Early Sports Specialization: Safe, Sorry or Simply Unable to Say No?
“At what age should they specialize?” Shelby asked me at the book signing. She had her two boys in tow. Her daughter was away on a weekend retreat, so she found herself with a freer schedule than usual. The son in question was a second grader who had been offered a spot on the travel soccer team, but […]
How Could Someone DO Something Like That?
How could someone DO something like that? This is what we ask ourselves when events like the recent crash of the German passenger plane happen. Or bombings at a marathon finish line. Or shootings at numerous schools. Or museums. Or places of worship. We are faulty, we humans. But are we at fault? Can we […]
Why Do a Book Signing?
Riddle me this. Why is a book signed by the author worth more than the book, unsigned? It isn’t, to you, but it is to them. You know that your signature isn’t worth any more than the ink you use to sign it. But, your message and your signature designate this book as meant especially […]
Physical Literacy, the Long Term Investment We Make in Our Kids
Kids are expensive these days, aren’t they? Toys, games, school supplies, activities, classes, technology and fashion. We want to give our children the best of things, but replacing the $100 graphing calculator three times because they can’t find the last one or buying them 3 pairs of Uggs so they’ll have colors for each outfit […]
Looking down
I’m jogging around a small, oval 3-lane track at the gym, so slowly, well, okay walking, in the inside lane — the one nearest the railing where you can look down on three floors of people beating themselves up to try to stave off age, time, years of inattention and just plain sluggishness — and […]
Just Practice, You’ll Get it
Just practice. You’ll get it. Some of the most powerful words ever spoken to me. But I’m an adder. I add, “if you practice, you’ll get it right.” When I don’t, I get discouraged. Because I can’t get it right. If I did, I could stop practicing, but that is not the way. So I […]
Does Everything Really Happen for a Reason?
“Everything happens for a reason.” I hear that a lot these days, usually after someone hasn’t done enough to prevent or keep something from happening. It helps us feel better about ourselves and more confident in the “forces of the universe” to think that somehow, they have got this. They ordained this. Nothing I could […]
The Potholes of Life
Oh, how I love seeing black pavement. The snow banks and drifts have given way to asphalt and sand. My tires have traction and there is actually room for two cars and pedestrian plus dog to pass each other safely along the way. I admit, it makes me a bit giddy to step on the […]
Playing Up: Is it Safe? Is it Wise? Is it Best?
Cat was her name; she was the ringer on my daughter’s U9 travel team. It was the spring season and they had been a miserable failure (in soccer terms) in the fall. When Cat joined the team mid-year, things had started looking up. This girl was small but fast. And was she ever good. She […]
The Power of a Life Well-Lived
In honor and remembrance of John F Rilling, my dad, who would have celebrated his 80th birthday today. Psalm 37:1-6 Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you […]