Monday’s Pen to Paper: Spring has Sprung
The cherry trees are in bloom and I’m sneezing from time to time and every once in a blue moon we have some sunlight, so I’m calling it spring. And my daughter informed me that it was officially spring yesterday, so there you have it, it may not feel like it at times, but it’s official. Spring has sprung!
WRITING PROMPT #1: What does spring mean to you?
WRITING PROMPT #2: Selma couldn’t stop sneezing, she…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Enjoy The Madness
It’s that time of the year again when everyone works from home so they can sit with their computers in their laps and their eyes on the TV watching college tournament games. And though watching the games is plenty of fun, every year my husband and I ramp up the intensity with a bet. The bracket winner gets an hour massage and more important, bragging rights. (I’m looking forward to ANOTHER massage).
My husband and I are also in a bracket where losers owe winners a drink. My friend and her family fill out their brackets and the winner gets their request granted from the rest of the family. Maybe sister has to play games all day with winning brother, mom cooks favorite dinner and dessert for winning daughter, this fun competition gives another good reason to gather as a family and have fun.
I’m not good about keep up with the college teams during the season. (In the past I was always busy coaching, and this year I was watching the team that I used to coach, my son’s high school team and my daughter’s college team, so I didn’t have a lot of extra watching time.) So, I have to admit my picks are pretty arbitrary. I often choose my teams by names of colleges that are more familiar, teams that I remember watching in the past. Sometimes it’s by their mascot. Sometimes I’ve seen a team play once and liked either the coach or the way they played defense. And sometimes I choose an underdog, just because.
With high school, and most college, seasons over, it’s time to dive in and enjoy a little March Madness! And even though it’s Friday today, it’s not too late to grab a friend, design your […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Mother’s Love
I’d like to share an excerpt from my memoir, Back on the Court. In this piece, I am 25 years old and have recently been released from the hospital after being in a tragic accident where my fiancé was killed and I was critically injured. I am being moved into my parent’s house just days before I was supposed to be getting married…
A Mother’s Love
One more sip of water and I swear I’ll puke. I’m about to burst and I’m buzzing on a Percocet high that keeps me floating in this unwanted nightmare. More water means another trip to the bathroom, which means another transfer and more pain.
Slumping forward in my wheelchair, I drop my head and close my eyes. My water glass sits untouched. The air behind me thickens, and then dissipates slowly as mom lets out a muffled sigh and walks heavy footed down the hall to the bathroom. She’s unnerved, but I’ve had four large glasses already today, this one can wait.
I’ve been eating, sleeping, and sitting in this house for 13 days now and I want out. I’m with people I love, but I don’t care. I hate my mom for taking a leave of absence from work and being with me all day, for trying to help me get better.
I hate the way the gold wire rims of her glasses accent her caring eyes.
I hate the way she cooks my favorite foods and tries to mask her disappointment when I don’t show any enthusiasm.
I hate the way she manages to think of my every need before I do, as a good mother should. And she is a good mother, a great mother, and right now I hate her for that.
Mom walks back into the kitchen […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: AAU, Summer Camp or Sun Bath? What To Do This Summer?
Are you (or one of your kids) a high school basketball player or athlete? Then what you choose to do over the summer is a valid question and the answer is not always a simple one. The answer comes from a more important question, what do you want? Do you want to work on your game and become a better basketball player? Then you have some options. First, attending a few individual camps is a good way to get some specific work done. You get college level coaches and players working with you to become better, and nothing is more powerful. I had a blast when I went away to camp when I was young. We played a few games of course, but I got a lot of skill work in and I improved a ton. The drills helped my game and I had fun living away from home for a week, meeting other players and working with new coaches. I loved it.
Team camps are a little different, they are good team building but not as good for work on the fundamentals of the game, which is a big change since I was young. When I went to a team camp, we did skill work all day and a few games with our teammates at night. Now Team camps are mostly games, games and more games. Good yes, but practicing is how you become a better player, so it was a little disappointing when I took one of my teams a few years ago and there was no individual work. Still the girls got to know one another better on the court and had fun, so it was worth it.
Playing AAU gives you a ton of game time but is often more […]
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
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Taming the Beast
I miss paper!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving trees. But I miss my printed documents and card stock. My paperback novels. My non-fiction books and lifestyle magazines. And of course my newspaper and the feel of its pages between my fingers when I read my daily dose, not to mention the quanitative measure of it.
When I have the sports section in hand, I have a finite amount to read. I can sit down at my kitchen table, drink my coffee and know that in half an hour (give or take a few minutes) I will get basic local, regional and worldwide sports news. When on to the next section I know I will learn what’s happening in my community, then another section and I travel around the world. All over a nice hot drink, emphasis on hot.
News in the digital era […]
PLB Friday: The Fun/Work-Work/Fun Factor
One thing I say to my kids when they are headed out the door to a game is, “play hard and have fun!” It probably falls on numb ears after so many years of hearing it, but I mean it. I have no great coaching advice at that last-minute that will make a huge difference (they should have been paying attention and working hard in practice) and I’m not going to go ad nauseam about what they should do because that too will bore them and be lost to them, but what I can do is reach out and suggest they do two things that can make a difference in their performance. Make their best effort and find joy in the game.
What could be better for them (and their team)?
But this is not an easy task. Working hard in itself is not super […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Finding Fuel
What fuels you to write? For me it’s open space, quiet and stillness.
Unfortunately, that is not the life I live so it is a constant challenge to keep up with my writing so I go in search of other ways to stay on task, such as meeting my friend, and writing partner, Jenny once a week, another is making dates with myself, writing them down on paper and sticking to them, another is taking long drives. Every time I go for a long drive, I spend some time with the radio off and this is when my mind goes to work, and fires up about thoughts and ideas and writing projects that sometimes loose momentum in my busy life.
I can find inspiration with a good hike or walk. Recently, I started working toward a new way to clear my mind, one that I […]
Follow Sonya