Elena 
What’s going on in My Domestic Church
It is almost the end of soccer season.
YAHOO!!!!!!
I will be so glad not to have any more practices to drive to, no more games to juggle, no more uniforms to keep track of and no more obliterated Saturdays! The end is near Lord… thank you!!
Calvin ended up refereeing for our local amateur soccer association and for CYO. He had a stretch where he had a game to ref every day for 28 straight days! On the weekends he had 5 to 8 games to ref. And while this has been great for his bank account, it has been hard on him, and hard on me making sure he got to all of these games. And let’s not forget Baby Rosebud who was dragged around most of the county getting to these games. She will no doubt be able to call an “off sides” before she will be able to ride a tricycle.
Calvin is very cool under pressure. He has the great ability to tune out parents screaming at him during the game and to keep his concentration. I was actually pretty proud of him. He had one parent who said she was going to call the CYO office to complain because he allowed a kid on the field to play with a cast on her arm. When he told her there was nothing in the rule book about it and that it was up to the coach and the parents, she said he was being rude. With a wisdom beyond his years he touched his hat and told her he was sorry she was unhappy and that he had to get to his next game. As far as I know, she never did call in to complain about him. I think he knows at 16 that there are times you’re just not going to make everyone happy.
Sam’s soccer season was rather mediocre. They were kept out of the playoffs by 3 points! Gabe’s team did make it into the playoffs but they lost and did not make it into the championships. Still, for Gabe’s team to make playoffs was a big deal and it bonded the players and the parents of that little team into a tight knit group. At the postseason party it felt like a little soccer family. Considering these kids are only 10, we have at least 8 more soccer seasons with these folks and I look forward to it!
Izzy and Noah still have 2 more weeks of soccer, but it’s DD – no stress, little kid soccer. Noah still takes it very seriously though. Isadora has improved greatly, but she still is just in it for the post-game snacks and drink!
Mr. Pete coaches Izzy’s team. We have had the opportunity this season to watch some of the big girls play soccer, U12, U13 and U14 teams. I love watching these young women play and I really thinks some of these teams could be competitive with the boys. That said, I think Mr. Pete is starting to get it into his head that he wants to coach Izzy up to the U14 level, and maybe Miss Rosie too! We’ll see.
Some of you may remember that due to a financial speed bump that I hit last spring, I did not put the boys into swimming last summer or this fall. But I wanted to do something for them, so I put them into CYO cross country. My thoughts were that this was still great aerobic exercise for them and that it would build strength and cardiovascular endurance as well as giving them all the mental skills that go with running a race like this. They have loved it!
Cross country has really brought to the forefront the difference in realities for homeschool vs. regular school kids. My boys are definitely NOT running in the front of the pack. They hold the rear down very securely. But they are not discouraged and they look forward to seeing their weekly statistics to see if they are making new personal records. In one way I think that’s good because it is important to be persistent and to keep trying. On the other hand I know that in some jobs it is important show success immediately and to be aware of how others are thinking about you. I’m not sure how to think about this yet. The boys are so nonchalant to the ridicule of others, and as a result the ridiculers have become friends and even fans, cheering for them as they come to the finish line. I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s been fascinating to watch and I’m sure God will use these experiences with them in the future.