So Proud 'O Hollywood

Today was a great day. Not only did Big Daddy give me my Valentine's Day present early, but when we got home this evening, there was a special message on our answering machine. It was Captain T from the school Hollywood wants to attend. Captain T said that Monica did not have to come up to the college on Friday (as we were planning) to interview before the Admissions Committee for a Dean's Scholarship since Captain T knew her very well. She stated on the message that Hollywood was her absolute favorite and the scholarship was already secure and the money is hers!!! This is quite good news because now between Hollywood's award of the Navy ROTC scholarship combined with this, we should have virtually all of her college costs covered! Most times as a parent you don't think about the job you have done raising your kids but when something like this happens, it can be quite emotional as you think about the hard work your kid has put in and you think about the unhappy times when you had to fuss to see that they did their homework before they watched that movie or went to that basketball game. Speaking of basketball, it is Hollywood's most favorite sport. She played on the JV team in high school and wanted to play very badly on the varsity team when she was a junior. We talked about it and I pointed out how important her junior year was from a grades perspective. The team at her school practices EVERY week night and has one game a week. Their practices last 1 1/2 hours each. They would start anytime from 5:30 to 8:30 so it could be 10 pm before they finished and 10:30 by the time she would get home. She decided not to play her junior and senior year and that was probably the hardest decision she has ever made. I did not tell her what to do, just pointed out what was at stake. This child rarely cries but the night she told her coach she wouldn't be playing, she walked out of the gym and tears were running down her face. It really hurt to see that but the joy in her face today when she heard the message from Captain T made it ALL WORTH IT. She knows that had she not made that sacrifice, the odds would be against her in reaping these rewards.

And concerning basketball, she did join a rec league this year. The best part is that they practice for one hour at 6:30 on Monday evenings, and they have one game each week. No pressure, just fun. If they win, they win. If not, no big deal. Their record is 3-1 right now. I'll try and put a few basketball pictures up later.