The Weekend

On Friday night, Jack had a couple of friends over to hang out in the afternoon. They drank Gatorade and played video games.

When they'd been picked up, I made us a fire. Emily got home, and we ordered pizza and watched a couple hours of the Goldbergs and laughed.

Saturday, Jack had a basketball game. We got back from that, and then piled in the car together to go to Kate's gymnastics meet. One of her best friends on the team's older brother is probably Jack's best friend. Emily and I watched the meet with the other parents, while Jack and Nic hung out, shot video, and cheered the girls on. Kate did great; better than her first one. After one routine, for which she got her highest score, a 9.0, I saw her running off the mat and looking up at us with a big smile holding nine fingers up.

Afterward, at the award ceremony, she got medals for 4th and 6th places for a couple of different events. She stood on the podium, accepted her medal, and then when all the girls were given a chance to salute with their arms high in the air, she threw her hands up high. Big smile. She clapped and smiled for her teammates when they got their awards, too.

We all went out for dinner afterward, a nice Asian stirfry where the girls chattered away happily while their medals clanked together and the boys joked and grinned about whatever 13-year-old boys joke and grin about. The adults sat and chatted and felt proud.

Sunday, Jack had another basketball game. He and the team played well -- at times he has more defensive intensity than others, and this was one of those times -- and early on he hit a jump shot, which doesn't always happen. Team didn't win (it seldom does, we're not big, or strong, or particularly basketball oriented), but played well and there were smiles afterward.

Jack and one of his basketball teammates had a baseball practice a couple hours after the basketball game ended. I took the two of them to Taco Bell. During the 40-minute drive from the game, they took turns rapping, nonsense lyrics about tacos and football and whatever came to mind.

We showed up to baseball practice a little early, held in the basketball gyms at SUNY Purchase. A couple of huge guys were there playing basketball, presumably college students. So naturally Jack and his friend decided to challenge them to a game of 2 on 2. Wasn't exactly a fair fight but the other guys took it easy on them and both had some nice driving layups against bigger opponents. Who ran easy alley-oops on their plays and dunked for baskets. But they did that for 10-15 minutes before baseball practice, grinning throughout. When it ended because it was time for baseball, I saw Jack jog off the court with a huge smile.

Sunday night, I put Kate to bed. She showed me how she had made little labels for the back of her medals, what places she finished in and what events they were for. Really cool. Then we read a chapter of Harry Potter together.

All weekend, we saw kid smiles from doing things because they were fun. Maybe there are more important things going on. But for a couple of days, it was nice to just see them happy, and proud, and being kids, playing with their friends.