The Glass is Half-Full

I'm holding on tight - as though desperately trying to squeeze the last remnants of toothpaste from the tube. Like the last one to leave a show, the lights have come on, the other spectators have left the stadium, the maintenance staff is in cleaning up and life has resumed to normal for everyone else - but I am held fast in my seat with my eyes closed attempting to keep every last moment of the 'show' alive in my mind. I am the fat lady and I refuse to sing that first note because that would mean this dream ride is over and I'm just not ready for it to end just yet. Oh, what a ride it's been for the boys of fall and their fans! They did the impossible in many ways - they came from 'nowhere' to be the second best team in the state of Michigan defeating opponents with better records that were usually favored to win. This small band of Indians played well beyond their numbers or size - they were giants on the field. And off - as they taught others about go

It's our own March Madness right here in Saugatuck - but it's happening in November. Should we call it November Delight?? I cannot help, throughout this past month, thinking of the movie "Hoosiers". The basketball team depicted in the movie was an underdog from a small town who got to play in the state championship in the big house. On the way to many of their games, the team bus was followed by a plethora of fan cars driving through the rural areas and small towns of Indiana. As the victories mounted, the number of cars increased. This was a team that was loved by its town. All of you Saugatuckians - does that ring true or what??? We have driven through many a small town and rural farm land on our way to playoff games against St. Joseph, North Adams and Climax Scotts - and even in the regular season to teams like Bloomingdale and Lawton. At each playoff game, the number of cars driving these rural routes has increased and our stands, the visitor stands, have al

I have written many blogs this week - but have posted none. Not one of them seemed to ring true to what I was thinking or feeling this past week - I have been too scattered, unable to focus and more than a little ADD. It's because my plate is overflowing! Matthew and the Saugatuck football team snagged a place on the field at Ford Field after a nail-biter today. All along, this was a team that wasn't predicted to go far this season; they were young and there weren't many of them. Each of the playoff games have been a gift - and for a couple days prior to these games it has been difficult for this new football fan to sleep. Stress!!! And then Delaney is in rehearsal for her first play at Holland High school - The Three Musketeers. She is in a different school and in many ways, especially during this playoff season, a different world! Her rehearsals are nightly, including Fridays and she has had to miss the playoff games.  I've had to arrange transportation for ou

Friday night lights were blazing last week - when for the first time in the history of our little town, the Saugatuck Indians clinched the district title! You can see the sheer joy on Matthew's face and the pride in his father's eyes in the picture above. Leading up to and during the game, there were several things that made the victory even more sweet. The first being that the sports writers in the area, to a person, all predicted the opponents, Climax-Scotts, to win. They'd had a perfect season - until Friday. The second was that we had to travel quite a distance (nearly 90 minutes) to get to the game. And the weather was frigid and snow was blowing - thankfully it was blowing towards the Climax-Scotts stands and was at our backs. And then our quarterback injured his shoulder and had to sit out for a good portion of the game. Thankfully, the replacement quarterback (a sophomore called up for the playoffs from the junior varsity team) did not let the stress effect his pl

When I tell the three not-so-little Piggins or my ever-patient spouse that I will be 'right back' as I run into the local grocery or stop to visit a friend after church - they look at me, roll their eyes and comment something like "Yeah right back - more like in an hour!". And living in a small town, where you're likely to know nearly everyone in the grocery store, it's difficult for a social person to just ignore all the potential conversations you can have. Matthew often has to work on Sundays and when he does, he leans over during the church service to remind me that we have to leave right after the service ends. There are often so many people that we need to chat with - especially since John's cancer treatment. It's not a rarity that we actually take two cars to church on Sunday - now that's pathetic since we live about a two miles away! But come Monday, especially after a social Sunday, I will be a recluse. I won't answer the phone (an

How can such a cute, little black puppy wreak so much havoc in such a short time?! If he gets bored, which he does when it's only me around, he finds all kinds of interesting ways to get my attention by destroying or attempting to destroy things not for his chewing . . . right now it's the cable to the old TV that's sitting in my office that John wants to get repaired and is now just taking up space. A lot of space. Moments ago, it was the Solutions catalog. And moments before that it was the surge protector from the living room (thankfully nothing was currently plugged into it nor was it plugged into anything). And prior to that it was one of the pots for plants that I had stored on the porch. And shortly before that, it was the remote to the Wii. I played with Wally for about 20 minutes and then decided I had time to get some work done - important stuff like unloading the dishwasher and checking my Facebook. Now, I'm wondering when is nap time!? It's reminis

Did I just seriously hear a radio announcer talking about relationships between Democrats and Republicans? Did he just say that over 50 percent of respondents in a recent poll said they could not date someone from an 'opposing' party???? Hell, I've been married to an 'opposing' party for 22 years and been together off and on for another 8 . . . we knew going in that we didn't agree politically but we agreed on the major and life issues. Like children, world peace, the environment . . . We appreciate our mutual passion for and interest in politics and the political process. But politics doesn't belong in the bedroom anyway. Every couple years, especially when The Shrub was in office, the debates in our home are more often and a bit heated. Yet, we continue to respect one another while disagreeing on divergent opinions. Once we let politics become divisive enough that 50 percent could not relate to a person of another party, we have let it get too personal

The Do-Not-Call Registry was one of the best bits of usable legislation for the everyman. We could call this number or log on to a web site and register our phone numbers to take our names off the rolls for telemarketers. Suddenly, it seemed, the dinner hour could be enjoyed without continual phone interruptions. Of course, the legislators that adopted the registry created exclusions - including one for themselves. They deemed their messages exceptional and vitally important enough to exclude their own robo calls. I know we have received at least three a day for the past week and I don't know how many prior to that . . . it doesn't help that we're a divided household with one registered Democrat and one misguided registered Republican. And now we have Michael - I don't know how or even if he declared a party affiliation! When I worked in broadcast advertising - way 'back in the day' - the political commercials were originally a boon for us sales reps. We wer