How the years have flown bye! The little boy I know and love has grown up. You have matured from that competitive little guy who I watched and coached in little league soccer, basketball, and baseball into a six-foot tall, young man, who's now able to drive.
I'm proud of you, TJ.
Happy Birthday! —Dad
P.S. I hope you haven't grown up too much that you still won't join your old man at a ball game!
“Dad! Dad? Can I have some 'samanfals'?”
I learned yesterday how much Chance enjoyed partaking of the samples at Costco. Who knew? You never know what a child will find exciting or important. He spent the day before catching grasshoppers, Daddy Longlegs, and “criggeds.” Exciting…priceless.
I’ll tell you what I find important: family—two daughters that amaze me with their beauty and singing ability; a son who can hit the fairway by rimming a golf-ball off a basketball hoop into a rain gutter; and another son who just learned how to ride a bike and swim before beginning kindergarten.
This is an emotional time for me. We just returned from a trip to South Dakota, where Chance got sick four years ago. I couldn’t bear to take him with us this time. This is my birthday weekend. When you read the book you will learn about my best birthday gift ever—my son’s second chance on life.
I expect to have our book in hand within weeks; the launch party is scheduled for September 12, 2009. Stay tuned; I can’t wait to share my whole story with you!
—Stay safe! Kip
As my friends and family know, I can relate almost anything in life to a basketball game. One basketball game in particular reminds me that nothing is impossible with a positive mindset. It was a game my son, TJ, and I participated in a few years ago. I’m proud to say TJ dares to dream big like I do. My kids are the best part of me.
Life as Basketball
I coached TJ’s team to six victories in three years. Not stellar, but the opportunity I had to shape his skills and sportsmanship was more important than wins and losses. The father and son time was invaluable.
We actually qualified for the season-ending tournament that year, my last year of coaching. TJ was ten years old. Needless to say we qualified last as the eighth seed and had to play the number one seed in the first game—the same team that beat us by forty points in our regular season matchup.
My kids move me emotionally in different ways. My pride for my oldest, Shannon, is hard for me to describe, though. Maybe it’s because she is talented in so many things that I am not: dance, music, acting—all self-taught, too. She is amazing.
Shannon showed up for Father’s Day this year with a guitar in hand. She said she had written a song about Chance when he was ill and wanted to sing it for me as my gift. I was shocked.
I didn’t even know she knew how to play the guitar.