Three Things

Here we are once again staring at the day called Thursday, where on this blog we are encouraged to share three thoughts--three random or related or semi-related things.  Whatever happens to be on your mind, anything at all.

Because there's no other way around it, I will go first.

1.  Tonight the Mathews girls basketball team takes on Middlesex in a home match THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO WIN.  Sorry for the shouting, it's just that my daughter's basketball is about the only thing I feel passionate about these days.

2.  I ran 8.6 miles yesterday, from Wayland Baptist Church to Salem United Methodist Church and back.  Since I hadn't measured the distance in advance, I just told myself to run from one church to the other (and back) in the hopes that it would be at least six miles, which was my goal.  When I clocked it with my car's odometer, I was shocked to learn I'd gone so far.  Mind you, I have a smart phone that could have done this mapping for me.  But thus far that smart phone's owner has not acquired the additional smartness required to use it to its full capability.

3.  Thank goodness for Monday's Martin Luther King federal holiday.  2014 and the month of January have already worn me right down out, and I am looking forward to taking down my Christmas tree maybe a day off.

That's it from me.  If you have one, two, three or more thoughts to share, please do. And thank you for doing so.

p.s. If you're local and are looking for something to do tonight, please come to the girls' basketball games at 6:00 (JV) and 7:30 (varsity) at the high school and cheer them on. I need help in the stands; it's not easy being an overly enthusiastic spectator.

Boathouse

It's late as I type this and although I could--and probably should--write about how much I like this boathouse and the reflections it cast the other day, instead all I can talk about is one thing and one thing only:

MATHEWS GIRLS BEAT WEST POINT LAST NIGHT.  IN OVERTIME.  FINALLY. A WIN. AND AN IMPORTANT ONE AT THAT!!!

I'm yelling in all caps and blue letters because I'm no longer able to yell in real life (and certainly not in the school colors of blue with gold background, for goodness sakes) thanks to all the screaming I did last night.

(I also apologize to the poor West Point fan who pretended that nobody sitting next to him was stomping her feet and jumping up and down like a maniac during the last few hours minutes of the game.  I also apologize to my mother who I elbowed more than once reaching for a ball that was going out of bounds even though the ball going out of bounds was down on the basketball court and not anywhere near the stands.  Thankfully we have a mutual understanding.  I can pretend like I am playing on the court and reach for potential rebounds and out of bounds balls and she can yell out my Baby Sister's name instead of Daughter Maria's name because they both look so much alike on the court. Hey, it works.)

Anyway, this sort of news deserves to be yelled!  And celebrated.  West Point wasn't expecting to lose. It's been a long time coming, but our team finally clicked and played like the team they really are:  a group of very talented young ladies. With very talented coaches.

We have another game tonight against Gloucester.

My poor vocal chords.

We're all exhausted.

Perfect

I had every intention of ending this week with some calming photos taken at Bethel Beach, with its vast expanse of open, blue sky and the swamp abundant marshland wearing its winter colors.

Yes, I had every intention of focusing on that.  

Instead, we interrupt this blog post about Bethel Beach to bring you breaking news.

Chesapeake Bay Daughter

The Mathews High School girls JV basketball team won last night over King William.

What a fabulous group of young ladies...

and some pretty fantastic coaches.

The season is now over.  No other team could beat them.  It was a perfect season.

The score from last night's King William game

And now I am perfectly depressed.

 I so enjoyed watching this team play and very much looked forward to the games.

What will I do with my evenings now?  How will I let out all this pent up energy with no more opportunities for jumping up and down and screaming in the stands at least twice a week?

Anyway, congratulations to a great group of girls and the equally great Coach Tommy and Coach Lawrence.

Thank you for a perfect season.

JV Basketball. Again.

Last night in the last home game of the season, the Mathews High School JV girls beat rival Middlesex in one of the higher scoring games of late:  37-14.

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I get so involved in these games that you would think I was out there on the court.  I am physically and emotionally drained.  Completely.

Also?  I get cotton mouth for about the first half.

I'm not talking about the cottonmouth moccasin that frequents our shorelines.  I am talking about the condition that some weird people get due to nervousness,  hormonal imbalance stress, and anxiety.

When I played high school basketball, back when people drank out of garden hoses and this other ancient relic of a contraption known as a water fountain, I chewed Gatorade gum to help with the cotton mouth I'd get before every game.  But I was a player and had every right to be riled up and a little nervous.

A healthy dose of adrenaline helps you play better.

But as a spectator?  Cotton mouth?

It's happened for almost every single game this season.  By the second half it goes away.  (Not coincidentally, the second half is usually when we play our best.)

Last night against Middlesex, however, we came out strong and stayed that way for the most part.  Sure there were sloppy passes, balls that would not drop in the bucket, some missed foul shots. A technical called against us.  A few balls slammed down on the court in anger.  A few "out of the ref's vision" pushes.

But hey. It's a JV team. We can't expect perfection even though one in our midst physically feels pain when they turn over the ball.

This team cannot be beat on defense, though, and luckily we started pressing right out the gate.  Usually Coach Tommy only uses the press in dire situations, such as when I am about to go into cardiac arrest because the game is so close.

This game, however, after we made the first bucket, we started pressing.  And it worked.

Oh, how it worked.

Anyway, the girls have one more game Thursday night at King William.  If they win that game, they will have a perfect, undefeated season.

It doesn't get much more perfect than undefeated.

This edition of Mathews High School JV Sports Synopsis brought to you by one MHS Has Been who puts as much physical energy into spectating as some of the girls do on the court.

Just ask anyone who sits next to me.  (That would be Mr. Junie on my right or my mother and father to my left, all of whom cringe every time I jump up and down hollering. Oh, and the Moughons.  And the Callises. They cringe also.)

The End.

The Weekend

These are a few weeks old, taken from Aarons Beach.

The sand there has been pushed up into the marsh
during various storms.  The beach is definitely shifting.

The weekend was busy but good.

Daughter's basketball team remains undefeated after barely pulling off another win Saturday night. They won by only one point in a very low scoring game, 21-20. It was absolutely excruciating to watch, and my throat is raw from screaming.

(Poor Mr. Junie Crosby, who sat next to us, probably still has ringing ears from all the commotion. Ann Marie, your father witnessed these antics from the other side of the court.  He can no longer say we don't do enough cheering.)

My mother and I have sufficiently embarrassed the county my father with our hollering and jumping up and down and what not, which includes stomping on the bleachers to (in theory) intimidate the opposition.

We I can't help it.

And they won! So all the embarrassment is well worth it.

Actually my mother and I are superstitious and believe that our antics helped propel the team to victory.  It all started in the Middlesex game when our bleacher thumping marked the point in the game where the tables turned and we gained control of the scoreboard.

Things have gotten progressively uglier/better (depending on whether you're asking my father or me) ever since.

There's another game at 5:30 tomorrow at home and one at 6:00 Thursday at West Point.

(Big Hair Envy, do you want to meet up? We could reminisce about the 1980-ish tournament we played in Back in the Day.)

***

After Saturday's game I went to a friend's birthday party and proceeded to laugh and laugh and laugh at all the stories told by some of my lifelong Mathews friends.

***

Today is a federal holiday, so I am in hog heaven enjoying a rare Monday off.

Life is good.

How was your weekend?