size of a toddler really.

I was terrified that I would never be able to handle adding another little body to the blur that was my life.

But hey... it all worked out.

He was a very shy baby and young child.

My first child who wanted to pretend.

He noticed things that no one else did.

And he made us all laugh.

He was quiet...except for when he was REALLY loud.

He had two volumes....
"Huh? Speak up!"  and "Jeez don't yell!"

He had no intention of being left behind.

He was absolutely certain he could do anything his three older brothers did.

And he was usually right.

I think this was the year we had to haul him off third base where he had taken up the base runner's stance during one of Sean and Arik's T-ball games.  Wow was he mad!  It was his team.  They needed him!

See the skates in the background?  Those are his too.  I know.... they don't match.

He didn't care.  He was one and a half....

skating, rollerblading, playing t-ball and catching frogs with the best of them.

Our kids didn't have a lot of toys...unless you count the 94 billion Legos I stepped on every night...

We were a video game free zone...

But they did have a lot of tools, art supplies and science kits.

We had kid sized tools of all kinds and for the most part they jumped right into the mix of whatever we were doing.

When we cleared our home site for our new house they 'helped' til they dropped.
The guy who collects the most dirt wins.

Cooking?

They dragged over a chair.

One of the rules of fishing was that you had to help clean the boat....

However high you could reach...

And boy did he want to go fishing.

It beat the heck out of being stuck with Mom while everyone else was out.
.

Did I mention he made us laugh?

See Sean there trying to keep him in line?
Sean had a lot of patience. 
He taught Dylan a lot of things ...
And made sure he didn't kill himself.
Dylan could give us all a good case of the giggles.
Collin, especially, found him amusing.

Dylan and Collin have a special friendship.

We used to refer to them as Frick and Frack.
They spent a lot of time together and between the two of them they had a lot of fun.



Helping on the volunteer crew for the Naish Wave Bash in Pistol River. Our job was to time the windsurfing  heats from the top of the big rock.

He was already a windsurfing fan as well.  He began windsurfing at the ripe old age of six.



The year he was seven going on eight, he and Collin played on the same Little League baseball team and he had his first pitching experience....

He was rockin' the futbol pitch in a pretty serious way....

And he and his buddy Ben ran in the Oregon State Cross Country meet in the Pre Bantam division in Sandy, Oregon where it was a mighty chilly November day.... 
he came in 5th...

Summer after summer we return to Floras lake to meet old friends, make and bring new friends, and do our best to wear out kids on the water.

Remember that tools thing?

Beware... it leads to scenes like this...

Middle School brought a few new sports onto the scene.

Track and Field...his main motivation being to be faster for soccer...
and to win medals.

And basketball...
Good indoor fun in the winter and chance to hang out with your buddies on the team.

One of Dylan's favorite memories is our unforgettable trip to Maui when he was in 8th grade.

He snorkeled and swam with the turtles...

Mountain biked the back side of Haleakala...

Not the Skyline road thing that everyone else does....

It's a dirt trail much less traveled and quite an adventure....

The kids loved this sign at the beginning of the trail.

He ocean windsurfed off the beach in Kehei....

He can't wait to get back one day.




Every now and then he takes a little break from all the action.

But not for long....

There are things to do....

Pigs to feed...

The first day of High School looking forward to new adventures....

Hunting with Arik in Eastern Oregon.
Arik is always one of Dylan's biggest encouragers and probably taught Dylan more about sports and the outdoors than anyone else....
He's always ready and willing to cheer Dylan on...

Another of our "happy places"....
San Elijo State Beach in San Diego County...
Worth every minute of the long drive...

You blink twice and the DMV sees fit to hand your baby a driver's license...
Lord help me...

The bodies keep getting bigger and the games go on....

But I don't want you to think Dylan is only about sports.
True enough it's a big part of his life.

He inspires me in so many ways.

He takes classes I never even qualified for.

And maintains a pretty impressive GPA.

He is incredibly conscientious and his work ethic is amazing.

He inspires me to challenge myself and do things when I don't want to.

Isn't that one supposed to be the other way around?

He is thoughtful and remembers special days for family members and friends.

On occasion, he volunteers when he sees a need.

He finds a space for God in his life.

He shows leadership on his teams and among his friends.

I even got a phone call from a teacher last year who took time out to tell me what a great kid he is.

He never gives up.

And won't let his friends down.

And so it goes...

Amazing really....

I am so thankful for the ride...

I can't imagine it any other way...

Happy Birthday buddy!

Thanks for lighting up my life.

I love ya!

Mom