It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve really written a weekend recap on Monday. I’ve had one sort of excuse or another, but today, I actually have a weekend recap! This weekend was defined by decisions I made, and it turned out pretty well, except for when I lost fair and square to my 4-year-old daughter at Uno.
Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I’m attempting to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for an autism-related charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 43. And I hurt! I named the endeavor after my little guy, calling it Operation Jack.
First Decision: Where To Run
I had originally scheduled Yonkers, N.Y. for this weekend, but three weeks ago I switched it to Boulder, Colo. because I thought it would be a more effective trip for Operation Jack. I booked my airfare to Denver, and sure enough, Boulder was postponed last Monday due to a fire. So four days before the weekend, I needed to find a race.
Fortunately, I found a race 225 miles southwest of Denver that started in a town called Crested Butte and finished in another town called Gunnison. It was a pretty challenging race, but I gave it my all, like always. If you want, you can read my recap here.
Next Decision: When To Leave
Mentally, I had written off the weekend when I had Yonkers on the schedule. To get to New York, I would have had to leave early Saturday morning and I would have gotten back late Saturday night. So when I booked Boulder, I mindlessly scheduled an early-morning flight to Denver. I say mindlessly, because I didn’t even think about checking my oldest son Benjamin’s soccer schedule.
When I did, I saw that his game was at 9 a.m., about the same time I was scheduled to land in Denver. I looked into changing the flight and the net cost (lower rental car cost) was going to be about $60. Worth $60 for a 9-year-old’s soccer game? I don’t like wasting money, but there’s only one other game I’ll be seeing this season. So yeah, it was worth $60.
Benjamin will be the first to tell you he’s not very good at soccer. And when I go out and watch him play, he’s just about the worst player on the field. It’s been two years since he scored a goal. But he has a ton of fun playing, and I like to coach him on things like sportsmanship and effort. It’s also a pure joy to sit out there at the field in my chair while it’s overcast, chatting with the parents, watching the kids have fun.
Skip to the third quarter. It’s 0-0 and one of the better players on Ben’s team had a scoring opportunity, but the opposing goalie came out a bit to cut off the angle and made a save on a shot. The ball bounced back out towards Benjamin, who was about 25 yards out. He saw the goalie was too far out, so he boomed it high and far. One bounce, and IN! He scored a goal! He was on top of the world and all of his teammates mobbed him. I was so excited!
The game ended in a 1-1 tie, so as I reminded Ben about 20 times, he made the difference between a tie and a loss! I always tell Ben that even though he might not be the best player, he’s a part of the team and he needs to work hard and contribute. Every little bit helps and you never know when something you do is going to make a difference.
He’s not going to be a professional athlete, but I know he’s going to be a good person. He’s honest to a fault. After the game, he asked me if I saw all his teammates get excited after his goal, and I told him I did. He asked me why they got so excited and I told him it was because that gave them a 1-0 lead.
With an ear-to-ear smile, he told me, “I think it’s because they didn’t expect it from me because I’m so bad!” Ah, Benjamin. He can do his little things to misbehave, but he’s a good kid and I love that little guy!
And yeah, that was worth $60.
That’s him on the left. The picture didn’t turn out too well, but the smile did.
He’s supposed to grow past 6-4, but he’ll always be my little guy.
Next Decision: To Turn Back Or Not To Turn Back?
I was on my way to Chipotle for lunch on Friday, about to turn in the parking lot, when my wife Tiffany called me up hysterical. Apparently, Jack slipped and fell and hit his chin on a chair and it was bleeding. She wanted me to come home immediately to help, so I turned the car around, but I was a good 20-25 minutes away.
When I was about 10 minutes away from getting home, she told me the bleeding had stopped and she was thinking he’d be OK. She was indecisive about whether or not I should head all the way home at that point. I made the decision to go check it out. Good call.
He had a decent gash and I wanted to take him to the doctor as a precaution. We went and they immediately said he’d need stitches. He’s difficult to treat at a doctor’s office, because he doesn’t communicate or understand what’s going on. The doctor wanted to send him to the emergency room so he could be put under to have the stitches put in. No way did we allow that, although if it had just been Tiff at the doctor’s office, she would have had no choice.
After spending 20 minutes numbing up his chin, we had to put him in a papoose, which is something that restricts him from moving his arms and legs. Tiff held him steady and I held his face in place. He didn’t like that and resisted quite a bit because he didn’t know what was happening. It was pretty tough to see him so upset. The stitches went in and he got some McDonald’s fries as a treat afterwards.
But I think it was more traumatic for me. I was in a haze the rest of the day. That was absolutely miserable. But I’m glad I was there.
Next Decision: How Long To Hold On To The Draw Four Card?
On Friday night, I played Uno with Ben and Ava. I had two draw four cards, but I chose to hold on to them for too long. I was wanting to hang on to them and use them as I was getting close to going out. I passed up on good opportunities to use them earlier in the game, and Ava quietly whittled down her hand.
I dropped one on her after she called Uno, but after a reversal, I had to use one on Benjamin. Soon enough, I was powerless with my hand, she called Uno again, and when it came to be my turn, there was nothing I could do. She outplayed me and Ben and won the game.
Yeah, I got beat at Uno, fair and square, by my 4-year-old daughter, because I did a poor job playing my draw four cards.
Bad decision.
Will He Or Won’t He?
Last night a big guy named Bert sitting next to me on the plane said he was going to come to the site, read the blog and leave a comment. He stored operationjack.org in his iPad and we talked for a little while, so I think there’s a fighting good chance. We’ll see!
Wow, This Ran Longer Than I Thought It Would
I like that, though … I have a ton of leftover material for tomorrow. Should make that blog easy to write. Y’all enjoy your Monday and celebrate the fact that my Kansas State Wildcats are 3-0!
RuthE Levy says
Let’s celebrate Benjamin’s great kick! Love from Baba Wuff
Erin Ruff says
Great story about Ben! That made my day. Poor Jack and the stitches. That sucks for him and his parents. 🙁
And as far as the Uno game, no worries, my five year old regularly beats me.
Laura Sullivan says
wildcatsammy, my tide is 3-0 too. 🙂
Melissa Gillespie says
Way to go, Benjamin! It’s wonderful that you got to be there for that moment. The way you describe him is so endearing. I’m sorry to hear about Jack’s fall. We’ve had several trips to the ER over the years and it’s never fun, but you were there and that does make a difference.
Terry W says
I am not Bert and I am not big but I sure enjoyed your weekend recap Sam…a great call you made on the Soccer game……memory of a lifetime to see Benjamin score that goal…time passes fast….you have to capture those moments.
Terry W.