Power of Ten

Okay, I'll play.

Ten years ago I was a new dad, toting our little butterball around, watching Blues Clues and Sesame Street, sleeping very little, and amazed at the growth rate of the human mind.

Ten months ago it was July, sweet July. We visited Rach's brother in Chicago for a couple of days. We love to travel, which is not going to work so well with these high fuel prices.

Ten weeks ago I, too, was celebrating the end of Rach's cheering season and looking forward to the coming track season. She joined us as the second assistant track coach this year, and as far as I know, neither one of us has wanted to kill the other one yet.

Ten days ago was a Friday, May 9th. I still had a student teacher then, but it was a Free Form Friday so I was teaching. Free Form is when my students get to work on projects of their own choice--anything as long as it can be fit under the umbrella of science. Some of the most fun we have is figuring out how to make a kid's love for skateboarding into a science project. It's really pretty easy. Though having a student teacher was great, I missed teaching my kids and I was unwilling to give up my Free Form Fridays.

Ten hours ago it was 11 am and I was finishing up my lesson right before lunch. We've been discussing comets in preparation for our trip to the Challenger Learning Center coming up this Friday. It's always a great experience, with kids doing more than they thought they were capable of doing, under the watchful eye of some very dedicated and passionate educators. It's a trip we will keep making as long as the money is there, even though it is a stressful lead-up.

Ten minutes ago Jason Varitek hit an absolute bomb to right field. Approximately ten minutes ago I realized it was the sixth inning and there is still a "0" in the middle column of the Royals' box score. Dare I hope for Jon Lester?

Ten seconds ago Jon Lester struck out the last batter of the seventh inning, with still a "0" in the middle column of the Royals' box score. I love how baseball is such a superstitious sport.

Ten seconds from now the Red Sox will come to bat in the bottom of the seventh. They already lead 7-0, and I hope they don't hit too much more because it might ruin Lester's chance to add to history.

Ten minutes from now I might be on the edge of my seat, hoping for Lester to make history. He's been such a tease up until now, but he's beginning to show signs of living up to his potential.*

Ten hours from now I'll be getting up for another day of teaching, sipping my first cup of coffee (Jim's Organic French Roast bought online: $50/5 lbs. if you buy in bulk makes it the same price as Green Mountain...not cheap, but worth every penny).

Ten days from now will be the eve of the MVC track meet. Rach and I will be in charge of the team, while Donna is at the rehearsal dinner for her older son's wedding. I have no idea how our team will do, but I am pretty sure that my earlier forecasts of our boys being a top 3 team were wildly optimistic. Some of our more gifted newcomers didn't really pan out, and health issues have bitten us. Whatever happens, it will be a learning experience. I find track offers more opportunities for young athletes to find out about themselves and their capabilities than other sports.

Ten weeks from now will be July again: sweet July. The garden will be starting to provide the first zucchini, and the garlic will be harvested and drying. With luck there will be other farmers in the area willing to trade their wares for my garlic. It's fun to show up to the farmers' markets with my garlic and have other farmers salivate...it's really the only crop I've figured out how to do well.

Ten months from now, as SJ has so heartlessly reminded me, will be March again. We'll be in the throes of MEA testing, and nervously trying to figure out what will happen the next fall, when our school districts merge. I am not looking forward to this.

Ten years from now I will be fifty, and I hope I will look back on this night as the night I blogged during a night that turned out to be one of Jon Lester's career highlights.



*It is now a bit more than ten minutes later. Jon Lester completed his no-hitter, and I feel somehow like I was a part of it. Isn't that kind of pathetic?