Football Era

This kid. He's dreamed of tackle football from his earliest days. At the ripe age of 2 he ran around our backyard, shoulders hiked up to his ears as his shoulder pads, insisting we sing the Notre Dame fight song while he pretended to be Rudy. And here we are - twice a week practices, Sunday games and daily bruise counts. He's euphoric. I, however, am working on feigning cool when my baby hits the ground and is slow to get up. Suffice it to say, our son plays hard. His coach loves him for it and we're proud that he personifies giving your team 100%. We've had fun watching him be a leader and pump up his teammates. We've blown through stain remover, learned the need of a post-practice snack (that often looks like a small meal) and gotten accustomed to helmet and shoulder pads in the living room. It's hard to believe that we're at this stage and it's wonderful to see him so excited. Today, it seems only fitting to celebrate this new era in our family - as our former little Rudy has grown into a Lion and was dubbed the MVP of his game this past rainy Sunday. Toddler and preteen have collided with the Clemson defeat of Notre Dame a couple of weeks ago, and even in Canada we get to sport Clemson orange - tho we cheer for a different big cat, the Lion. I see these photos and wonder how on earth we got to this place in our family's story so quickly. And I'm deeply, deeply grateful for the opportunity to see our firstborn live into one of his lifelong dreams.

The "Rudy" years - Lydia was on her way and this little guy and I were cheering on the Tigers in Clemson. This was a baseball game, but was the closest I could find to the Rudy era - on the hunt for his 'shoulder pads' shot...methinks it's in storage (with half of our life ^>^) LOOK AT THAT FACE!

Grade 1 - when he was Walter Payton on Famous American Day

My favorite #54! Plays offense and defense and his coach says he's always 'full throttle'

Two peas in a pod

Lydia helping mark yardage with her daddy

 Henry, today I celebrate you and hope that I don't embarrass you when I check on you during your games. Love you, buddy!

At the BC Lions Game on Saturday - incidentally, they were playing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and former Clemson Tiger, Tajh Boyd, just signed on with the - how cool is that? Small world, indeed.

Meeting two of the BC Lions players last week

Outside BC Place on Terry Fox Plaza before the game...