Snapshot of Josh

Josh
Age 11
Grade 5
Size 7 men's shoe
Size 14/16 clothes
Almost my height (yikes!)
Heart as big as Texas

... something has turned inside that little man. A light switch has been flipped. He's not the little boy or even the complete whiner he has been in the past -- he's found FOOTBALL. I remember on occasions, him repeating after me, "Don't bother Dad, he's watching football." (Notice the negative tone for the word "football?" Yeah, I've done that.) At times, I've felt like The Waterboy's mom, "That dern foosball." But, alas, being that I am the sole source of estrogen in this house, it is inevitable that one of the three will turn to the pigskin. As such, rather than fight it, I have had the pleasure of being the team photographer this year for the KYA Raiders (they're tied for 2nd place with only 1 loss dontchaknow?!) This also means that I get to be on the sidelines (that's fun!). As such, I'm given rare opportunities to help turn my kiddo into a young man. For instance, when the coach walked by and asked Josh how he was doing. Josh started, "Well...." and I piped in, "He's just FINE, Coach." And Josh, got the cue and said, "I'm great, Coach." I started laughing and the coach and I just kind of had some comedic banter back and forth, "Well, I have this splinter in my pinkie and I think I'm having hot flashes and sometimes when the moon is full I feel a bit bloated." The Coach just laughed and said, "I wasn't looking for a health history, just let me know how you're doing, kid!" It was funny. So, Josh is learning what's expected of him and he's learning that when you're playing football -- as Andy has said from DAY ONE -- it's a game of mental toughness and that you'll never feel as good as the day you did before your first practice.

He lost another tooth last night. At least the pace slowed down. It was one of his molars that's in front of the big molars. Don't ask me the technical term. I don't speak teeth. I just know it was a big one and I'm just thankful he's got the four on top and four on bottom... hmm... guess he kinda has horse teeth now, huh? Ha ha ha! Poor kid. Adolescence is so hard.

His favorite habit right now is to toss anything he can get his hands on in the air repeatedly and catch it. It's annoying. He does it... with EVERYTHING ALL.THE.TIME. Seriously! I guess it's better than... lots of other annoying things. Toothbrushes, pencils, grocery items, toys, balls, etc. You name it, he's tossing it.

He hasn't hit that eat-everything-in-sight growth spurt yet but I'm expecting it soon.

He is making more friends and I'm very thankful for that. "Tink" (obviously a nickname) from his football team lives in our neighborhood and they've become great friends. On any given Saturday that there isn't a game or Sunday, the two can be found wandering the streets with fishing poles in hands. They're just two peas in a pod.

He's actually getting over his baseball fear again and has asked to be signed up for baseball again in the spring. Perhaps the Rangers making the World Series contributed to that decision, but whatever it is, I'm thankful -- because he's good at it.

At his request, too, he's signed up for Upwards basketball for the winter. I know he'll enjoy that. Just to have fun and be in that team environment -- it will be fun for him.

He's still my big helper and will do just about anything I ask with a happy heart and for that I am DEFINITELY thankful.

Now... if I could JUST get him to clean his room....