Eye sore

Today's highlight was gym.
a) Jesse taught us all how to play lacrosse. We got the sticks (crosses) out of the closet and used baseballs and the six of us split into pairs and practiced playing catch for a little while. It took a minute to get the stick-eye coordination down and then I started aiming for my partner instead of 3-feet above her head. And then the satisfaction of a pass received and returned. Then the face-off. This is a deliciously elaborate take on a game-starting classic. You and your opponent face each other with your sticks held parallel before you (the basket of his on the opposite side of yours so the sticks are only a couple of inches apart along their length). The ref balances the ball on your sticks, counts to 3, and you pull the sticks apart and scramble for the ball. So 15 minutes of tossing, running, shooting later and we were toast (the gym is h-o-t). The unity of interest and purpose is what got me I think. Everyone intent on bettering their game and no sniping and Jesse shining with all he knew.

b) Catch with Cole. A really fantastic kid: mellow and funny and generally very kind. This part of the day didn't take any words at all, after he'd given me some tips on how he threw his gorgeously stable spiral. What is it about a spinning football? Something about it being subject to and flaunting its understanding of the law of physics? Gorgeous. And then, too, concentrating on how I move my hands and arm affect the spin and arc of it...Kids came and joined, then left, and the constant was the pebbly rubber of the football, the grip of the laces, the perfect spinning and the catch and cradle, catch and cradle. I know this wasn't a big deal to anyone but me, but it was a very clear and physical end to a very cloudily emotional morning.