Finals Weekend

Why is it that whenever I try to spend a weekend studying, something screws it up?

You may doubt me, but I would have spent the whole weekend in front of books if it had not been for other commitments. Why are there sports events on finals weekend anyway? I'm surprised that BK allows that sort of thing; they seem to value grades alot more than athleticism. Of course I could be wrong. But Saturday was not a good day to study for me.

I was able to finish some of my homework Saturday, but only a fraction of my ridiculously large 50-page Spanish worksheet. I would have finished more, but it's amazing how many distractions you can find in your room when there's work to be done. About quarter til 3, I put my gear in the back of the car and headed out to hockey.

We were playing the Canyon County Coyotes. Most of them were eighth graders and girls, but they didn't play half bad. Unsurprisingly, the refs sucked and the other team was hooking and roughing without penalization. They actually turned out to be really aggressive, and at one point in the game, they half knocked one of our players down in front of their net, one of those classic brawls in the crease. At any rate, we tied them, 2-2, and I got a good assist (he really deflected it more than anything else). The team's improving a lot though, and we're probably one of the strongest teams in the league by now.

After that I had to hurry to a Varsity basketball game because I'm in the pep band and I had to play. On my way over I noticed that there was a room filled with food and marshmallow shooters. And understand me, I had had no dinner and I just got back from the hockey game. So what do I do? I casually walk in and try to blend as much as possible while taking a piece of delicious brownie. After eating a few snacks I grabbed another brownie and left. My friend Cameron saw me and laughed. "Look at him! He just jacks food and leaves!" Well he's pretty much right.

At any rate I soon found myself playing keyboard with the band. And I got to say, the cheerleaders get a lot more credit than the pep band does, and that seems unfair when it the band takes more effort. I have to get up an hour earlier for band practice every morning, almost without exception. Can they say the same? We played at breaks and timeouts throughout the game and then moved all our stuff back to the music room. My folks picked me up and I was looking forward to sleeping in.

But that didn't happen.

Instead I did what most catholic boys and teenagers fear: get up early for mass. An 8:00 AM mass. School starts at that time for the love of God! Oh well, it was a good mass. I really enjoy the Homilies the most in a mass, probably because it's the most original part of the mass. This one was a good one, and it was shortly followed up by an Anointing of the Sick. When the priest called for those who wanted the sacrament to stand up, Gary stood up. As he walked up, I looked at Mom to see that there was a tear rolling down her cheek. He sat back down and we all held each other as a family, suspended in that one golden, peaceful moment.

I hardly studied at all this weekend, but I spent some good time with my family. I'm content.


"Love...is the strangest thing..." - James and the Giant Peach