Monday, February 13, 2012

Eli 10.6 Update

So the singer (Adele) I only started listening to because Eli 10.6 told me won six Grammys last night.

On Thursday, I went to Eli's school in the morning because he was receiving a community service award. His school offers all kinds of community service opportunities, and even though his schedule is busier than an astronaut, he still manages to volunteer for almost every one. The lady who gave out the awards mentioned three specific actions by volunteers in the fall that she thought were particularly notable, and things Eli had been involved with were two of them.

Eli practiced with his tournament team Sunday morning and looked as sharp as I've ever seen him in goal. At the end of practice, they ran a mock shootout. Eli faced 17 shots and stopped 16 of them. He looked like he was in the Matrix or something.

He has a tournament this weekend, and I'm going to get some footage that I can share with you. He's not skating as a player, even though he's been cleared by the neurologist, because I'm concerned about mid-ice collisions at speed, but he will be playing in goal.

This tournament will be a little different. Instead of playing against travel teams, they're in an upper-level house division, which is more appropriate for their skill level. So I'm hoping they have some success-- they've worked very, very hard.

It's funny, but I realize now that even three weeks ago, his personality wasn't quite back to normal. We played tennis on Friday, then went to dinner and shopped for Gloria for Valentine's Day, and it was a fun, relaxing time. I've been very tired lately--exhausted, really--so it was great to feel energy flowing in instead of rushing out.

I didn't even realize this until yesterday, but Eli has had eight practices/games in 14 days. I have absolutely no idea how parents handle this kind of schedule on a long-term basis. Just the driving and the equipment management alone are totally wearying.

Of course, I say that, then something happens that reminds me why it's worth doing. Eli had a late game Saturday night (starting at 8, and he didn't get to bed until 10), then had practice Sunday morning at 9:45. That's a brutal turnaround for both of us, but he went out and had his best practice in months, and when the youth hockey director (who is the warmest, sunniest person I've ever met) asked him to stay and work with the mite goalies (7-8 years old), he was thrilled, because he loves working with younger kids. So he stayed, and he was so happy out there, and so was the kid he was working with. Eli has this magnetic personality, and other kids are just drawn to him.

So my feet were freezing, and I was freezing, but I still had a smile on my face. Feet can't smile.

Back when he first had his concussion, and he was watching "low-stimulus" t.v. (preschool level), I decided to write him a low-stimulus story. Eli thought it was very funny (well, he's 10.6), and here it is:
Sammy Marshmallow jumped on his red licorice pony Strawberry and road toward Cotton Candy town. He was to see a man there about a job.

As Sammy entered the outskirts of Cotton Candy town, he saw a disturbing site: a giant mug of hot chocolate. Fearing the worst, he climbed up the handle and peered over the edge, where he saw an awful sight: a mass of melted marshmallows.

Sammy had never seen this before, but he knew what it was called. It was called murder.

I was going to write a series of these little stories, with the "he was to see a man there" as the common thread, but that idea was derailed because there was so much else to do.

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