Destiny
This summer we acquired a 10-month-old puppy. Bruno joined our family after we found him on a freeway, while on vacation in Montana. I had always wanted to get a friend for our dog Sassy (an 8-year-old Boxer who was still in puppy mode), but my husband thought I was crazy.
Bruno happens to be the second boxer that I’ve found on a freeway, the first was a white Boxer, that we named Bumper because he had dodged so many cars on Highway 509, before I, nine months pregnant with my son, ran out into the 3 lane road to stop traffic. Though he got along with our dog Ramsay (also a Boxer), with a heavy heart, we found him a home and said goodbye. (after all, we were already about to add a second child to the family)
After finding Bruno, we searched veterinarians offices, put up signs, called the sheriff and the radio station, and had a pet rescue volunteer take care of him for 3 days. Of course I wanted to keep him from the moment I spotted his rail thin body loping across the freeway like a deer, from the moment I hollered at Jason to stop the car so I could walk the side of the road and coax him in, but we were on vacation, he probably had a home and we lived in the city with a small yard.
“We don’t have enough room for two big dogs,” Jason had always said.
I grew up with boxers. My parents have had twelve? Thirteen? More dogs than I can count without pulling out my childhood photo albums. I know they started with Old Prince, the dog my dad brought to the United States from Austria after marrying my […]
Mt Si: A Moving Meditation
My plan was to make a quick ascent of Mt Si, get in a good workout and enjoy the view. The perfect beginning for my birthday getaway. But as I made my way up the steep Mt. Si hillside, my mind was spinning. There was guilt for taking two days for myself and leaving my family. It was spirit week at my daughter’s school and I was missing doing her 80’s day make up, there was the fence to be fixed at the rental house, dogs to be fed, watered & walked, forms to be typed up for coaching, laundry, the list was endless. With each step, I remembered one more responsibility, one more reason I shouldn’t be there on the trail. But as I continued upward and the journey became more difficult (it’s a 4 mile hike up to a 4167 ft elevation) my mind tired of the babble in my brain and opened to the quiet rhythm. Step. Step. Breathe. Step. Step. Breathe. Step. Step. Breathe. Soon I found a calmness in my heart and in my mind.
The trail was empty and with the silence, and a still mind, came a slow release of tears. The fall season is my favorite time of the year, though now, with fall comes sorrow. It is the time of year that I lost my fiancé over 20 years ago. There is a dull ache in my gut mixed with the joy I feel when the crisp air pushes out the summer heat. On my birthday, two days earlier, I had attended the last OV invite, the memorial golf tournament that raised scholarship money in the name of my fiancé. My birthday, like the fall season, was bitter sweet, but on this day, with the […]
Letting go
Being a mom is scary. My son has wanted to play football since he was 5 years old. His dad was an all-state quarter back who went on to play in college. My son has loved playing catch since before he could walk. (almost) Football is in his blood. Protecting my son is in mine.
When he was young I laid down the law. “No contact football until Middle School.” I became a flag football coach. My son and his friends learned the fundamentals of the game without getting pummeled.
Last year my son started middle school. What? Already? Somehow he never got signed up for football. I was happy to watch him learn ultimate frisbee.
This year my son’s friend started contact football, there was no excuse, other than fear. And there are good reasons for the fear, he got a mild concussion the first day. My husband took many hard hits throughout his career and he is okay, but it is my job to protect. If my son breaks a leg, sprains a wrist, jams a finger, that’s one thing, but the head, his mind? Now that is extra precious.
My son sat out for several days and when he returned to the field I watched practice from the sideline. He smiled, moved into the huddle with focus, then on the snap, dropped back in the pocket and let the ball fly with the grace of a seasoned vet. When the ball was tossed back to him to start the next down, he pulled it down with one hand and cradled it with ease . He was at home.
If he takes another bad hit this year, my husband and I will make him sit out the season, but for now I have to let […]
Books, basketball & blessings
Books & basketball. For me there isn’t a better combination, at least I wouldn’t have thought so until I set out on a small book tour this summer. I read excerpts from my book, Back on the Court, at Washington locations from Leavenworth (A Book for All Seasons & the Library) across the state to Aunties Bookstore in Spokane where after my reading I watched a lot of basketball (It was Hoopfest weekend). I met some amazing people, including two people that helped save my life twenty years ago. Books, basketball & blessings. One definition of blessing is: the act of a person who bestows good. Because of the good of these people, and many others, I am here today and I can enjoy my books and basketball, and count my blessings.
Thank you Bruce and Jacquie.
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
Blog
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday (on Monday): Team Takes Time
I had to hold back tears at our first practice last Monday. Our team was warmed up and ready to begin at 3:00pm sharp, and then during our first water break players got a quick drink and then grabbed a ball (some even partnered up) and spread around the gym to work on shooting. It was a beautiful sight.
After 3 years, we now have a core group of girls that understand what we expect from athletes in our program. The first two years, players fought against hard work and structure. Saturday practices? Were we crazy? Boring fundamentals? That’s no fun. Defensive slides until your quads burn? Never.
We had players pouting. Players quitting. Parents complaining.
Those first years were tough. But some players soaked it in. They learned over the seasons. Grew as players and human beings. So that by last season, my third year, we were a stronger team. Our two […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Just Write
Take a moment to look at the photo and then let your pen fly…
WRITING PROMPT:
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Peace in Friendships
Tuesday I had a modeling job for Ex Officio with a woman who I had coached when I was an assistant high school basketball coach just out of college. Now we both have laugh lines and covered greys. She is 40 with 4 kids. I am 47 with 2 kids. It seems crazy that we should work together all these years later as models, not to mention, she is also a basketball coach.
Four hours on the job seemed like nothing. We chatted about the upcoming season (our teams are even in the same league and will be playing one another). As a head coach I stress about the upcoming season, so it was nice to talk to another coach.
Wednesday I met my best friend from high school. She is not an athlete, but we are on the same page with most things. She gets me. Basketball filtered in and out […]
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