Finding Alder

Today was a triumph. I suppose triumph may be an overstatement to some but for this mama I may have earned stars on my invisible cape. I coach youth soccer for our local club. Since I've played the sport for nearly 40 years (ouch--that hurt just thinking about how old that makes me), I love everything about soccer. I love teaching a child how a ball feels when it touches the right part of their foot.  I love seeing them start to understand the concept of running into open space. I love to watch them lose--even though I'm so competitive that the idea of losing actually causes me physical pain--as long as they're learning and growing. But today I wasn't coaching. I was a mom on the sidelines. I don't ring a cowbell and I cringe when parents coach the team from the sidelines. Our team lost both games by double digits (I think...didn't actually keep score). I think part of my decision to coach Fischer involved guilt and needing a break.  Alder presented with en...

This is a project I've wanted to undertake for some time now.  I was an adjunct professor who taught students to write but I never seemed to find time to write on my own.  With 3 boys under the age of 11, there's always a fairly excusable reason not to do something for myself.  But now is as good a time as any to tackle a goal one foot in front of the other... My name is Jill and I live in western Montana.  I moved here to attend graduate school and have grown roots deep enough in this mountain soil that even when I leave I have to come back.  I'm kind of like a perennial plant--I go away for a season but always return, some years more resilient than others. I started this blog for a few reasons.  First, I'm turning forty in a few months and I'm burdened with the overwhelming feeling that life is much shorter than I initially thought.  So I had better start checking things off my list.  Not that I think I'm going to die tomorrow.  But if ...