Lying to Your Kids

I got caught in bold faced lie...by my three year old.

You know you try to do the right thing, read to your kids every night before they go to bed, say a prayer, and then think of an excuse to get the hell out of their room. They just want you to lay by them because it makes them feel safe and happy. Somewhere deep in your mind you remember how comforting it was to have mom or dad lay down for a few minutes and help you go to sleep.

For the past year after finishing reading with Alice I would say,  "I'm going to take a shower okay, time to got to sleep."

She would respond, "okay Daddy come in here after."

I dropped this little white lie because I knew that if I told her that, she would fall asleep when I was in the shower so I wouldn't be coming back to her room. Innocent ruse I would play on her because I shower at work after I get done working out, so I don't typically shower at night before bed. Most of the time I would just tell her I'm taking a shower and go watch the news or some sports.

Last night my bluff was called. "I'm going to take a shower, time to go to sleep Alice."

"Daddy?"

"What's up kido?"

"How come sometimes when you say you are going to take a shower I never hear the water come on?"

Damn, damn, damn. How do I squirm out of that one? I decided to come clean and explain that it's time for her to be a big girl and go to bed after we get done reading and praying. I apologized for not telling her the truth and was truly humbled by a three year old.

We want our kids to be happy and strong and in our want for them we end up protecting them from stuff that makes them happy and strong. Having her grow up and realize that someone isn't always going to be next to her making everything alright is just part of growing up...for both of us.

beingbenkeefe: Taking a Beating Like a Man

beingbenkeefe: Taking a Beating Like a Man: "I heard the game was a bit lopsided?" says Mrs. G. "Lopsided? Thanks for being kind." I replied. This was the email conversation I had...

Taking a Beating Like a Man

"I heard the game was a bit lopsided?" says Mrs. G.

"Lopsided? Thanks for being kind." I replied.

This was the email conversation I had with one of the kid's parents on my soccer team following our 15-1 beat down at the hands of Legacy Lady Fireballs. Legacy Lady Fireballs, the name alone should give you some expectation of what we will be facing in our first year of indoor club team soccer. After just typing that sentence I am beginning to understand the astonishment of my wife when I told her that Ruby's team would be playing U7 (that's seven and under - big difference than under seven) indoor soccer this Winter.

Pink Elephants, Yellow Bugs, White Lightning, and now the KC Kicks. In the two years we have been together we have gone from seven girls to nine and only losing one of the original seven along the way while gaining three more. So the Kicks are growing, becoming friends, and having fun. In an effort to increase our fun I signed up our team for the Winter session at the Tiffany Athletic Zone a brand spanking new facility in Northwest Kansas City. Originally, I signed up the team for U6 but the Director of TAZ asked me if we would be interested in playing U7. This is where communication between me (the coach) and the facilities director could have been much better. I was under the impression that she asked us to move up to U7 because they were short on teams in Girls U7 and they didn't have many Girls U6. Both are true but I construed them in such a way I thought it was in everyone's best interest if we moved up. Ultimately I think it will pay off but first we are going to learn to take a beating like a man.

Saturday was that beating. I swear it looked like the other team were pros. At least a head taller, built like tiny Hercules, fast as cheetahs, and with moves like Jagger they overwhelmed us. Remember, most of these girls we will be playing are seven years old, are all on club teams, practice three times a week, and play all year long. Next summer will mark the first full year of our team playing almost all year long with practices once a week. Thankfully, the Lady Legacy Fireballs are coached by an acquaintance of mine and he is using games against us like a competitive practice. The league is pretty inexpensive so it's worth it. They passed it around, back to their goalie, off the wall and nearly half volleyed one into the goal, it was breathtakingly good soccer.

Part way through the second half the assistant director came over and told the referee to stop  changing the score. It was 11-1 at the time. Nonsense, we kept score ourselves and I told the girls at the end of the game what it actually was and I told them to be proud of the game they played. We had a few firsts here that should be mentioned.


1. Our first game with a goalie (mind blowing to most of them)
2. Our first game indoors ever.
3. Our first 6v6 game.
4. Three new players on the team
5. Our first time playing a club team
6. We took our first penalty kick
7. We scored our first indoor goal ever

I love these kids, they never once put their heads down, cried, or got gave up. They may have been defeated on the score board but we won a victory in our hearts and minds. We are going to take some more of these defeats and as long as the parents can have the same intestinal fortitude as these little girls we will be just fine. We can play with anybody.

Merry Christmas From the Kids

Alternate Chili Run Race Recap

Factor out kids, wife, family, and friends and there is nothing I enjoy more than running in the woods with my dog. Saturday morning at Wyandotte County Park in Kansas City, Kansas was nearly the perfect morning for me. All that was missing for me was the dog aspect of this equation but that is not because I lack for the dog. Charlotte is going to be a formidable trail companion but due to her age and occasional lack of well developed coordination I left her home this time.

The aptly named, "Alternate Chili Run" takes place once a year on the same day as the "Chili Run". MARA (Mid-America Running Association) is the organization that puts on the Chili Run to raise money, take running shoe donations, and further the growth of running and healthy lifestyles in the Midwest, a laudable goal to say the least. The Trail Nerds, a local group of avid trail runners and maintainers hosts a cornucopia of races each year. I try my hand at the 50K's with numerous DNF's from these as badges of honor. I have three DNF's in my racing career all at the hands of Bad Ben and his wicked trail runs. I love it. Here is a snipet from the website with FAQ's about this "run".

How much is the run?
$5, which the Trail Nerds will donate to ERTA, a trail-building organization.
Why aren't there bib numbers?
Because it's a fun run not a race.
Where does this start?In parking lot.
Is it timed?No
How will I know where I'm going?
You won't so you better follow someone who does.  

The last line is the best but so true. Finally, the last words of wisdom Bad Ben hands out before the run starts deals with pacing. He asks how many people haven't ran out here before. Numerous hands go up. He then proceeds to tell them that if they run a seven minute mile for a half marathon be prepared to run a nine minute mile and if they can pull that off, that's really good. You can hear the trail virgins exchanging remarks like this.

"Nine minute mile is good? No way man I can smoke that."

"Add two minutes to my pace and that is good, man we will be going slow."

Oh wait and see, just wait and see.

As we all started out on a picturesque morning, twenty degrees, clear blue sky, slight breeze, perfect running weather two gentlemen were out in front of me. I was amazed that I was so close to the front. While this is just a "run" it is hard for anyone to not "race" just a little. After about two minutes one guy had already fallen back so it was just one in front. One minute later after rounding a sharp downhill turn he asked me if I have ran out here before. This is like my home when it comes to running so I said yep and he asked me to lead. Three minutes in and I'm out in front. This is a mixed blessing, my intention was to run hard but not all out. Now I found myself pacing a newcomer to this trail and didn't want to let him down. We screamed around that ten mile loop. I blasted down the hills and tried to use that momentum to get up the other side. This is partially impossible due to the aggressive nature of the downhill and the wicked slope of the uphill.

The most enjoyable part of the whole run was the fact that if this guy would have been by himself he would have been lost. It's nice to be counted on and this trail and it's light marking make it nearly unfollowable if it's your first time. There is one section called Fester's Wanderer (it was created by a dog, I'm serious) that you can literally get lost ten yards in; it's fantastic. We whipped around that section and managed to come out blazing. At last we made it to the final three hill section that just flat out kicks your ass and I had to walk about 20 yards at the top, the guy behind me says to me, "thank God this is killing me."

The whole time I was afraid I would let him down by not going fast enough and he was secretly wishing I would slow up. Sometimes a simple, "how are you feeling" would do wonders. As we rounded the top of the final hill you could see the rows of cars parked at our start shelter.

"That's a welcome sight," says the young man behind me.

"Indeed."

I managed a 1:28:01 for a ten mile loop which is my fastest loop ever. I hopped in my car, rode home, and had a fantastic rest of my day. The rewards of hard work for me are as simple as sitting on my couch and playing with the kids. Relaxing feels so much better after a hard race, excuse me, hard run.

Roller Skating: Feels Like 1986

Kansas City is like a giant amoeba spread out over a vast distance spilling it's shape in every direction. In those interesting shapes lay interesting cities. One of those cities has an amazing new slogan, "wake up on the right side...Riverside." When I first saw the billboard plastered in front of the Broadway Bridge headed to the Northland in Kansas City I laughed out loud.

You see Riverside as a bit of a reputation as a dichotomy in and of itself. You have a tremendous tax base consisting mainly of the Argosy Casino which allows for no property tax, fantastic public works, and a sliver of high income homes and businesses. On the other hand you have tremendous poverty, a higher crime rate than the surrounding area, the firework stand epicenter of Kansas City, and Red X.  For more on the fireworks see my previous post Fireworks, Riverside, and Second Degree Burns

What Riverside also has is the River City Roll Skate Center a roller staking rink that is stuck in 1986 but making great memories in 2011. For the past four months my oldest daughter has been guilting me regularly to let you go the PTA skate party they host once a month. She has been unable to go because she has soccer practice on Wednesday nights and when you make a commitment you stick to it (thanks Pujols). Last night was the first time that she was able to go this year and we had a blast. Come to find out my youngest thinks skating is pretty badass too. She killed it in her Fisher Price skates and only came to say hello when she wanted something to drink. The fiercely independent nature of my kids always astounds me when they try something new and don't want any help.

From the carpet, to the arcade games, to the snack bar, skate rental, black lights, backward skate, limbo, dice game, and the dirty derby roller team smoking outside waiting for the kids to leave, it was like I was right back home. The only difference is the music which is pop hits from today. For nine bucks both girls were able to skate for two hours and get exhausted. I would certainly recommend the local rink for a good time.

Monkey Bars

Here is Alice's first attempt at the monkey bars all by herself. Not to shabby for a three year old.

Here is a great song by Jurassic 5 called Monkey Bars as well: http://www.last.fm/music/Jurassic+5/_/Monkey+Bars