Project 19 to 19: Day 16

Staying Active

About the time the Boy started high school, his opportunities to stay active started to dry up. He was only required to have 1 year of PE in school, he aged out of the local rec sports soccer league, and he was never very keen to join us in the garage for a workout.

One summer, however, we talked him in to coming to an Olympic lifting class with us and we soon discovered he had a real knack for it!


These days, his fitness options have all but evaporated. I know he had hoped to join some intramural club once on campus, but of course, that is just one more thing that is not currently on the table.


Playing VR games is NOT a fitness activity, but at least he has a fun way to unwind regardless of the weather!

Project 18 to 18: Day 16

Mr. Thrifty & Nifty

It's Day 16 and today I want to mention something I don't believe I have ever mentioned before... our Wonder Boy is innately thrifty!

He was never the type of kiddo to ask for everything under the sun as we strolled the isles of the Toy Store at Christmas or reach for a special treat at the grocery check out. In fact, we have to cajole and coerce just to get him to give us ideas for Christmas and birthday gifts! It is seriously rare when he asks for something specific at the grocery store or wants to go out to eat. He just doesn't put a lot of thought into those kinds of things.

We have had to be very careful to not let him know how much something costs - if he perceives it as being excessive, then he will start making excuses for why the funds should not be spent. Summer camps come to mind. We were blessed to be able to send him to a couple of really great camps over the years. He especially enjoyed STEM camp and Mathematical Problem Solving camp. But we were very careful for him to not know the full cost of attendance because, regardless of the educational value, he would have been most uncomfortable with the price tag. And since we wanted him to focus on the educational side of things, we never disclosed the financial side.

The end result of this behavior is that when he DOES make some kind of request, we almost never answer in the negative. Case in point today - this little gadget has a hefty price tag by most standards, but the Boy had a need for class and researched the most reliable version of this thing and then you could see him physically tense up as he made the request. It is a LITTLE hard to justify this particular model, but .... it DOES have an educational value and, again, he so rarely requests anything that it is just hard to say 'no', so we didn't!


In our look back to 2016, we get to see a fun side of the Boy! This was just a particularly good day, a little family time tossing around a frisbee in the hours just before sunset. Wonder Boy was keeping Wonder Dad and I in stitches with his antics as he would chase down the frisbee. He caught it between his legs and behind his back. He acted like a punch-drunk clown when he missed or when his return toss went sailing over Wonder Dad's head. I carry the ring of our laughter to carry me through my darkest days. It was THAT good. Not some big event or major milestone. Just the perfect way to pass the time with my two favorite people on the planet!

Project 17 to 17: Day 16

As we near the end of this little project, we're going to focus in on a little viola love!

Last night the Boy got an early birthday present from his Dad and I ... a new bow for his beloved viola! We researched and then searched high and low to find just the right bow - our local supply is a bit lacking, so mostly this took place on-line. We had a little scare that it might not be delivered in time, but the stars aligned and his package arrive with a few days to spare.

Normally, we wouldn't dream of letting him get his hands on a present days early, but the day AFTER his birthday is his Region Orchestra tryouts for this year. And we wanted to make sure he had a few days to "break in" his new equipment before the big day.

As a special gift, the Boy treated us to about an hour of viola practice! It is always nice to have him play for us. Recently he has primarily opted for his guitar when he's in the mood to perform, so getting a viola concert was a bit of a treat for us! And to top it off, he brought it out again this morning for a quick practice run before he had to leave for early sectional rehearsals at school. I'm a very lucky lady indeed!


In our glance back at 2016, we see the Boy just a couple of days before his first concert of the school year. I used the fact that we had to verify that his tux still fit properly to squeeze in a little photo shoot on the back porch.

The concert that followed was truly beautiful, as they have all been.

It amazes me how far he has come as a musician since picking up his first little viola back in fifth grade. It was joining the orchestra that ignited his desire to learn to play the piano and eventually the guitar as well.

I do not know if I can ever express to his orchestra directors the depth of the gift they have given to him; to the whole family really!

I'm going to soak up the music while it lasts and hope that he will continue to play long after he has moved on past high school!

Project 16 to 16: Day 16

I had always planned to take this photo for our last day of this project. It was planned to contrast with our last post from our P15-to-15 last year. As you can see, we have traded places in the car ride to and from school.

The Boy got his learner's permit back in January and starting in earnest this summer, has worked very hard to be ready for his driver's test. Due to the upheaval in our schedules, it will be another couple of weeks before we take him to the DMV for his test, but he's ready.

On the other hand, *I* am not ready! Yes, I have every confidence in his driving, but I do not trust everyone else on the road and it's like a knife in my heart just THINKING of him pulling out of the driveway without his dad or I at his side.

However, I have a couple of more weeks and I'm going to push the thought from my mind and enjoy the status quo while it lasts.


In our look back, we see one of my all time FAVORITE photos of Wonder Boy! He's always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but I think white water rafting may just deliver the biggest rush he's had to date!

Even though he was tossed from the boat, got stuck underneath it, and nearly gave me a heart attack waiting for him to reappear, he L-O-V-E-D it! He loved it so much that he begged us for another day on the river after this excursion, in a more difficult class of rapids even.

I am thankful we got to share this wild ride with the Boy (though I would have preferred he stayed in the boat the whole time). I know the day is coming when he'll be off on his own for this kind of adventure.

And it is on this note, that I close out this project for the year.

As happens every year, as I look back, I simply marvel at how far our Boy has come, how much he has grown, and fast he has changed. He is my all time favorite nearly-16 year old in the WHOLE HISTORY of 16 year olds!

And I hope he knows how much he is loved and cherished!

Project 15 to 15: Day 15

For the final day of this project, I wanted to share what has been one of the BEST parts of my day for many years now: the drive home from school.


Each day on the way home from school, Wonder Boy goes down his class list and tells me about his day. He lets me know if he has any homework and then tells me about anything especially cool or unusual that occurred during the day. He's been giving me this "daily report" since first grade, I think. It started as an exercise to get him to talk more and to make it easier for him to write personal tales at school. But it has become a little shared ritual that I truly cherish.

It dawned on me today that I only have a year of this left! Next year when he turns 16, he will be able to get his driver's license. And then he'll be able to take himself to and from school without me. I don't know how I will possibly fill that time once he is on the road by himself, but for now I am just going to enjoy the report while it lasts. Hopefully we can come up with a new tradition once he takes the wheel for himself.

In looking back to 2015, I wanted to share this snap taken on Thanksgiving Day:


We grabbed this picture at a park in my hometown while we were visiting for a family Thanksgiving lunch. We got to town early and took the opportunity to stop by this park to kill some time and grab some photos while we were all dressed up. I just love his easy smile and the "thumbs up" that has become his signature gesture.

And with that, this little project has once again come to a close. Tomorrow we will light the candles and sing the songs to celebrate another year for our favorite Boy.

Here's to hoping that 15 is the best year he has ever known!

Project 15 to 15: Day 14

We're nearing the end of this year's birthday countdown project and I have really been enjoying it!

For Day 14, I wanted to highlight another musical part of the Boy's life: his piano


Wonder Boy loves his viola, but I have to admit, what I love to hear him practice is the piano! I don't care what time of day or night he wants to play - if he's in the mood to play, I'm in the mood to listen! His skill has grown quite a bit over the last few years and it is a true joy to listen to him play. He's not a big fan of jazz, but he loves classical music and some ragtime as well. Honestly, I don't care if he's just practicing scales, it's all music to my ears!

In looking back to 2014, I wanted to share this snap of the Boy at the start of a summer camp on the campus where his dad and I work:


There is so much I love about this snap. This camp started a string a summer camps that has truly brought Wonder Boy a lot of joy over the last few years, for one thing. And it opened his eyes to University life. He's talked about college since kindergarten, I think, but there was something about attending classes on the TAMU campus that really awakened that desire in him. Right now, he says he wants to go to college right here at dear, old TAMU, which is where his dad and I both went to school. It would give me great joy to share that with him some day. But I really and truly just want him to go where his heart leads him. And I know Wonder Dad feels the same way.

Project 15 to 15: Day 13

On Day 13 of this project, the Boy decided all he really wanted to do was chill.


Having a "chill day" at home is pretty high on the Boy's list of favorite things. But I never know exactly what that will entail. Some days it's spent cuddling in the couch with his pups. Other days, he parks himself in the computer room and only comes out for meals. For today, he mixed it up a bit. We enjoyed some family movie time. He got lots of snuggling in with his pups. And he spent a good bit of quality time with his computer. But to close out the day, he went upstairs for a bit and enjoyed a bit of Playstation time. A little fun and games to wind down the weekend sounds like a good plan to me!

In looking back to 2013, we see a bit more ... animated ... version of Wonder Boy:


This snap was taken during his free-running/American Ninja Warrior phase when every object around him was a physical challenge! And while I'm glad that I am not losing my mind watching him "body prop" his way up the stairwell, I do miss this outlook on life. We could hardly go anywhere without him trying to jump up on or over everything in sight. He could still do it today if he wanted, but these days, it's just not very cool to do that out in public.

Project 15 to 15: Day 12

It's Saturday and that, of course, means more soccer:


I've been trying to come up with the right words to express what I am thinking today. While this is another action photo of my favorite son playing his favorite game, there is more to it than that. Bottom line: this was not the Boy's best performance on the soccer pitch. And at the end of the game, when we piled in the car to head home, Wonder Dad and I both knew that he would soon be asking for our approval.

And sure enough, we hadn't even cleared the parking lot before he asked,"So ... what did you think of the game?"

It's hard to be a parent in this situation. We enjoyed the game. His team came away with a win this week after losing a close one last week. So we understood the Boy's desire to celebrate a little. However, we all knew that the Boy didn't deliver his finest performance. So we did what we could ...

We told him that we were glad that his team won, but then we pointed out a few things that he could have (and normally WOULD have) done better. We were able to tell him how he improved over the course of the full game. And let him know we were looking forward to next week's game.

We could tell that he was not hearing what he really WANTED to hear. But we also want him to know that when he asks for our opinion, we are going to give him an honest assessment.

Our hope is that he will then realize that when we do praise him that he will understand that he has truly earned it.

In looking back to 2012, I get to share a special snap of the Boy and I at a friend's wedding:


This was our first dance together outside of the privacy of our own living room. Wonder Boy was TEARING UP the dance floor that night and didn't hesitate to ask every lucky lady that he knew to join him on the floor! As for me, I was happy and honored to be his preferred partner, even if it meant Wonder Dad and I didn't get a chance for a dance all on our own. There's plenty of time for that. On this night, the three of us danced and danced and just enjoyed the festivities!

Project 15 to 15: Day 11

For Day 11 of our big birthday countdown, I wanted to brag a bit on the Boy's organizational skills:


It's a simple little thing, but he uses a note pad area on his phone to mark which classes do/do not have homework. There is enough room to also title the assignment and even add a due date. It's simple and to the point. Nothing flashy, but incredibly useful! I have been so proud of the effort the Boy puts into making sure his academic responsibilities are met. And I am so glad that he found something, all on his own, that works perfectly for him!

In looking back to 2011, we see the Boy acting out his adrenaline seeking behavior once again:


This snap was taken a few days before the Boy's 10th birthday with one of his best judo buddies beside him. The 2 of them raced to the top of this climb a number of times that Sunday morning before the crowds made the lines too long. And when they weren't on this wall, they were racing go carts or smashing bumper boats. It was a very fun day for us all!

Project 15 to 15: Day 9

For Day 9 of our count down to Wonder Boy's 15th birthday, I wanted to highlight his love of music with this snap I took during his viola practice of the day:


I've shared it many times here, but the Boy has developed a real love of music, especially classical music over the past 4 years or so. His dad and I are both music lovers and have played all manner of music for him since he came into this world. But things really took off when he joined the orchestra in 5th grade. He enjoys orchestra. It's his biggest social activity. But it's also a means of expression for him as well as a personal challenge. This morning on the drive to school, he was telling me about some of the advanced students in orchestra - those that he admires and aspires to emulate. I have been so pleased that he made the commitment to stay with orchestra into high school and hope that he will continue with it as long as possible.

In looking back to 2009, I stumbled on this photo of the Boy at a judo belt test:


Oddly enough, as part of this yearly project, I haven't shared many judo photos. For many years though, judo (and other martial arts) was the Boy's biggest confidence booster. What he lacked in size and strength, he made up for with determination and dedication. There were/are so many gifts from being involved in the martial arts for so many years. But for me, seeing the Boy grow in self confidence and in his ability to focus on a desired goal (like earning a new belt or mastering a particular technique) was the best part. I am thankful to every coach, sensei, instructor, and partner he had during his time in martial arts. I hope they all know that he carries a part of them with him where ever he goes.

Project 15 to 15: Day 8

It's Day 8 of this project now and I am kind of hoping that today's picture and post will help the Boy and I do better about one adjustment he's been having with the start of high school - remembering to wear his student ID on Mondays!


It seems like such a simple thing. And Tuesday through Friday he does a GREAT job of remembering to wear it. But there is just something about the rush of Monday mornings that lends itself to him forgetting his ID. Thankfully, he can get a temporary ID name tag printed without penalty once he gets to school, but it is something we are both trying to be better at remembering!

In looking back to 2008, we see the Boy at his elementary school's fall festival working on his cowpoke skills:


This photo makes me laugh because, while the Boy doesn't consider himself "country" by any means, he is most CERTAINLY a very proud son of Texas! For many years he swore he would never, ever, ever leave Texas. Of course, we killed that plan by taking him out of the state to Colorado (with a stop or two in New Mexico) on vacation. And I'm happy to say that he has come around in his thinking when it comes to venturing out of state from time to time, but he will tell you openly and often that Texas is home. I'm glad the Boy loves his home state so fiercely, but I am also very relieved that he is learning to appreciate other places as well. Now, I hope that when the day comes that he willingly leaves home that he doesn't go so far that we fail to see him regularly. But I also hope that he gets to see as much of this world as possible.

Project 15 to 15: Day 7

We've made it to the end of the first week of this project and today I was able to grab this snap of Wonder Boy with his best girl, his puppy princess, Tori.


I love that the Boy loves his dogs so much. He has a "puppy alarm" set on his watch so that he never forgets to feed them in the evenings. He plays with them, he helps us bathe and care for them, and he makes sure they are bundled up warm and snuggly when he can't be there to cuddle with them. Watching him wrap up the dogs in one of his favorite fuzzy blankets is one of those things just makes me giggle. He treats them like his little babies. And they just soak it up! In the summer, when he is away at camp, they miss him terribly. And though he loves going to camp and being out on his own a bit, I know he misses them too (so we text him regular photos to keep him connected).

In looking back to 2007, we get another glimpse of our junior adrenaline junkie in his element:


This snap was taken a few weeks after his 6th birthday on a special family trip to Sea World in San Antonio. We all had a great time on that trip! The boy got to pet dolphins and manta rays. He laughed his head off at the silly antics of the seal and sea lions show. He was amazed by the acrobatics of Shamu. But the highlight of the trip was this Shamu roller coaster built just for kids his size. I think the 2 of them must have ridden that coaster about a dozen times - long lines and all! And to this day, roller coaster rides at theme parks are one of the Boy's favorite special treats.

Project 15 to 15: Day 6

Day 6 is here and I wanted to show you where you can most often find Wonder Boy these days: at his computer.


When in doubt, we know to go looking for the Boy at his computer. Sometimes he's working on school assignments. Sometimes he's pounding out a new program (he's working on making his own scientific/graphing calculator program right now). Occasionally we'll find him drawing on his Wacom tablet. And every now and then, he's just watching Youtube videos for fun. I am not sure if it is a generational thing or just a Wonder Boy characteristic, but this is his happy place. And since he, more often than not, uses his time for learning and expanding his mind, it's hard to begrudge him the time he spends on-line.

As we flash back to 2006, we see our Boy on his 5th birthday with his first favorite teacher:


The Boy has been blessed with an abundance of caring educators from preschool all the way through to his first year of high school. But this special lady was the first teacher who really connected with him. When he was at the height of his super hero phase, she let him wear his mask to class and even let him sign his papers as "the Dash" as long as he spelled it correctly. She encouraged him to express himself openly, regardless of what others might say or think. She played such a huge role in preparing him for the start of his academic career. She "graduated" from preschool with the Boy's class and we lost track of her for a number of years. But I am thankful that we now see her regularly around town.

Project 15 to 15: Day 5

Day 5 is here and so is the start of fall soccer! Whoop!


For a few weeks it looked like we might find ourselves without Saturday soccer for the first time in 10 years as the local rec league was short on players for Wonder Boy's division. The league kept registration open a bit longer and encouraged others to join in and in the end everything worked out. And I am so relieved that it did! I really enjoy watching the Boy play! This game was a tough one. Both teams were pretty evenly matched. The heat and humidity eventually took its toll though and Wonder Boy's team wilted a bit faster (they had fewer players to rotate on and off the field). And in the end, the guys in blue came away with a 4 to 3 loss. I think they show a lot of promise for the season to come. And the weather man is even promising a slight cool front for this week's game!

Our look back to 2005, brings a BIG smile to my face!


The boy and a book! Even today that is a pretty typical sight, I'm pleased to say. Curious George has long been a serious family favorite. We watched George on TV, we saw his movie, we read every book we could find, and we listened to the movie soundtrack in the car. We still have these books stashed away in the hope one day we'll get to share them all over again.

Project 15 to 15: Day 4

It's Day 4 of my favorite photo project, but unfortunately, I'm quite a bit under the weather and just didn't get around to taking a snap for today. So instead, I'm going to back up about a week or so and show this little snap I took while visiting with friends recently:


There is so much I love about this little snap - mostly the fact that it is just filled with laughter. I sometimes worry that, being an only child, Wonder Boy might have trouble fitting in when we are around large families like this one (our two closest sets of friends have 4 and 5 kids each). Wonder Boy has a number of cousins, but not any that live close by so we don't see them regularly. But it really is something I have never needed to worry over. The Boy seems to do well with older and younger kids alike. And in this instance, both brothers got a kick out of the big boy who didn't mind getting down on the floor and playing with them.

In our look back to 2004, we see the Boy and his dad at a traveling carnival that had come to town:


Like most kids, Wonder Boy loved the flashing lights and colorful sights of the traveling carnival as it set up in the mall parking lot each fall. And even better were all of the adrenaline inducing rides! This particular ride was pretty tame, even for a barely 3 year old Wonder Boy, but he loved it regardless! I still think about this evening when I see the carnival set up in the fall. Now days, the Boy sees the carnival as a "kiddie" thing to do, but he's still an adrenaline junkie at heart - he just prefers to get his kicks white water rafting or full sized theme park roller coaster rides in lieu of this simple airplane ride.

Project 15 to 15: Day 3

For Day 3 of this project, I wanted to highlight how much heavier the Boy's load has gotten now that he's started high school:


It has amazed me how much more he seems to have to shoulder (literally) each year. Every day finds him carting around his backpack with notebooks, text books, and lunch box, then he has his viola, his binder (with the rest of his school supplies), and quite often there are extra projects and supplies that have to make their way back and forth between home and school as well. To top it all off, the Boy's school is pretty big (by my standards). It's easily twice as big as the high school I attended, maybe even more. It has 3 stories and a ground floor. And the Boy's schedule is such that he doesn't stay on the same floor for any 2 consecutive classes. Before the year started, I might have worried about him not having a PE class this year. But he spends so much of his day running up and down those stair cases that I don't have to worry about that at all! He doesn't seem to mind the load. And he does have a personal locker and an orchestra locker to help with the load during the school day. But I know a lot of kids skip the locker all together and just carry everything everywhere. I guess that is good practice for when they move on to college.

In looking back to 2003 I'm going to share a big laugh with you all:


WHAT A MESS! I don't recall the specifics of exactly what led up to this massive cereal explosion on the kitchen floor, but for some reason the Boy was left momentarily unattended not long before bed time. And in that short span when no one was looking, he managed to spy his favorite cereal of the day (Kix) on the counter. I'm not sure how he reached it - he must have jumped. But reach the box he did! And after reaching it, he proceeded to empty it out on the floor for easy access. He ate his fill until the shock of it wore off enough for us to pull him out of the middle of it and let the dogs enjoy one HECK of a late night snack! It took us QUITE a while to find every last little kernel of Kix, even with the help of the dogs. I swear they kept rolling out from strange places for days! But as frustrated as I must have felt that night, I can't help but laugh now when I see this snapshot. Just look at his face - he didn't see a thing wrong with what he had done. And I suspect a big part of him was just proud of himself for getting that snack himself. Little bugger!

Project 15 to 15: Day 2

It's day 2 of my favorite project and today we look at another aspect of the Boy's personality that I truly admire - his creative side:


He gets on these creative kicks from time to time and I always try to soak it up when he does. He has some talent. Currently, he is enjoying sketching "impossible shapes" (think M. C. Escher) and some of his favorite fictional characters (like Deadpool and Bart Simpson). I love how he dives into his interests. He will watch tutorials on youtube, spend hours with his sketch book or wacom tablet on the computer, and some days (like today) he jumps out of bed having dreamed of something else he wants to try.

In looking back to 2002, we see Wonder Boy and his dad just a few weeks after his first birthday:

Even today, the first hour after Dad gets home from work is just about the best time of the day for our little family. Back in the day, the boys would hang out in the family room reading, wrestling, and doing all things boy before we had to jump into the routine of dinner, bath, and bedtime. These days it's more about going over whatever the Boy did at school or camp or whatever during the day and planning out our evening activities. It's still a great time though and I look forward to it just as much today as I did back in '02.

Project 15 to 15: Day 1

Woo Hoo! Today marks the start of my absolute FAVORITE photo project of the year - the photo countdown to Wonder Boy's birthday! As he is turning 15 this year, we start 15 days out.


This is one of the 2 white boards in Wonder Boy's room. Both boards are covered in equations, school notes, or programming functions. I tell people all the time that math comes to him like breathing and it is something I seriously admire about him. I love math as well, but what I love most about this aspect of the Boy's personality is that it's more than just school stuff for him. He wants to know how it works and WHY it works. He likes the theory behind the numbers and why they work together they way that they do. And that is something that I truly admire!

In looking back to 2001, we see our Wonder Boy at about a month old in one of his favorite places - the bouncy chair!


He was, in general, a pretty happy baby. He craved physical contact, but he was quick with a smile and was not really very shy (that came later). But this chair was one place he didn't mind letting go of us and hanging out long enough for us to grab a bite to eat, run a load of laundry, or maybe even grab a shower. We loved to get down on the floor next to the chair and watch him giggle as it bounced him around. Looking back at this snapshot, I can still hear that sound in my head and it is something I will always cherish.

Mission: Middle School - Accomplished!

Just like clock-work, another school year has come to a close. And with the close of this chapter, a new, BIGGER one is on the horizon. Today, our Wonder Boy completed his time in middle school and now moves on to the exciting world of high school!


I think, over all, this has been a good year for him. There were some hiccups along the way, of course, but on the whole it's been a very successful year, especially on the academic side of things. The Boy is looking forward to a summer of cuddling with his pups, dashing off to one camp after another, and then a family vacation to tie things up before facing the new challenge of starting his freshman year of high school.

Here's to hoping this summer will be all he dreamed and that high school will be just another chance to earn success!

Magic Moment

So you might have noticed I have cut down the number of soccer posts I share. It's not that soccer has taken a back seat in our lives, no sir. In fact, you will still find us - 2 nights a week and almost every Saturday through the Spring and Fall - sitting sideline to watch our favorite soccer star.

But for one thing, it's nice to show other parts of our lives. And for another, the older he gets, the more I realize that a lot of these are Wonder Boy's stories to share - not necessarily mine. And I think that is just something we all face as our children grow and become more and more independent. I do try to hit the highlights though.

And then there are moments like this one that I want to make sure and capture for those days when my memory starts to fade.


Here's the set up:

It's an absolutely beautiful day for soccer - crystal clear skies, cool breeze, 10:30am start time - just PERFECT! In the last meeting, the teams played to a 2 - 2 tie. They are very well matched with both being very fast and athletic with a number of quality skilled players. But this time, both teams barely have enough players to avoid the forfeit, meaning everyone on the field will have to play the whole game without a rest. So no matter what, this is likely to be a very different game.

I was both right and wrong about that last statement. It WAS a very different game from the first, but it was still a very tough, evenly matched game like the first time around. It may have been the most exciting soccer game I have ever watched Wonder Boy play!

The Boy's team gave up an early goal and went into half time still trailing 0 - 1. My heart was in my throat as every shot they took was handled by the other team's most excellent goal keeper. I was so worried that Wonder Boy's team would come out frustrated to start the second half and let up on their attempts. But I need not have fretted. They came out charging hard to start the second half and eventually wore the keeper down and evened things up. It looked like the tides had turned and the Boy and his team managed to take a 2 - 1 lead at about the mid-point of the second half. I held my breath as both teams fought to keep possession of the ball. And with about 5 minutes left in the game, the other team evened things up. I thought for sure we were headed for ANOTHER tie.

But THEN ... with just 3 minutes of game time left, Wonder Boy made his move - streaking ahead to chase down a pass from his teammate. He dribbled through a tight crowd and let loose a hard shot, low, just to the right of center on the goal. With all the stops the other team's keeper had made, I thought for certain he would get to this one too. But things came together in just the right fashion and the ball not only slipped through, but actually slid right between the keepers legs!

Talk about the crowd going wild! Wonder Dad and I yelled until I thought I would lose my voice! Talk about a truly proud parent moment!

The Boy and his team buckled down and weathered a ferocious flurry from the other team who did their level best to tie things up in the short time that remained. But on this day, the boy and his team came out on top! It was one of the BEST soccer moments our little family has ever lived!

But let me tell you WHY .... yes, there is something truly special about scoring, especially in a tight game like this. And scoring the WINNING goal is another level of amazing! But it really goes much deeper than even that.

You might recall me mentioning that in the fall we moved him to a different division. He *should* be playing in the u14 division, but we really wanted to challenge him, so we moved him to the u16 division. He has missed only 1 practice through both the fall and spring (due to an orchestra concert). He has never missed a game. He has played his heart out every time he has hit the pitch. And we have seen his game really grow through this process.

But one of the biggest struggles for him has been to earn the trust of his teammates. And in this game ... we saw that trust come through in spades! Wonder Boy has scored a number of goals through the fall and this spring, but this ONE GOAL seems to perfectly illustrate his efforts to me. And getting to watch that like we did ... well ... as a parent, there is just something truly special about it. To know the efforts that go into the moment truly heighten the experience.

I know I'm gushing. And I'll stop now. But it was a moment that I want to share, a moment I want to keep.