I was surprised to learn, just now that my previous post was nine days ago. It is not like nothing has happened during that span. To the contrary, life has been a bit busy, really. I am part of a Committee, that is sponsoring a US Lacrosse “Sankofa” Lacrosse Clinic, on June 5th in Hempstead. Late last week, I offered to complete the forms that are needed by US Lacrosse. There were over 140 registrants, and all of there information needed to be put onto an Excel Spreadsheet. This kind of thing is certainly not my bailiwick, but I volunteered, nonetheless. It was tedious, to say the least, but once I got going, it went smoothly, if not quickly. I am excited about this event and am glad to be able to help.

There was plenty of prep work to be done on Saturday, as we were hosting Mother’s Day on Sunday! It had been more than a year, since we had held any kind of Family Gathering, and I think we were all pretty excited about it. Sunday morning, I went to the East Meadow Girls game at 10am. against Plainview. The Girls played pretty well. The final score was 6-3, but the teams were pretty even, and I was happy with our progress. They are moving to open spaces and looking to pass the ball. By 11:30, I was on my way to Hempstead, for the Boys game, also against Plainview. I arrived just before halftime, with our Tigers trailing 4-2. We battled back to tie the score at 4, only to give up the deciding goal, in the final couple of minutes of the game. While the kids were disappointed with the result, I was pleased with how they competed and thought they had played at their highest level yet, against their best opponent yet.

By the time, I got home, our guests had arrived. My Dad had called me during the first game, to let me know that my Mom was not feeling well, and they were not going to make it to our Brunch, as planned. My Sister and her kids, also were not coming. While, I was disappointed they couldn’t make it, we had a very nice time visiting with those who were present. It felt really good to be celebrating with family and friends – almost back to normal!

Tuesday was a beautiful Spring day. Diana agreed to accompany me on a hike at the Muttontown Preserve. It was the fourth time I had been to this property, and Diana’s first. There is enough variety in trails, that I have never gone the same way, more than once. And now, I have hiked there in every season and can say, that the place seems completely different, each time. We made it all the way to the Ruins of King Zog’s Estate. We both enjoyed trying to imagine what the place must have looked like in its heyday. Besides getting in some great outdoor exercise on a beautiful day, at a very cool place, I got to spend a nice afternoon with Diana, something that doesn’t happen often enough.

Yesterday, after a semi-successful trip to Lowes (I have to return two of the items I purchased – wrong size), I tuned in the the Live Stream of Karl’s Graduation from Sage College in Albany. It was a nice ceremony and though I wasn’t there in person, I still welled up with pride, when Karl walked across the stage to receive (figuratively) his Masters Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. I know how hard he worked for that degree and what it means for his future, so I could not be happier for him, that he actually got to be there.

To cap of my Wednesday, I travelled to Wantagh High School for a Titanic Girls Lacrosse Clash between Wantagh and Garden City. I know the Wantagh Coach, Robyn Rooney, from her days at FLG, which preceded and then intersected with my own, and I have been eager to see her squad in action – I had heard they are the Real Deal, this year! The game did not disappoint! Garden City jumped out to a 5-1 lead before Wantagh began controlling the Draws and getting some stops on Defense. Before long, the Wantagh Offense was hitting on all cylinders and taking a 12-8 lead at the half. Garden City played hard in the second half and at times stepped up the Defensive pressure, but they were never able to close the gap, and Wantagh came away with a convincing, if not dominant, 16-12 Victory. I was very impressed with the overall level of play by both teams and particularly impressed with the speed and athleticism of the Wantagh Midfielders and the speed, skill and tenacity of their young Attack. Robyn’s team is young but loaded with Division I talent. They played like a team of Seniors. It is a shame there won’t be a State Championship Tournament this year, but if you can beat the best in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, you are probably among the very best teams in the entire nation.