The Hottest Week of the Year Also Happened to Be...

...the week of Josiah's basketball camp.  It's a very good thing his camp was indoors!  But even still, the temperature inside the gym was stifling, and the kids--and coaches--sweated buckets.

This was what our thermometer said this afternoon:

No wonder the gym got a little lot hot!

I am way too tired to write many words tonight, so pictures will have to do...pictures which are, by the way, not very good because I don't know anything about how to set up my camera to take great action pictures in a gym.  Oh, well...Josiah is in the pictures, so they are treasures to me.  :)  And if anyone reading this is looking at the pictures and trying to find Josiah, here's a clue:  he's wearing an orange shirt.  Now, before my brain totally shuts down, the photos...

 Even though he was tired and hot, Josiah still hustled and put his heart into the game; I was glad to see that.  :)

Josiah had a devoted cheering section.  It was a gift to see my parents sitting there, in that gym where they had watched me play so many basketball games so many years ago...and now, here they were, watching their grandson play in a scrimmage at the end of basketball camp.  So special!

David, ever the faithful copier of his big brother, has already told me that he wants to play next year.  :)

 The coaches (a husband and wife) were excellent.  A little tough (requiring the kids to do push-ups, for example), but kind and patient, too.  I'm sure Josiah's excellent experience this week is due, in large part, to their skillful coaching.

 You know, it's funny.  When the booklet comes out in the spring that lists the summer kids' classes through our local community college, the boys and I pore over those pages, discussing what various classes would be like and trying to choose something that fits our family schedule but is appealing to the boys.  Although I don't like our summer schedule to be packed full, I do appreciate the opportunity for the boys to spend some time learning something or pursuing some interest that is hard to fit into our regular school year.  In this case, I didn't really know how this basketball week would go for Josiah, since his interest in the sport is relatively new.  But, as he came out of practice each day, he exuberantly told me how things were going, and I could tell that he was having a blast:  being challenged, but feeling encouraged that he could live up to the challenge.  From the first day, when he confessed to me that he was a little nervous because he didn't want to be the worst player there, until today, when he finished triumphantly, he kept a great attitude and learned so much.  Turns out that class was a splendid choice for him.  I'm grateful for God's guidance, even in this seemingly little area of choosing a summer class!

The best part for David and Tobin was how they could run around the court at the end of Josiah's session each day; they waited eagerly for that, and even though the gym was at least 150 degrees inside(!), that didn't deter them in the least from taking off running as soon as I gave the all-clear at the end of the official practice. :)

The best part for me had nothing to do with basketball.  It was this moment I noticed today and was fortunate enough to have my camera in hand to document:  the simple act of my biggest boy lovingly and patiently giving my littlest one a drink from his water cup.

I love that, because character counts.  After all, basketball is temporal...

...but kindness is eternal!