one day vacation

Driving to South Padre Island for lunch is not the strangest thing we've ever done. One year we went to Monument Valley just to see the sunrise. Another year it was a trip to see sunset at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Life is short and you take your cherished memories where and when you can find them.

This time of year Padre's public beach access #2 is almost deserted. Still so warm that we were sweating under our shirts but too cool for wading in the surf, as you can tell from Jim's "smile." The pic of what looks like an alien life form at the top of the page was a jelly fish drying/dying on the beach. Amazing, in colors from sky blue to sea green and turqoise in between, they were everywhere we looked. Jim was fascinated by this one in particular. The seagulls and crows were raucous, rude, and by the time we finished lunch there were so many of them it was like something out of Alfred Hitchcock. We skipped that photo op. All things considered, I loved every minute. And after 20 hours in the car, we're still speaking to each other.

Friday night lights on Thursday

By the middle of the second quarter at the game last night I was feeling real anguish for the kids on the field. And the first series of plays in the third quarter brought the score to 49 - 0, which is where it stayed, resulting in the Martin Warriors moving to the district winners circle.

Martin played hard and celebrated their win just as hard. I'm a Gramma who proudly wears red to all the games. And by the time the bands took the field to play their last half-time show of the regular season, I was in high cotton. The Warrior band saluted the graduating seniors and their parents. The Panther band saluted our Veterans, playing the musical themes for all the Services as members of the Armed Forces stood with pride in the stands. It was wonderful!!

In sports there are winners and there are losers. But the final score does not always tell the whole story. And so I want to take a minute to salute the Paschal team for their courage, their heart, their character, their true grit. Despite the pain, the Panthers continued to hit the line, and hit their spots, and they tried. Good Lord, how they tried. You know that by the beginning of the last quarter it was just almost too much to bear. But they did NOT lay down. They did NOT give up.

And so the story here is about a group of young men who, despite overwhelming odds, kept on keeping on. The final score on the board might not have been in their favor, but trust me, the Paschal players were winners last night. Every single one. And I salute them.