Iron Shaprens Iron…

Okay people, I really haven’t been blogging like normal because this is the end of the Summer term, which means….FINALS.  I actually only have one legit final which is in Algebra (yuk) and my second final is a connection paper in Eng/Lit.  I have to connect a short story, poem and a play…then present it.  Not a problem.  I love PowerPoint.  Man, I had an Algebra test last week and I had the biggest brain fart ever!  Has that ever happened to you?  I KNEW the material, I had been over it, we reviewed it…and it seemed to be embedded.  I get the test and everything was like…whoosh….a big tidal wave and all that knowledge was gone.  I was so pissed.  I don’t make excuses, but it had really been a stressful week.  It was #2’s first birthday since the passing of my wife (5 months ago) and I had to explain somethings to her.  I had a paper to do and a ton of work at my job….so my brain was zapped.  My doctor told me that my brain is working on overload right now (hahaha).  Maybe it’s not funny, but sometimes I have like a million and two things going through my mind.  It was so bad that I couldn’t even remember my pin number for my ATM the other day.  It took me a day to detox I guess, before I was able to remember it.  I’m at the ATM and I tried so many combinations.  I promise it was upwards of 20 of them.  Finally, I just gave the ____ up (insert your appropriate adjective here).

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to one of my friends…actually it was Brain.  You remember Brain, from the Qwest for World Domination post.  He had an open challenge for me, Bertha  and our blogs.  I know at times it doesn’t seem like I am the most religious person, but I actually am.  I am a God fearing Christian man.  I love worship and fellowship.   I know if it wasn’t for God intervening in my life, Dew would not be here or incarceration would be probably the second flavor of choice.  I’m not about to get into a sermon, but I have dedicated Thursday’s to become Motivational Thursday’s.  If someone has an inspirational story about how God has moved in their lives…maybe you have a scripture….whatever it maybe…Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) states that….as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. 

I really hadn’t plan on blogging today.  I have a ton of work and I need to finish a paper by 6p today, but I was reading Brain’s blog this morning and I had one of those epiphany moments again.  I know Brain will forgive me (also it is a shameless plug for his blog) but I want to kind of piggyback off his his blog. 

My son is also playing football.  It is actually his first year of junior high ball.  He has been off the past two seasons because of my wife’s illness, so he has to get acclimated to everything again.  Well the first few practices he didn’t struggle, but he was just frustrated.  He has a ton of talent, he has no choice because of genetics (hahahaha just kidding), but he was just a step off.  I mean a split second off on everything.  After the first few practices I could see the frustration.  For one, the coach was playing him out of position and for two, he is just rusty.  Okay, this is where I toot my horn a bit….no I’ll get to that in a second.  #1 and I have been spending a ton time together lately.  I even had a friend tell me yesterday, that we actually need some time apart because we were arguing like brothers.  If I don’t go to class, I stay at his practice and just observe.  I’ve coached football for several years and also I was a pretty decent player myself (you hear the horn).  Anywho, at practice Tuesday I seen a few things that I thought that he could improve on.  So after practice we were talking.  I could kind of sense that he really didn’t want to talk with me.  The thing is, he really wants to make a name for himself.  He is my name sake and he loves it….EXCEPT for when we travel in the city.  Just about everywhere we go someone is telling him about his father.  They tell him stories about games I played in…they tell him how good I was….then I have players that I’ve coached that tell him that I was their best coach…dude literally rolls his eyes like he is saying, “enough already!”  I can’t blame him, because it does seem like it is actually all the time. 

I have a nephew that starts varsity for the high school where I live.  He is really a beast…when he applies himself.  One thing I like about him though…after every game or practice that I go to…he is picking my brain.  He asks me all types of questions from technique and performance to the recruiting process.  He told my son the other day that he had an advantage that probably alot of kids on his team doesn’t have.  He has a father that was extremely good and was a good coach.  He told him that, “if Unk was my dad, I would be in his ear everyday.”  Nephew actually changed his football number to my old number…made me feel good.

Alright back on track now.  I gave #1 some advice Tuesday about some of the things I felt he was doing wrong.  I was not over-bearing, we had a good talk.  Wednesday when I picked him up from practice, he didn’t even say hi, all he could say (his face was lit up), “daddy EVERYTHING you told me worked.  It was so much easier and I had so many tackles in the backfield.”  Right at that moment I was just in awe of the power of God.  He used this time for my son and I to bond.  He did it through an athletic forum.  On the way to pickup dinner….he could stop asking me questions on how to do things.  I really feel like my son think it is a good thing to be like his daddy.  He even tried to get my old number, but someone in 8th grade already had it.

God will take the most inopputune time, to help you realize what is important to you.  All that comes to mind now is a song that #2 sings all the time.  It is actually a song that her mother taught to her when she was younger…just a quick line…”God has smiled on me….He has set me free…God has smiled on me…He’s been good to me”…. man that is awesome.  Be blessed.

Love your children – Dew

Dew