My mom always gave me the advice that when people show you who they are - believe them. I have never found these words such a mantra...

Turning the Soil

Although extremely overdone as a metaphor, Springtime is the ultimate rebirth. While pulling the endless amounts of weeds in my yard this morning, I came to some realizations. First, I don't take enough time to sit in the breeze and enjoy the moment. Second, those beautiful purple blooms in my backyard are weeds - no matter how "springy" and meadow like they are, they are weeds. Those beautiful purple weeds spread like wildfire also - they start out in a small patch and become beds and coverings before we know it. The most important of my conclusions was that in order to truly rid my yard of these weeds, I couldn't just cover them with fresh mulch. It might look prettier and give the illusion of cleaned up for a short time, but soon those weeds would peak through the new mulch and spread on the surface once again. Getting the yard looking fresh and new took work. I spent several hours this morning pulling the weeds out by the root, spraying weed killer, turning the soil for strays that I missed, and finally laying new mulch. It's why we give our yards a face lift in the spring, power wash our houses and decks, spring clean, plant new flowers - it's a time of fresh slates. Those slates, much like my yard, get over crowded when we just pile the new on top of the old. Sooner of later those roots have to be pulled out in order to have anything new bloom or grow. Now that I've completely beaten this metaphor to death, hopefully you see my point. This morning was a great reflection of why it's important to deal with what we need to deal with in order to move on. My soil is officially turned.

VCU Rams Final 4!

Another TWO bite the dust...

In this town, we don't know how to react to major sports victories. The biggest thing we've seen is when one of our high school teams make it to states or the Richmond Braves of days past had a winning season - but nothing like this. The VCU Rams making it to the final four is more than just a bump in pride for VCU students past and present - it's a victory for Richmond. It's giving some underdogs from a non-sports based town the faith of a country (okay - maybe just a state :). To watch these young men encourage and push each other - a thing of beauty. Also a big noteworthy key to their success is that one player isn't the star of every game - during a couple of the first match ups Rodriguez pulled it out, then Burgess made it rain threes, during the last games Skeen and Rozzell were the MVP's - through it all Smart and his coaching staff have kept them with level heads and humility. The energy on the VCU campus right now is palpable and everyone wants to be a part of it. The capital city is ready... hope Butler is!

Hoopstown, USA

I've written before (about 4 years ago as a matter of fact) about my pride for VCU basketball. I grew up on it on a much smaller scale. It wasn't a popular school - just a school in the city with really no campus - especially to those of us who grew up in Richmond, VA. When I chose to attend VCU, I realized quickly that there was a very pronounced and distinct campus which has only expanded more since my graduation in 1999. When I approached the VCU Sports Center about writing

a children's book commemorating the greatness of VCU and it's basketball team, I did run into some slight hesitation. To me it was a no brainer - the team was on an upswing, enrollment was at an all time high and the Siegel Center was a new center of pride for the Rams. The release of Rodney Ram Teaches Teamwork (2 years later) was such an accomplishment for me on so many levels. My love for Rams basketball has only grown over the past 4 years since the book's release. I thought it was at its peak when VCU beat Duke in the 2007 NCAA tournament - but that was nothing compared to what the whole city of Richmond feels right now. For the first time in VCU history, the Rams have made it to the sweet 16 of the NCAA tourney. Two things have totally become the icing on the cake - first, that U of R is also in the sweet 16 (collosal for Richmonders) and secondly that most sportscasters across the country didn't think we belonged in this tournament. We beat the first team just to get into the big dance - we were on the bubble and a part of the "extra games" just to make it to the starting line with everyone else. Down went USC, down went Georgetown, down went Purdue... Seminoles next? These haven't even been close games - 10-20 point games and I've loved every second of it! I bought my son a "We Are VCU" shirt during the CAA tournament this year and I'm so glad I did - he has just as much pride in the Rams as I do!

Here in Richmond, the Richmond Spiders and the VCU Rams have an annual match-up called the Black and Blue Classic... it's never been a tremendously popular game but I think this tournament is changing that forever. We are hoping for a Black and Blue Classic on a national scale in San Antonio this weekend in the Elite Eight...

Signing off from Hoopstown, USA - AKA Richmond, Virginia!

Serendipity: Fact or Myth... or cute RomCom with John Cusack

I've been thinking a lot lately about how things happen for a reason - I'm convinced now more than ever. Some occurances are a little more private and don't need to be blogged about but for those that can be shared... here it goes. Last week, a midwestern teen died instantly on the basketball court after making the game winning shot against a rival team. One minute he was posing for pictures with teammates and being hoisted in the air by fans - and in the next instant he's collapsed on the court. He suffered cardiac arrest as a result of an enlarged heart. This made me instantly think about my uncle who died several years back (in his late 50's) on the dance floor with my aunt. He had his favorite cocktail in one hand and twirled his wife with the other - seconds later collapsed from cardiac arrest as well.
I don't want it to be lost on me that both of these deaths, while extremely heartbreaking and tragic, happened doing what they both loved doing. I know not everyone is so lucky but if we focus on the clouds, we will most definitely miss the silver lining.
Don't get me wrong, I can absolutely focus on the darkness as much as the next guy - but this is what I'm trying to shift. I suffered a mini-stroke back in the Fall and my cloud is that I am going to need to be aware of my internal workings for the rest of my life but my silver is that it wasn't a full blown stroke and my dependence on others is temporary - I'm also able to hug my son with the use of both arms - not everyone can say the same.
Hopefully this won't drag down those reading this but rather lift you to a different way of looking at situations... as opportunities and not always coincidence.

And the award for worst mom goes to...

Okay - so I have always been that mushy gushy overly cutesy holiday loving gal who everyone wants to hide from... you guessed it - holiday clothing, jewelry, decorations (for most holidays throughout the year)... I'm a sucker for it!! For St. V Day - I've loved the heart shaped sandwiches, balloons, cupcakes, heart shaped rice krispie treats, ziploc bags that are pink and red, fun lover sayings on shirts for my son (kid friendly :)... you get the idea. Well a couple of years ago, I finally accepted the fact that I have a son who would rather poke out his own eye than wear that to school or do anything cutesy for Valentine's Day...my lovey dovey pipe dream would come to an end. It has slowly dwindled to a nice dinner out with both of my boys and that would be that - I've accepted it - I decorate around our house because a nice love-filled surrounding is a pick me up. This year especially would get kind of swept under the rug as it's a school night AND both my son and husband have basketball practice for the majority of the evening.

Here's where the worst mom award comes into play... I went to have lunch with my boy at his school as a Valentine's surprise. Not only was there nary a pink, purple, or red cloth or jewel adorning my person but I also didn't cut any one's sandwich into a heart or have heart shaped snack cakes for dessert! I'm trying to blend in to appease him and he turns to me and says, "Mom, are you going to have my Valentine's treat for me when I get home?" I looked at him, trying to hide my sheer panic and said, "Maybe," He smiled a huge gratified smile and said, "Yea! Maybe means YES!" I kind of smiled on the outside but on the inside was panic stricken - 'Crap - I have nothing for him for Valentine's Day!!' I have since left his school - stopped by a store and bought a couple of things to make the afternoon and evening a little better. My only plan was to go for a nice walk since it's a beautiful day here in good ole Richmond, VA...

My take away lesson in all of this is that I should go with my natural instinct - next year he's getting me coming to school with a homemade jewel encrusted crown... who knows, I do have a whole year to plan after all :)