A nice weekend here in Indy. I know eventually it will come back to bite us in the ass, but this is like the fifth or sixth straight season here that has been terrific. It got warm early but didn\u2019t turn into summer in April. We\u2019ve had a few cooldowns but none of those surprise weeks when you go from shorts and tees to coats and hats again. All that after a mild winter, a normal fall, a terrific summer, another nice spring, and I believe a relatively warm winter a year ago. Mother Nature is loading up for something big.<\/p>\n
The pool has been open since Monday and by Friday the water was both warm and filtered enough to get in. L had friends over Friday night, and after spending the night they hung around to swim Saturday. We hosted S\u2019s dad and stepmom for dinner Saturday night. Sunday we hung out around the pool, with two of the local nephews coming over to get their first swims of the year in.<\/p>\n
I mentioned Friday that I had to attend a function Friday morning. I went into school early with L to attend the Blessed Basil Moreau awards ceremony. We knew she would receive an award. We were not told what it was for or who had nominated her when we got the invitation.<\/p>\n
When we arrived her religion teacher, Mrs. K, strolled over and sat with us. She had both M and C in her classes, so we chatted a bit about them.<\/p>\n
The ceremony began and Mrs. K went to the podium and asked L to join her. She said a series of nice things about L\u2019s attitude, leadership, and dedication. She said L was the kind of kid you wished you had 24 more of in class. She then shared a specific example of L\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n
One day L saw one of her friends getting picked on in class. L didn\u2019t think that was right, so she went and sat with her friend, calmed her down, got her back on track, and after class let Mrs. K know about the situation.<\/p>\n
That all sounded pretty good.<\/p>\n
After the ceremony I asked for the whole story.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was T,\u201d she said, referring to a basketball teammate who is autistic and has been targeted by a few mean girls this year. \u201cThis little bitch was picking on her because she knows T won\u2019t say anything back to her. So I went over and shut that shit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even prouder, especially for how she related what happened! Of course, if Mrs. K had heard that version she might not have nominated L for the award!<\/p>\n
Now L is a part of the Holy Cross council at CHS. Not sure exactly what that entails but she acted mock put out about it. \u201cMore meetings,\u201d she sighed.<\/p>\n
As a parent you hope that your kids have a strong set of core values and that they will speak up when those values are violated. One of the things I am most proud of is that our girls do exactly that. When they see friends in need, they help them. They all, to a certain extent, are wiling to confront people who they think are being assholes.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one thing to convey these lessons to your kids. It\u2019s another for them to have the strength to stand up for their values when presented with an opportunity. Our girls aren\u2019t perfect, but it gives me immense satisfaction that my primary job for the last 20 years has not been in vain.<\/p>\n
I was pretty pissed after the first two games of the Pacers-Knicks series. Yes, there were a lot of bad calls, most of which seemed to go against the Pacers. I mean, how do referees get kicked ball calls wrong against the same team, in clutch moments, in two straight games? And how do they claim they can\u2019t correct an incorrect call one night, when it goes against the Pacers, then stop the game to huddle up and correct an incorrect call two nights later when it allows the Knicks to keep the ball in the final two minutes of a close game?<\/p>\n
But, let\u2019s be honest: bad calls or not, the Pacers lost the first two games because they couldn\u2019t block out on the boards or stay in front of anyone on defense. They reverted to December Pacers ball, thinking they could just score 150 and win by two. That shit doesn\u2019t work in the playoffs. At least not usually.<\/p>\n
After two games in Indy, though?<\/p>\n
WHOOOOO DOCTOR, WE\u2019VE GOT A SERIES!!!!<\/p>\n
An incredibly frustrating and tense game Friday, with the Pacers jumping out early, giving the lead up, getting another cushion just after halftime, then not only blowing that but finding themselves down nine points with nine minutes to play. Were they going to get swept? They righted the ship, made some big plays, and Andrew Nembhard threw in a prayer of a 3 with 17 seconds left to break the final tie.<\/p>\n
The Knicks are about as banged up as you can be so there was no reason for this game to be close. Yet the Pacers\u2019 refusal to even pretend to play defense killed them.<\/p>\n
Sunday all that switched. The Knicks looked injured, tired, and short-handed. The Pacers defense was nearly as good as their offense. The lead was 20 points in the first quarter. It was around 40 points much of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was one of the most bizarre things I\u2019ve seen in the NBA: both teams cleared their benches early and just let those cats roll for 12 minutes. It was not scintillating basketball. Pacers fans didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
Two-two, going back to New York.<\/p>\n
You figure there\u2019s going to be a huge swing after game four. The Knicks can\u2019t play that poorly again, can they? The Pacers can\u2019t play that good on the road, right? It feels like this series is going seven, unless either Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s or Jalen Brunson\u2019s bodies completely fail on them and their teams are forced to play without them.<\/p>\n
We missed them here. Friday evening it was mostly cloudy in our part of Indy. I walked outside several times between 10 and midnight but never had a clear view of the sky. Where the low level clouds had gaps, higher clouds were reflecting the ground light and preventing any glimpses of the colors. I saw great pictures that people got not too far from our home, so had I hopped in the car and driven even 20 minutes I could have seen the spectacular views on my own.<\/p>\n
But it was late, I was fired up after the Pacers game, and had drank a beer. Bad combos for an old man. Probably best to stay at home.<\/p>\n
Saturday our skies were crystal clear but the lights weren\u2019t as intense in our part of the state. Again, I could have taken a drive but M and one of her friends tried that without success so I stayed home.<\/p>\n
Bummer. I\u2019ve never seen the Northern Lights in person and this weekend\u2019s show seems like it was one of the best in memory. Seeing them would have been a nice companion to watching the eclipse last month.<\/p>\n
For some reason I got out of my routine of reading through my posts from 20 years ago in February. This weekend I caught up on three months of blogging from 2004. It was fun to read through a lot of pregnancy posts. I was surprised how much I wrote about American Idol<\/em> and The Bachelor<\/em>. That was the one spring I watched both of those shows.<\/p>\n Anyway, if you\u2019re ever really bored, a reminder that I have nearly 21 years of archives you can read through. Could be good for nights you can\u2019t sleep. Probably better than white noise for easing you into a slumber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A nice weekend here in Indy. I know eventually it will come back to bite us in the ass, but this is like the fifth or sixth straight season here that has been terrific. It got warm early but didn\u2019t turn into summer in April. We\u2019ve had a few cooldowns but none of those surprise weeks when you go from shorts and tees to coats and hats again. All that after a mild winter, a normal fall, a terrific summer, another nice spring, and I believe a relatively warm winter a year ago. Mother Nature is loading up for something big. The pool has been open since Monday and by Friday the water was both warm and filtered enough to get in. L had friends over Friday night, and after spending the night they hung around to swim Saturday. We hosted S\u2019s dad and stepmom for dinner Saturday night. Sunday we hung out around the pool, with two of the local nephews coming over to get their first swims of the year in. Kid Props I mentioned Friday that I had to attend a function Friday morning. I went into school early with L to attend the Blessed Basil Moreau awards ceremony. We knew she would receive an award. We were not told what it was for or who had nominated her when we got the invitation. When we arrived her religion teacher, Mrs. K, strolled over and sat with us. She had both M and C in her classes, so we chatted a bit about them. The ceremony began and Mrs. K went to the podium and asked L to join her. She said a series of nice things about L\u2019s attitude, leadership, and dedication. She said L was the kind of kid you wished you had 24 more of in class. She then shared a specific example of L\u2019s behavior. One day L saw one of her friends getting picked on in class. L didn\u2019t think that was right, so she went and sat with her friend, calmed her down, got her back on track, and after class let Mrs. K know about the situation. That all sounded pretty good. After the ceremony I asked for the whole story. \u201cIt was T,\u201d she said, referring to a basketball teammate who is autistic and has been targeted by a few mean girls this year. \u201cThis little bitch was picking on her because she knows T won\u2019t say anything back to her. So I went over and shut that shit down.\u201d Even prouder, especially for how she related what happened! Of course, if Mrs. K had heard that version she might not have nominated L for the award! Now L is a part of the Holy Cross council at CHS. Not sure exactly what that entails but she acted mock put out about it. \u201cMore meetings,\u201d she sighed. As a parent you hope that your kids have a strong set of core values and that they will speak up when those values are violated. One of the things I am most proud of is that our girls do exactly that. When they see friends in need, they help them. They all, to a certain extent, are wiling to confront people who they think are being assholes. It\u2019s one thing to convey these lessons to your kids. It\u2019s another for them to have the strength to stand up for their values when presented with an opportunity. Our girls aren\u2019t perfect, but it gives me immense satisfaction that my primary job for the last 20 years has not been in vain. Pacers I was pretty pissed after the first two games of the Pacers-Knicks series. Yes, there were a lot of bad calls, most of which seemed to go against the Pacers. I mean, how do referees get kicked ball calls wrong against the same team, in clutch moments, in two straight games? And how do they claim they can\u2019t correct an incorrect call one night, when it goes against the Pacers, then stop the game to huddle up and correct an incorrect call two nights later when it allows the Knicks to keep the ball in the final two minutes of a close game? But, let\u2019s be honest: bad calls or not, the Pacers lost the first two games because they couldn\u2019t block out on the boards or stay in front of anyone on defense. They reverted to December Pacers ball, thinking they could just score 150 and win by two. That shit doesn\u2019t work in the playoffs. At least not usually. After two games in Indy, though? WHOOOOO DOCTOR, WE\u2019VE GOT A SERIES!!!! An incredibly frustrating and tense game Friday, with the Pacers jumping out early, giving the lead up, getting another cushion just after halftime, then not only blowing that but finding themselves down nine points with nine minutes to play. Were they going to get swept? They righted the ship, made some big plays, and Andrew Nembhard threw in a prayer of a 3 with 17 seconds left to break the final tie. The Knicks are about as banged up as you can be so there was no reason for this game to be close. Yet the Pacers\u2019 refusal to even pretend to play defense killed them. Sunday all that switched. The Knicks looked injured, tired, and short-handed. The Pacers defense was nearly as good as their offense. The lead was 20 points in the first quarter. It was around 40 points much of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was one of the most bizarre things I\u2019ve seen in the NBA: both teams cleared their benches early and just let those cats roll for 12 minutes. It was not scintillating basketball. Pacers fans didn\u2019t care. Two-two, going back to New York. You figure there\u2019s going to be a huge swing after game four. The Knicks can\u2019t play that poorly again, can they? The Pacers can\u2019t play that good on the road, right? It feels like this series is going seven, unless either Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s or Jalen Brunson\u2019s bodies completely fail on them and their teams are forced to play without them. Northern Lights We missed them here. Friday evening it was mostly cloudy in our part of Indy. I walked outside several times between 10 and midnight but never had a clear view of the sky. Where the low level clouds had gaps, higher clouds were reflecting the ground light and preventing any glimpses of the colors. I saw great pictures that people got not too far from our home, so had I hopped in the car and driven even 20 minutes I could have seen the spectacular views on my own. But it was late, I was fired up after the Pacers game, and had drank a beer. Bad combos for an old man. Probably best to stay at home. Saturday our skies were crystal clear but the lights weren\u2019t as intense in our part of the state. Again, I could have taken a drive but M and one of her friends tried that without success so I stayed home. Bummer. I\u2019ve never seen the Northern Lights in person and this weekend\u2019s show seems like it was one of the best in memory. Seeing them would have been a nice companion to watching the eclipse last month. Blog Archives For some reason I got out of my routine of reading through my posts from 20 years ago in February. This weekend I caught up on three months of blogging from 2004. It was fun to read through a lot of pregnancy posts. I was surprised how much I wrote about American Idol and The Bachelor. That was the one spring I watched both of those shows. Anyway, if you\u2019re ever really bored, a reminder that I have nearly 21 years of archives you can read through. Could be good for nights you can\u2019t sleep. Probably better than white noise for easing you into a slumber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[31,48,26,41,36,14,15],"class_list":["post-12735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-basketball","tag-blogging","tag-family","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-nba","tag-parenting","tag-weather"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12735"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12737,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735\/revisions\/12737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}