Chapter 13: COACH...and don't you forget it

October 1st, an important day for many reasons.
1. Grandmere's Day
2. It marks the beginning of the Ninja Twins (our black cats Prince and Thor) month long birthday celebration
3. People can officially go to their local Pumpkin Patches (of which there are NONE in this country/region) without shame
4. Ummmmmm...Mom and I get to look at a new picture of Vivian (wearing a Jack-O-Lantern t-shirt and socks...and jeans too) for a whole month.
And that's enough reasons.
Now, on to today's interesting tidbit, which again concerns futbol/soccer.
In case anyone was wondering, Lucy and Susan did play again today. (Mom pointed out that when using the name Lucy for this specific girl, I should be referencing Lucy from Peanuts, not Lucy from the C.S. Lewis series. I heartily agree). While Lucy and Susan were ready and raring to go at recess today, I was not. I had dressed earlier this morning with care (meaning I wore a bright colored dress, some leggings, and some slide on sandals...the red ones with the shiny sparkles...and no, that does not describe most of the shoes in my closet...only 4 or 5) and no intention of stepping out onto the field of glory. But in the moment before all the kids went to recess, I was sucked in by the girls' excitement and the boys' complete lack of confidence in my ability to play without sneakers...or at least a shoe that fully attached to my foot. So there I was, sprinting after the ball and flinging my sandals into the air every time I kicked the ball. Each time my sandal flew off (for some reason it was only the right one that went off on field trips..) I would stop, put it back on, and then run after my teammates (either to assist in scoring, blocking, or just picking up the pieces that were left in the wake of the big kids...did I forget to mention I was the tallest person on my team...by over 2ft?). It is at this point that I should introduce a new character in our daily stories. In this forum, I will refer to him as Baby Bobby Knight, my reasons for this will soon become clear.
We need to go back in time, to yesterday, when I was playing with the kids and wearing sneakers (wonder of wonders). I'm usually put in goal, but yesterday, halfway through recess Baby Bobby Knight (who will, from now on, be referred to as BBK) kicked me out and sent me into the field. The rest of the game he was encouraging (I think it was encouragement, but at times it sounded suspiciously like yelling and condemnation) me and calling and pointing to the places he wanted me to be. We developed a working relationship of sorts (I should mention that I desperately love BBK, for all his shouting and tough guy act, he is a sweet, cuddly 7 year old...with a wicked sense of humor) which would serve us well in the future...like the next day. Okay, so now everyone has a picture of BBK in their minds, let's get back to today's yarn.
There I am, having to stop every minute or so to put my shoe back on and completely losing the thread of the game every time. It was too much for me and I lost it, meaning I got on a roll and when my sandal fell off a quarter of the way down the strip, I ignored it and continued to push the ball closer to the opposing goal. I was almost there and the closest I had been to scoring a goal in weeks when someone from the other team came out of nowhere (I was blinded by sweat at this point so the kid could have been right in front of me the whole time...it's freaking HOT over here) and stole the ball out from under me (again, my vision was compromised so the ball could have been halfway down the field and I wouldn't have known it). With my play over, I stopped to look for my misbegotten sandal but such a task was unnecessary for directly behind me was BBK grasping my sandal in one hand and a red pen in the other! According to Miss S (the school's and my language teacher...a totally awesome woman to be sure), who was standing in goal, BBK had picked up my sandal immediately after it had departed my foot and had spent the rest of the play chasing me down the field, trying to return it. When I saw him standing behind me, his expression was pure COACH. He offered me my shoe and said "Missy Gwynedd" in a tone that essentially said "Miss, this is ridiculous! You need to keep your shoes on! How are we to win the game if you continuing flinging about your footwear?!?!?!? And, by the way, do you know who this red pen belongs to?" (it ended up belonging to a teacher on the other team). Nothing gets by old BBK...well, nothing on his own team at least. A few more games with BBK and I should be ready for the pros.
And now it's time to said goodnight, to all my family...M-I-C...see you real soon...K-E-Y...why? because I like you!...M-O-U-S-E...(somehow I think BBK would not approve of this frivolous goodbye...however, I could be completely wrong)