"One of them is a warrior..."

Wow! I bet you guys must think I'm schizophrenic, the way I constantly change things around, here. One week I'm posting on Saturday (which I almost never do), another week I miss out on posting for a day or two, then Friday rolls around and I don't post the 'sacred' and highly anticipated Frivolous Friday posts... "What the heck is wrong with you?" you're probably asking. Well, don't forget my blog is called Seasons of Change! Seriously though, I'm posting today because I have something incredibly amazing to share.

Yesterday I flew in from Washington DC in the afternoon, after spending the night there, having previously been in Alabama for two nights. The main reason I flew back yesterday instead of today was to be able to attend Senior Night at my son's high school, as well as watch him play in his final high school football game. It's been a season of adversity for him and he's weathered the storm beautifully, though not without some "lessons along the way." He literally played the entire season with a cast on his left hand (this is not a good thing for a defensive end who needs his hands to make tackles), because he'd torn the tendon and ligaments on his pinkie just before the season began. Then he broke the same finger in the first game of the season. He had to undergo two different surgeries and in the process ended up missing five of his twelve-game season. Immediately after the surgery (when he first had the 'ginormous' cast put on) he didn't want to go to a USF game for fear that the coaches would see him injured and revoke his scholarship offer (I don't know how he figured that), but I persuaded him otherwise, explaining that it was better that they saw and heard from him regarding the injury rather than read about it on rivals.com.

He's constantly felt as if he let down his team because he had to play hurt all season, and nothing I said seemed to persuade him differently. I tried explaining that his team and coaches really valued his valiant efforts and that he still had the most sacks on the team, which was amazing considering he'd played in far fewer games. I tried to make him see that that was certainly a commendable performance even though it may not have met the goals he set. Adversity in and of itself may not be great to experience, but the lessons learned through navigating it are invaluable and stay with you for life. Yesterday, towards the end of the game a gentleman introduced himself to me and informed me that Demi had been selected to play in the All-Star game for Central Florida (covering an eight-county area). Evidently more than just his team mates and coaches recognized his efforts and contributions to his team even in a losing season (they ended up 4 - 6). What a wonderful 'feather in his hat' to conclude his high school football career. So I guess yesterday wasn't his final high school football game after all! This photo was taken after the game yesterday. I like it because with me being in the foreground, the perspective gives the impression that I'm bigger than Demi.