Day: April 4, 2024

In this house the talk is all basketball–most of it negative of course, because this is the house of trash talk (and I know more than these players about the situation they are in and what they should have done in the moment). It is typical of the age and the generation, but this is not about why they are the way they are. This is about the crazy that happened earlier in the day. Stefon Diggs is going to Houston… for a 2nd rounder. I have no idea how this came to be fact, but unless the Bills know he’s washed, they just added a crazy weapon to the Houston Arsenal and that team is going to be wild.

One stat that told the tale was the incredibly high percentage of catches that Diggs is able to bring down vs. zone coverage. Pair that with Stroud’s league best success rate vs. zone and you have a Madden-esque cheat code in play. It changes the dynamic in that division–especially when you add in Joe Mixon who is not washed. I’m really excited to see the Texans operate this season. I don’t necessarily see myself as a fan, but man they will be a joy in motion.

Some Thoughts:

1. Had a moment to reframe my thinking about sports watching. I love watching certain players play basketball. I don’t like the teams persay. but I love the player. I say this now because I will be watching the Eagles play this season. I am NOT a fan of the franchise. I actively dislike that organization. However, they got Saqoun, so imma route for my guy and watch him work.
2. Giants? Nah they trash. Still watching as a fan, but they are really testing my limits of likability. I disagree with the concept of loyalty, because liking a team is a choice and occasionally a geographical burden. I don’t even live in the city anymore and besides, I can be a Jet fan vocally again so…

I’m taking us back to the summer of 2015. The post was 1876. The title, “Tipped too far and back again”. I was talking about relationship balance–something I have struggled with my entire life. In this instance I was discussing the balance of the relationship between myself and my boys. It is funny to look back on ’15 when I was deep into the coaching and turning them in to everything I wanted them to be only to see them become some version of that combined with who they want to be.

So what then is the necessary balance? I think in all relationships there has to be a basic understanding of needs of and from all parties concerned. For me there is an inherent need to please, so a lot of this stuff I do can be self-gratifying. On the other hand I need to feel like the things I do for people are appreciated in a way that I recognize as appreciation. This is made difficult in a parental relationship (though perhaps no harder than in a marital one) because the kids don’t fully understand my expectations of appreciation unless I explain it to them.

This was, as I put it, the rub and crux of the blog. I was troubled by my boys not knowing how to act, but I didn’t look at myself and how I acted and occasionally continue to act. Children are sponges. Partners are mirrors. You give yourself to your kids and that shapes them. You see your wants and needs in your partner and that shapes how you behave. I hold these truths to be self-evident if you are willing to look at yourself and your actions.

Some Thoughts:

1. My wifi is a lot slower than it should be given how much we pay per month. Unacceptable.