A Day with Liam - Slice of Life 3/12/17

Liam is our youngest. Sometime I feel he gets the short end of the stick - never being an only child with his parents undivided attention, always being dragged from one event to another for his older brother, being constantly compared to Luke at the same age in anything he does. So Saturday, I happily realized, was going to be a day about him.

We began bright and early - just seven and a half hours after returning home from the basketball game we headed to our middle school for a solo & ensemble contest. Liam had two performances - one with the sixth grade percussion, one with a percussion trio. He rocked.

From there he changed in the school bathroom to his basketball uniform and we drove to Champaign for his last game with the Park District league. His team had their best game to date and he shocked me with how much he has grown. 

We had some time to kill, so Starbucks it was. A midday snack, talk about the game, and some time to relax.

Then we headed back across Champaign to the Y for his other league. They dominated this game and won easily. Watching my shy kid play with a team he's just getting to know makes my heart sing.

After a brief rest at home, we headed to Peoria to watch the high school boys play for 3rd or 4th in the state. We lost, but the pride we all felt for that team enveloped the arena.

Photo from SagesBasketball on Twitter

Then Liam requested wings for dinner, so we headed over to a restaurant to grab a bite before heading home. There we watched the final game in the tournament. Chicago Orr, who we lost to yesterday and who were written about so poignantly in the article I shared Friday, ending up easily winning the game.

What a day! I'm glad Chris and I got to have some one on one time with our youngest. It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

Slice of Life is a challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers.