Lynchburg Team Camp, My Thoughts on Cowboy

Well, team camp went really good this weekend. Another bonding time for us and for the players. Our team has a great deal of fun with each other- I think that's what I like most. Now, I'll be honest, winning sure makes things more fun. And win we did- 6-0 this weekend. We definitely have the opportunity to be a special team. The more we play, the more I see that. We didn't always play exceptionally good this weekend at times, but even in those moments our kids dug in and found a way to win games. Very promising. I'm pumped!
Arriving home to a wife is AWESOME and mine is the best (I know, I'm biased, but oh well). But throw in a dog to the equation and well, I don't know what words to say about coming home. Cowboy is a great dog. He listens very good and is so much fun. He's taken to laying on the couch or the recliner. In other words, he's made himself right at home. I'm with Kari, I can't wait to sell and get a dog of our own. But for now, having Cowboy around for just a few days has been really good for me.
It's no replacement for the hole left by Hoss (just like Hoss wasn't a replacement for the hole left by Tootsie, and so on and so on). But dogs are magnificent animals who have that extraordinary ability to bond with the humans in their care. Cowboy loves to give kisses and loves to play with his rope toy. It's just really great having him around!
-Jimmy

Cowboy

This morning I was awakened by a wet nose on my hand and a warm tongue licking my face......no it wasn't Jimmy, Marty and Jim trained him a little better than that! :) It was our latest guest, Cowboy! We are dog sitting for our friends Jeremy and Jody while they are on vacation. He is a great dog and has made himself right at home, plopping himself right down on the couch for a nap this afternoon. He had so much energy this afternoon I tuckered him out by taking him on my run. He made it! We walked some but he pulled me most of the way!

It is nice to have him around, especially after having so much dog induced sadness lately with the death of Hoss. I saw some of the light in Jimmy's eyes as he played with and talked to Cowboy. I think that Cowboy has some similar mannerisms to Hoss and it actually feels a little like we have him back. Makes me very ready to get out of this house and get a dog of our own! No word yet on a house, but maybe soon! - Kari

NC State

We had a GREAT week at NC State Team camp with the varsity team. We went 5-4 but played against ALL bigger schools. If we make shots next year and can rebound, we are going to be an extremely tough team to beat. When we did those two things well this weekend, it was an automatic "W." Our kids are so much fun to be around, too. We had such a great time just hanging out as a TEAM. I'm really looking forward to working with that group and working with a higher level of athlete/player. We have little kids' camp this week, then another team camp this coming weekend in Lynchburg. Here's to hoping that we can keep the momentum and the good vibes from this past weekend going into the rest of the summer and into next season (when it really counts).
-Jimmy

Pretty Please?

Well, we have another promising house prospect today. Last week a person came through and really liked our town house. He is looking for investment property in Northfield Court (I guess he lives here as well). He wanted a walk out basement that he can finish off...ours is perfect so we were very excited. The plan was set that he was going to bring his father back through on Saturday (I guess he is a partner in the investment). Saturday came and went with no word from this interested party. Our Realtor even left several messages. We thought it was a lost cause. However, on Monday he contacted our Realtor and they are coming to look at it today! Apparently he had to suddenly go out of town (to a place with no phones) and that is why he didn't come back through on Saturday. So keep us in your thoughts around 4:45 today! We are going to look at some more houses this morning as well. I can't wait! - Kari

Basketball Camp

High school camp ended yesterday. A GREAT week! We put in our new offense (I am, in Coach E's terms, the "offensive coordinator"). So I got to do a TON of teaching- which is what I love to do! It's exciting for me right now because it seems like the players are beginning to "buy in" to what we're doing and it seems that they truly like what we're doing. We go to a team camp this weekend in NC (NC State). We'll be making some stops along the way. We'll go to Franklin Street in Chapel Hill (yeah, the Chapel Hill that is home to UNC) and to the "Dean Dome." We'll also go to that other school in NC, too. It will be cool for our players but I won't even type the name on here- you can figure it out. So I'm just really pumped about the upcoming weekend. It will be a good challenge for our players but also a really good bonding time for our team. I'm looking forward to it.
-Jimmy

Saying Goodbye

I am a little surprised right now that I do feel a slight degree of sadness to be leaving my current job. I am sitting in my empty classroom, watching the last few minutes tick away when I will leave here and begin a new life as a "cub." That's right, the kids voted the mascot for the new Cub Run elementary school to be the cub. I am not very good at letting go of things, and even when I have been counting down the days of this infernal year, I will miss parts of it. I will miss my kids - they were a great bunch, I will miss cross country and our undefeated season, and I will miss my coworkers that did become some of my best friends. I will not miss the hour drive! :) I hate change...why do I do so much of it? :) -Kari

Incredible Life

I've chosen the title of this blog to be "Incredible Life." It's not because I'm not incredibly sad right now. Nothing could be further from the truth. My body is literally aching. But I choose this title because I know the truth. And the truth is, Hoss' life was an incredible one. The number of people that dog touched is inconceivable. I had a friend tell me, "I don't like dogs much, but I like Hoss." Now while I'm not sure that I understand the first half of his statement, the second half makes complete and total sense to me.
I received a call from mom this morning at 8:05 AM. They had just finished putting him down. The doctor informed them that he had begun to develop a heart murmur (another sign that the disease was spreading- not getting better). She told them that they were giving their dog a gift by not allowing him to suffer or endure any pain. These words from the doctor and the updated medical report made this excrutiating decision make sense. How could you let Hoss suffer or have pain when everything he gave you was joy and happiness?
I feel so connected to Hoss despite the fact that he lived 6 hours away and I saw him only on occasion. I have chosen to list some of the memories that I have of him below. They are all good memories, ones that make me smile (or tear up) when I think of what that dog gave to me. Here are just a few of the many, many memories that I have with "My Puppy":

• Calling in sick to work when Hoss was staying with me and taking him to the George Washington National Forest. He LOVED romping through the woods that day (it beat sitting in the car, although he didn't seem to mind that either). And if my boss is reading this for some reason, I do apologize for lying about being sick. But I have to be honest now, I wouldn't trade that day with him for anything in the world.
• Laying on the couch and calling him up to lay beside me. He would nestle in and take up about 3/4 of the space on the couch. I didn't care. He laid his head on my arm and more than once, was snoring within minutes as I rubbed his belly and front legs. And Hoss could snore with the best of them!
• Finding a picture of me and grandpa after grandpa had died, I started crying. Hoss was having none of that. He knew that this was not normal and knew that he wanted to help. He came up to me, nuzzled in against me, gave me kisses, and looked at me with those big brown eyes of his. Those eyes told everything about him, all the time. And in this moment, those eyes told me- it's OK, please don't cry. It was better than any hour therapy session could have ever been. In that moment, Hoss was my counselor.
  
• A funny memory- Kari and I kept Hoss this spring when mom and dad went to Florida. On the first night we had him, he was laying on the floor. I guess he needed to get up. Upon getting up, he proceeded to lift his tail in the air and let out some dog gas. We both rolled on the floor. He literally lifted his tail up to fart!
  
• Watching him be so happy at his Carrollton home- the cabin, or in Hoss terms, the "farm." He loved hiking the trails with "father" and his favorite spot was the creek. He would get in, let the cold water run over him, and drink and drink the cold creek water. He really did love that place. It's only appropriate that mom and dad are burying him there, beside his creek.
  
• Watching him come home from anywhere and running his "lap" around the house. I couldn't ever figure out if he was doing it just to check everything out or what. My gut tells me now that he was just happy to be "home."
  
• And the memory that I will now miss the most. His loving and excited greeting upon "brothers" arrival home. Barking, wagging his tail, not even letting me out of the car before he jumped up and started giving kisses. I'll still love going home, but I will miss that welcome more than words can say.

Those certainly aren't all the memories. I have many, many more. And occasionally, I will probably put a random memory or two up on here. Just to continue sharing with you about Hoss. In today's utter and complete sadness, I wanted to take just a second to remember what an incredible life Hoss had and what that life meant to so many others. If you get a chance, send a prayer up for mom and dad. They loved that dog SO much. I wish I could be there with them right now- so just send a little prayer up for them- I know they'd appreciate it.

Saying Goodbye

How do you say good bye to the sunshine in the pictures you see below in Kari's post? Through a mist of tears- that's how. It is confirmed that Hoss has lymphoma and it is attacking his liver. He has slowed down physically. Mentally he is still alert and still WANTS to do all the things he loves. But physically he is unable to do all of them. He will still chase a ball (although only for about 1 or 2 throws) and he still chases rabbits (although he's worn out afterwards). He's such a wonderful animal and I know that mom and dad will continue to monitor his quality of life (which is still quite good). But, in the end (barring a miracle), his life is coming to a close. It was a very hard weekend emotionally for all of us but I was grateful that I was able to tell him good bye. I told him how much I love him, how thankful I am for his undying devotion and friendship, and that he is the best. I will keep the blog up to date with how he is doing and will continue praying, for Hoss and for mom and dad. For now, that's all I can write.
-Jimmy