If - by Rudyard Kipling

This poem speaks of life's disappointments, setbacks, betrayals, heartbreak, slander - and some of the virtues which can help us to survive them with our hearts intact, moment by moment.

If— By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

 

...with thanks to Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll and the entire Seattle Seahawks team for an inspiring season.

West Central District III Golf Tournament

I spent yesterday and today walking around two different golf courses.  David asked me to walk with him, and I said "Yes." I am not a golfer, but I am a mom, and a walker.

Yesterday was a sunny day, 4 hours of which were spent at White Horse with Gregg, my father and David. Gregg and Dad took a cart; David and I walked. It was about 5 miles all together. White Horse is the home course of David's high school golf team. He wanted to take another round (because Monday through Friday golf after school is just not enough), to warm up for a tournament today.

Last week, David and his teammates played in their League Championship, and David advanced to the District Tournament. Today, David and I got up at 4:45 A.M., showered, dressed, made breakfast, packed snacks for him, picked up his friend (and teammate) Kenny, and went to the West Central District III Golf Tournament at Eagle's Pride Golf Course (not quite as long a walk as the White Horse course, but at least 4 miles).

Today's Tournament was for the purpose of deciding who will advance to the Washington State WIAA Tournament. I walked 18 holes, near David, but not with him (the rules prohibit parents and coaches from walking along with/conferring with their players). Trust me - I am not a threat; I would have nothing of value to say about the game, except "Good shot!" or "That was nice!" I don't "get" golf.

David didn't advance to the State tournament, but he had fun - and he had the best (lowest) score in his league today.

Here are some photos from today's match.

This course had some HUGE trees.

Some of them looked like 2nd-growth timber (a bit younger than old-growth).

It also had rhododendrons and lots of Scotch Broom.

It had deep gullies and some water hazards.

Of course, there were also sand traps.

It was a joy to watch our son think, expend his best efforts, and enjoy himself, 

playing a sport that requires

good manners and self-control.

I saw lots of both today among the young players.

Good job, David! We're so proud of you.

I Am Not a Fan

I am not a fan of baseball, though I have liked one or two players, in my day. For example, I dated a baseball player in college. And even though I never met him, my love for his family makes me a fan of Moe Drabowsky. And I supported David's love for his Little League team, and attended all of his games, because of my love for him. So I don't dislike the players, but I think the sport could use a few of my ideas for improvement.

For example, please lose:  the spitting. The public scratching of private places. The long pauses. The polyester.

My intense dislike of baseball started during my first marriage...to a baseball fanatic. It's safe to say that this man loved baseball more than he loved many things in life, including me. He certainly preferred it to - let's call it romance. (That's a euphemism, my friends, but let's call it that, because my son might read this someday.)

Since I was a "nice girl," he was my first - and I intended him to be my ONLY. But as the marriage went on, I saw that I would never be, to him, what I desired to be, to my husband. I could not compete with the box scores. I was no match for the excitement of the Red Sox. The Green Monster was one of my enemies. Not another woman, but baseball itself, became a focus for my jealous emotions. It wasn't the only problem; it was simply something on which I could FOCUS my disappointment and frustration. I was unhappy, and then angry, and then, very, VERY UNHAPPY.

We eventually divorced. I've not liked baseball since.

So imagine my surprise at finding an article about baseball that I not only enjoyed, but that illuminated some of the finer points of strategy for me! It's about the pitcher vs. the batter, and is in the magazine called THE WEEK, in the October 23rd issue. The title of the article is "Who Owns Home Plate?" and is an excerpt from a new book by Reggie Jackson and Bob Gibson called Sixty Feet, Six Inches. It's really fascinating. I recommend it to anyone, even someone who doesn't like baseball.

And I am now married to a man who loves me, much more than baseball. (Don't you just love a happy ending?)

Sports & Memories

David played golf yesterday, and won his match. That was his second match in a week. They played on their "home" course, which is the course where the team practices every day after school. He is loving the sport.

It's humorous, to me, that the two sports that David has taken up as school team sports are "country club" sports. We don't belong to a country club.
...however, my parents do, and they gave the kids the gift of swimming, tennis and golf lessons for many years.

We were very thankful for this, since the kids were blessed by those experiences. Katie wasn't always a willing participant in lessons, but David was. Both of them have natural athletic ability, like their dad.


Doesn't that sparkling water look inviting?


As he grows, David is enjoying golf and tennis more and more. He always looks forward to those activities when we visit Palm Desert, and when summer arrives, here in Washington. (He also loves cycling, another interest that he shares with Kappa.)

I've been going through our old photo albums, and am including a few things here that foreshadow David's golf team participation.




Have I mentioned that I love looking through old photos?

I don't enjoy the hobby of scrapbooking, but I sure do love our photo albums, and am very thankful to have them. I love the happy memories that they recall.