September 9, 2012: "I'd like to sign you..."

Heaveno!

(Sorry for no photos... my iphoto decided to stop seeing my memory card tonight.  Think my drive is bursting at the seams!)

Well, another busy week under the belt.  Julian walks and talks and listens and continues to understand more and more each week.  It's so much fun to behold.  I just can't believe sometimes we got another chance at this.  We are so lucky, and so blessed by God to have another shot at raising a healthy baby.  He just brings us so much joy... we don't take a minute of it for granted.

Julian entertains us, but he also entertains himself!  He is a full on toddler now, walking and babbling, interacting with everything within reach, and able to play by himself for long periods of time while only asking for the occasional giggle or book to be read to him...

...actually, that's like all the time.  The kid is infatuated with books!  He's got two sounds, "buh" for books and "Bah" for balls.  He loves playing with balls and having anyone read him books.  He will bring the book to you, stuff it in your hand, and say, "Buh!"  (Right now, he is pointing the remote at the TV and pressing buttons, wondering why it isn't obeying him)

He's also interacting with Ali just wonderfully.  Two nights ago, he grabbed her brush and reached up and started brushing her hair!  Yesterday morning, when Ali and I were talking about how cute it was, she, rather matter of factly, mentioned that she was crying the day before, and he got her a tissue!  Neither mommy nor I saw this take place, but it points to the connection he is developing with Ali, which is really tender and sweet.

The reason for the post title was because this morning, I hear these words for the first time in my life.  See, as a recording artist during my 20's and early 30's, and then author in my later 30's, these were the words I wanted to hear so badly.  It would be a record label or publishing house, and it would mean that my dreams would have finally come true.  This never came to pass, and as of today, I am still an unsigned artist and author.

However, I am not an unsigned athlete!

In the sports world, players "sign with" professional teams, and professional teams "sign" players to play for their team.  Well, that's what happened this morning!

It was the humblest of scenes. It was a community soccer field in a suburban development in Orange County.  A bunch of guys over 35 still playing soccer in a league called "Coast Soccer League."  I found "The LA Strikers"  through a search of the teams on last year's schedule and contact the teams that came in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Strikers finished 2nd last year, and the manager was the nicest of the three I reached out to regarding trying out for their team this fall.  I played 2 pre-season matches with the team.  The season starts next weekend.  After the beating we gave the other team today, the manager took me aside for "the talk."

"Tim, can I talk to you a minute?"  he said.  Last time I heard a coach say that, I was 18, and the coach of the soccer team at my new college was cutting me in the following moments, and I remembered that moment instantly.  The manager looked at me very seriously and said, "We've got a good team this year, with A LOT of guys, but I'd like to sign you to our team."

You know what?  That was the coolest thing I had heard on a soccer field in a l-o-n-g time.

When I told a friend today the news, he said, "So what does that mean?"  To which I replied, " Oh, all that means is I have to pay him a bunch of money to play with team going forward.  LOL!"  It's nothing major, but it still feels good.  The team is very good, with a lot of really skilled players, but most importantly, they are just the nicest guys, on and off the pitch.  Feels good to be fit at forty and playing club level soccer.  I have a lot of confidence that my 40's are going to go well, given the sculpting and baking in the kiln of life that took place in my 30's.

There is still so much LIFE to experience!  I am so grateful for the chance to experience it.  Between my work with cancer patients and our journey with Bella, I recognize that 40 isn't a given.  Nothing is, including tomorrow.  If I've learned one thing, it's that tomorrow doesn't necessarily follow today, so don't put "it" off.  You may not get the chance to come back to "it."

What is the "it" you are no longer going to put off?

God night.