A Few Musings

Sitting here watching the Lakers beat up on the Jazz so I thought I'd record a few thoughts:

- I haven't played basketball or soccer for a couple of weeks now. I've either sprained or aggravated a previous sprain on my left ankle three times in the last two months or so--twice playing hoops and once playing soccer. It's really annoying, but I guess it's just another sign that I'm getting older. I never used to have problems with my ankles, but now it seems like it's just a routine occurrence--go play ball and hurt the ankle. So, I decided to take a few weeks off to give the ankle time to heal completely. It's not there yet, but it is feeling far better than it did the last two times I went back to play after injuring it. I'm hoping that with another week it will feel completely normal. We shall see. It takes some of the fun out of the game when in the back of your head you're always concerned about little injuries.

- I have really enjoyed the NBA playoffs this year. My favorite part has been watching Chris Paul of the Hornets. I hadn't really seen him play before this, and I am thoroughly impressed with how complete his game is. And, he comes with the added bonus of playing with a playground abandon. I have loved watching him clown the Spurs on his drives to the hoop. It's easy to see how playing with a guy like that would just be a blast!

- Sobering happenings in Myanmar and China. Thinking of the tsunami a few years ago and Katrina closer to home as well as wars and everything else makes me feel incredibly insulated and spoiled here at home. I mean, look at my two previous items--moaning about minor ankle injuries and commenting on a frivolous game. I guess that's the luxury we have, but it doesn't make the events in other parts of the world any less real for those who are impacted by them. On that note, a shout out to Brenna's cousin, Josh Brazier, and his kaiizen.org efforts. Amazing and inspirational guy. Also a shout out to BYU's Center for Economic Self Reliance (http://marriottschool.byu.edu/selfreliance/). I have to get more involved in that.

- This weekend our stake is doing Play in a Day for the youth. Brenna and I took turns spending time at the church tonight helping out with getting the youth organized. We had more than 30 youth there--amazing! I feel very fortunate to be able to continue to work with the youth. I can't think of anything I would rather do in the church. I spent time with the YM who are working on the set, and it's just fun to interact with them and be reminded of the things that are important to teenagers. What a great time of life! Brenna loved being able to spend time with them as well. It's a breath of fresh air to parents with grade school age children!

- Tomorrow is our 11th anniversary. We're so romantic that we will spend it helping with the Play in a Day and watching the performances in the evening. We figure we did it right last year with our trip to England and Belgium, so a low key anniversary this year is acceptable.

I guess that's enough for now. Nice just to sit down and let my thoughts flow out of my head and onto the screen.