Sweet T-- uncut, unedited

I love soccer. It is one of the real joys of my life. I am not that great at it, but to run and run, and run, and just forget everything but the tiny, unimportant object of getting a goal. Last night was our soccer game, and i was better at it than I sometimes am. I got to play a lot of offense....I love to practice passing and dribbling. And Cindy on the other team says that I have gotten really good. She has seen me play right from the beginning....when we first started our coed team 3 years ago. But last night I had some pretty unusually smooth moves. One reason that this happened was that the other team was slow. Their star player was missing, and we were able to get around some of their other players.

I love soccer, (and I am going to be wimpy now so bear with me)....in the stands you have your fans...people who are there for you to yell and scream.....you know what....i am not going to be wimpy...forget it....i am not going to go the woe is me track this morning...

Last night I talked to my best friend Andrea for almost an hour. It was so good to talk to her. I don't get to see her very much since she had a baby. Talking to her was really what I needed. Someone who listens and cares, but is sort of outside of my entire life....so I can talk about anything without really worrying about the repercussions of that. We have been friends since I was 14 or soemthing. She knows my whole history....my whole formative years....she was my roomate in college...she told me last night that I am looking like a real "hottie" these days. :) Even though I am sure that is an exaggeration....it feels good to think that maybe you are getting prettier as you get older rather than the other way around. Because yes...I am becoming more and more the "woman" and less and less the "girl"....the creases are getting deeper around my smile....but...maybe I am getting old....but I am also gaining (hopefully) the poise of a woman, the confidence, the gentleness....the more I do this job I have...the more and more like a mother I become...watching over my little chicks...the more I settle into the role that I have been given, and the more it is me.