Earlier in the week, Adam Vingan, the Predators beat writer for the Tennessean, wrote an amazing feature about Kyle Turris and his return to Ottawa this week with the Predators for a game against the Senators. Turns, acquired in a trade earlier this week, was very involved with the Capital City Condors, a hockey team for children with developmental disabilities while he played in Ottawa.
Here's a link to the piece - https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/02/07/kyle-turris-capital-city-condors-nashville-predators-ottawa-senators/1064327001/.
After reading it, I did a bit of an internet deep dive to learn more about the Condors. I watched a few videos of Kyle Turris and his wife interacting with players and their families. I was laying in bed, with tears in my eyes, as I watched these children and teenagers - profoundly disabled - play hockey and smile and laugh together seemingly oblivious to the hand of cards they had been dealt by life. I was struck dumb by their strength in the face of so much adversity. The ability of their parents, when interviewed, to be so upbeat and positive astonished me.
Watch this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es805-oP8wY
Thursday night, Jude, J.P., Joe and I went to Independence High School and watched Kaitlyn, my goddaughter and niece, play basketball on senior night. She scored eight points and led the team, quietly, by example, and confidently, as she has as the starting point guard for four years. What a treat for my family and me to get to watch her compete. Just to lay it all on the line, win or lose, and compete.
Then, this morning, before I got out of bed, I began to see tweets expressing condolences to Rob Delaney, a comedian and co-start of one of my favorite recent televisions shows, Catastrophe. His youngest child, a son who was two years old, had died of cancer a year or so after his diagnosis. Losing a child is beyond my comprehension. I don't understand how he can maintain his ability to make people laugh in the midst of what must have been a living nightmare.
This is a long way of getting to my point this morning. It's so easy, as a parent, for me to take for granted the fact that I have two healthy sons, almost 10 and 6 years of age. Every weekend, Jude and I watch them play basketball, soccer or baseball, depending on the season. During the week, we rush home from work to get them to practice. Even tonight, I'm meeting with several other dads from our sports group to begin planning for the Dodgers' and Junior Dodgers' spring baseball season. After basketball this morning, J.P. left to spend the day with Cooper, one of his closest friends and someone he never would have known had he not played baseball with him four or five years ago.
Sometimes the glass seems half full to me when I think about my mom's situation and what Alzheimer's disease has done to her and continues to do to her. I get angry about what she's missing as it relates to watching my boys play sports. Then, after a week like this, I'm reminded of how lucky I really am. My boys are healthy. My nephew and niece are healthy and bright, intelligent and achieving teenagers. Things are pretty damn good and I don't always take the time to recognize that, I know.
That's what I'm thinking about this morning. I just watched and kept the scorebook as J.P. played basketball with a team of his friends. They beat an older, 5th grad team by 20 points. J.P. scored three points, handled the ball well and played tough defense. He competed, just like Kaitlyn did Thursday night. And, this afternoon, at 5 p.m., I get to coach Joe's 5-6 year old team because my friend and head coach, Ryan, is under the weather. Joe is the youngest player on the team, but one of the most aggressive. And I get to watch him compete.
It doesn't get much better than that, does it?
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