Back To The Land Of The Living

Jackson came home Monday night. Tough few days - ultimately they wouldn't do the surgery because of the location of the abscess.

I've come to the conclusion that it is VERY STUPID to rotate doctors every 24 hours - we had five doctors in five days. Continuity of care? Not likely...

One of the first doctors only ordered two doses of steroids. Had this treatment been continued without interruption, we probably would have been home Sunday. As it was, the follow up scan showed the abscess had organized and GROWN - not the result we were looking for with the second scan.

Long story short - two doses of steroids and a good night's sleep and Jackson woke up Monday morning with full movement in his neck. He came home to 12 pills a day for six days - we'll know if we're completely out of the woods with the "final" CTscan next Monday.

Here is a chronicle of his hospital stay in pictures. The best is the shot of the Chicago Bears jersey. It is an original 1980's Mike Singletary jersey from our pastor - he just happened to have it hanging around in his closet for the last 20 years. BTW - did I tell you that Jackson is the BIGGEST Chicago Bears fan in the history of the Chicago Bears?!? He'll be very happy I mentioned that...

Day One...
Da Bears...
Cardinals and Eagles Playoff Game...
Going Home...

The Banquet, The Birthday and The Big Date

I've been lazy about posting this week but took lots of pics over the week.

First - we had Cameron's football banquet on Thursday. We were surprised he received his first high school letter as a freshman. I have a feeling they get bigger as he moves up to Varsity. It was a nice night to cap a great week for him - we received his grades for the first nine weeks - 4.0 GPA!!! (For you Canadian's that means straight A's)

Second event of the week was Caeden's birthday party. I love these pics - the innocence and fun of just being 10!


Finally - let me introduce you to Cameron's REAL girlfriend, Erin. She came with us to the YSU football game on Saturday. They have been "dating" for about a month now - we are good friends with her family so the dates tend to center around family gatherings. I didn't think it was possible, but she is actually shyer than Cameron - in fact, he is actually the talkative one in this relationship.

The One Game Season

How do you split yourself three ways when you have three children? You don't.

That is why I didn't see any of Jackson's flag football games this season, save for his last regular season game on Saturday. I was mostly at Cam's games and John would be with Jackson as his coach. And we would both miss some of Caeden's Saturday games but we could justify those as he was the only one who also played on Sunday's.

If you notice I'm using the past tense; that's because all the sports are finished (except for the Flag Football Pumpkin Bowl this weekend)

John had been sharing Jackson's exploits with me all season - how he was the best rusher in the league, how he could move up the field like no one else ; deaking left and right, how he carried the ball from his end zone all the way to the other end for a touchdown! I missed it all.

So on Saturday I took pictures - lots and lots of picture. My favorite are the following where he relentlessly pursued the quarterback.

For your viewing pleasure...Jackson (in yellow) and the one game season!

Unfinished Business

Cameron's football season is officially over.

The final game against our arch rival Austintown Fitch Falcons ended with the score 13 - 26. Three of our top players went down with injuries - including our quarterback. The Spartans were done like dinner.

Cam was on the field for every defensive play but was frustrated that the offense never played the right side - his side.

For us, there was still the hanging question as to whether he even wanted to play again next year. Neither of us ventured to ask but he provided the answer in this conversation:

Cam: I think I might go with some of the other guys to watch the varsity team tonight at Fitch (just on the other side of town).

Me: That might be nice as this may be the last time you guys are all together.

Cam: No it won't. We'll be together next year. Besides - I have unfinished business with Fitch...

Them there is fighting words! Spoken like a tried and true Spartan.

Best Friends

The kids are off school today. My house is a disaster. I don't even want to think about the sounds I heard a few hours ago when seven boys were playing war in the basement.

I finally got them to go outside and play football. Caeden and Kyle developed their ultimate game plan to defeat the evil Jackson!

FANatics and Fans

Here's an observation about fans at football games...

There are those that go all out for the game...such as these strange creatures here...

And then there are those that go out...only to be enjoying another game...

Idol Worship

I witnessed an extraordinary phenomenon Tuesday when rational people fawned over someone who was "almost" famous!

I coordinated the marketing and pr for The Valley Impact Awards, an event that recognizes those who have helped others in their battle with addiction. As part of the event, the client arranged for Art Schlichter to be the keynote speaker.

Anyone over 30, particularly men, will know of Art. If you're from Ohio, you worship him.

Art was the quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the late 70's/early 80's - the last QB to play under legendary coach Woody Hayes. He almost had it all - drafted by the Baltimore Colts as their QB of the future, receiving a million dollar signing bonus.

Problem was, he had a serious gambling addiction and threw it all away. In fact, he was only released from prison in 2006, having spent the better part of 10 years incarcerated for racketeering and fraud! One of his scams involved selling bogus sporting event tickets, using his "celebrity" to convince people he had access to great seats and events.

So long story short - I was with him for the media tour for the better part of the day. It was amazing - everyone was giddy being so close to a legend, or being so close to someone who knew a legend (Hayes).

Grown men giggling like school girls, women (or one woman) trying to get a piece of him - literally.

And here's the thing - HE HAS NO MONEY AND NO JOB! In fact, he owes over $500,000 in restitution, runs a small organization to raise awareness of gambling addiction, and lives in his small southern Ohio hometown - with his mother!

Here's the scariest part - he offered the CEO of the addiction treatment center Super Bowl tickets that could be auctioned off to raise money for the center. I want to believe it's legit but given his history...

Football Is Fun!

I love watching my kids play sports - any sport except football. Or that was the case until yesterday.

The mother in me hates the aggression and physical brutality of football. Helmets and shoulder pads crashing into each other with such force as to knock the other guy silly.

It's particularly hard to watch your child get the worst of it...but that was then.

Cameron has found his inner beast. I never thought I would love seeing him hammer another person into the ground, but when it has a huge impact on the outcome of the game, it is REALLY exciting. That's him going for the legs of the running back...a pretty convincing take-down.


Of course, as cornerback, it's not all about taking someone down. It also means being taken down yourself...especially when you're about to intercept a Hail Mary pass. He had it in his arms - you can see it rolling away to the left. The shot's a little fuzzy because the camera was jumping up and down in excitement!


Final score 21-13.

What Happened To The Pictures?

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been including pictures in my posts for the past several weeks. That's because I "thought" I had left my camera battery charger at my parents house in Canada. When they sent the "charger" this week, it turned out to be a rechargeable battery charger. Mine had been on the floor of the van the entire time!

Sooo...I took pictures last night! Friday Night Lights pictures.

It was a GREAT game...:)

The One We Left Behind...

I had every intention of explaining Cameron's absence from the Canada trip, and our insane overnight journey through the wilds of Buffalo, and completely forgot.

Football is serious business - SERIOUS business in our part of the world. Friday night the entire town shuts down to watch the Varsity games. They even sell season tickets!!!

The seriousness extends down to the freshman, except for a select few of the pre-determined stars, if you miss a practice, you don't play. Cameron wanted to play, and he's still trying to prove that he CAN play, so we made arrangements for him to stay behind at a friend's.

As for our journey? Simple - We were NOT going to miss his first game, whether he played or not; we would be there.

Boardman Versus Cuyahoga Falls

SEASON OPENER
Boardman 20
Cuyahoga Falls 0

Cameron is Number 6...he played Cornerback for the entire game. I think what that means (remember I am a football mom in training) is that he has to go after the wide receivers and bring them down. He plays on the far outside and appears to be the last line of defense if the offense breaks through the line. In other words, he has to be fast and strong!



This won't be the only position he plays this year. They are still working him as wide receiver during practices.

He doesn't have as much confidence as I thought he would - he thinks he's too small and not strong enough.

So my job has become super-confidence-building-mom. I have become very adept at pointing out his strength - especially when he decides to try out moves on his brothers...NOT!

Stay Away Mom!

Why are these pictures so far away from the action you ask?

Because if I actually got out of my car and walked over to the field to take a picture I would be banned (by my son) from EVER coming to another practice again! I'm such an embarrassment.

So - Cameron is the blur wearing the yellow jersey...

Bet He's Hurting Today...

The boy's asked their Dad to play football with them last night. Here are the pictures to prove it - the blur is John...


I remember when we were first married I would nag him about taking better care of himself so that he would be able to play football with his children when he was 50.

Well he's 51 -- with all the hobbling, aches, and pains, that go along with playing competitive sports when he was a younger man. In fact, just recently, our doctor (who is also a good friend) commented that John is a typical example of a man who played too many sports and had too many injuries when he was younger...

So I expect he's hurting today - REALLY hurting. In fact, I have predicted that he will have an episode of gout in either his ankle or knee by the weekend.

The price you pay for believing you're 20 again...

Pushy Parent Syndrome

I have tried really hard to not be "that" parent...the one who pushes their kids into doing things they don't want to do.

Sometimes during the intensity of a game or when one of the boys has been sitting on the sidelines, not even having a chance to try, I have become frustrated and a little bit vocal. I always regret it immediately after...

Today I had a dilemma and I hope I did the right thing.

We've had several people telling us that Cameron should try out for quarterback on the freshman team. It started about this time last year when one of the sports heroes of our local high school, himself the starting quarterback at Pitt in the 90's, asked if Cameron was going to play quarterback on the middle school team. He watched him pitch and thought he had a great arm.

We suggested it to Cameron. They had a lose try-out and he wasn't even considered. End of that.

So again this year several of his friends and their parents have suggested he try. Not only does he have a bullet arm, but he's fast. He just wants to play wide receiver. John says end of story - let's leave him alone.

I'm dropping him at practice and I ask who the man is walking into the building. "Oh that's Coach Zetts", he tells me. You mean Tom Zetts dad...Tom Zetts the starting quarterback at Youngstown State? "Yeah" - silence for a minute - "he told me last week that I should consider playing quarterback."

OMG - now you have another in-the-know kind of guy telling you to play quarterback. Maybe you should try again?!?

So he leaves to get ready for practice and I'm thinking...There are 40 kids on the field, unless Cameron speaks up, they may never consider him.

I see the head coach coming out of the building and I walk over and introduce myself; and I tell him what Cameron just told me.

And I've been feeling guilty ever since...should I have left it alone or do I speak up on behalf of my VERY shy son?

Cameron would never have told me what Coach Zetts said unless a part of him really wants to be quarterback - his Dad was a quarterback - he knows it's in his genes!

Based on my continuing angst, I'm hoping this is the last time I speak up for my son when it comes to sports but...I highly doubt it.

Aren't These The Lazy Days of Summer?!

I came home from Caeden's first soccer clinic last night, just as John got home from the football Gridiron meeting and Cameron was dropped off from a two hour baseball practice...

"Cameron has a busy day tomorrow", he said. "He has two hours of lifting for football in the morning, a couple hours of work with Ken, a baseball practice at 3, and his first practice with the Varsity football team at 6".

I responded, "...and don't forget that I have an important business meeting until five and then I need to have Caeden back at his soccer clinic at 7".

And he responded, "and I think Cameron's in a baseball tournament starting on Thursday".

And I responded, "what's Jackson doing?..."

Jackson said, "Enjoying my summer!"

What's a Gridiron?

Got a call today..."your son has expressed an interest in freshman football next year with Coach O. We have a meeting of the Gridiron Club on Monday - hope you can make it."

So, being the Canadian that I am...I'm thinking...a Gridiron...hmmm...I think I heard about this in Curling...or maybe it has something to do with waffles...

I had to contact Mr. Boardman-Ex-Football-Star-Himself, my friend Nik...turns out it's just a regular old Booster Club for parents of football players.

Oh yeah - and we have to sell lots and lots of raffle tickets...

SUPER Super Bowl XLII

I'm just a little slow today - we had a SUPER Super Bowl party at our house. I think we ended up with 12 adults and 16 kids!

So Super Sunday is all about food...why is it then that I barely ate anything; hence my head feeling like it should just fall off and roll into the trash.

The highlight wasn't the winning touchdown in the final seconds (even though we shook the neighborhood with the cheers!); and it wasn't even the great commercials (in which my friend Amy and I would threaten life and limb to anyone who spoke when we were watching!).

No - the highlight was the double decker cookie cake kindly provided by Sam's Club. We ate the Patriots helmet first because we knew they were going down. As you can see, the Giants helmet is still intact...at least until the boys get home from school in about an hour!

Go Packers!

We've decided, as a family, to support the Green Bay Packers next weekend. Brett Favre? Gotta go with the old guy...simply to help us feel young! (especially my 51 year old -- Happy Birthday tomorrow honey -- hockey playing husband!)

Anyone else care to comment on YOUR team favorites? Here's the match-ups again...

NFC Divisional Title
Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants (Just not the right Manning in the game...)

AFC Divisional Title
New England Patriots vs San Diego Chargers (QB Rivers and Tomlinson are both injured...)

The Jersey

Jackson got a new football jersey for Christmas. Actually, he got it yesterday because Santa and the United States Postal Service had trouble communicating our address!

So Santa had to write a note explaining why the prized Devin Hester Chicago Bears #23 home jersey was not under the tree.

The USPS elf dropped the box in the middle of our garage floor sometime Thursday -- I only discovered it as I was leaving to go to the post office yesterday to find out where the heck it was!

I've written about Jackson's obsession with his jersey's before. He sees holes and threads, some imaginary, some created by the constant picking; his obsessiveness has relegated some jerseys to the closet, never to be worn again! (Not such a bad fate for the Troy Smith Ohio State jersey!)

Devin Hester arrived pristine in its package from the NFL Shop. He carefully put it over his head...and started examining the you-know-what out of it until...yep - there was actually a flaw on the sleeve!


I had visions of a major meltdown -- the wailing and tears -- the insistence on getting another jersey...

Instead I got - "You know, I'm getting okay with this..."

Christmas miracles...

Football and Christmas Trees

For the past five Christmas' we have had the joy of cutting down our own Christmas Tree. This was one of the biggest thrills for me when we moved to this part of the world as it was not an option in California, unless you wanted a Christmas Cactus. This year was especially joyful as my parents were able to join us on our hunt for the perfect tree.

I have come to place a great deal of significance on the quality of the tree we bring home as this tends to parallel what the following year will be like for our family. For example, our first tree four years ago was full and strong; signifying the hope and promise of our new start. The following two years were narrow with weak branches (and both of them fell over!); signifying how we were just getting by, trying to survive.

With the help of the master forest rangers from Canada (my Dad and Mum), this year's tree is absolutely brilliant! Very strong, straight trunk, full, lush branches - and it won't fall over (thanks to a clothes hanger and some string...). The promise of this next year - solid jobs, strength of family, and we won't fall over!

But the heading to this post also talked about football...how does football tie into the hunt for the perfect tree?! Please...this is SportsFamily...the boys brought a football with them into the bush and played catch while the adults did all the work!

The significance of the tree may have been lost on them - but the significance of playing a game of catch with your brothers wherever you happen to be will live with them forever...