Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Cavalier Park is where the day will end for me as Terry Warf and Alec Horton will lead the Lady Cavaliers JV Softball team against Glenvar.
Have a Blessed Day 🙌
Every morning 🌄, when I wake ⏰️ up, the first thing I ask myself is, what are my choices today ?
Door 🚪#1 today was head over to Durham, where Duke University Softball needed to beat the University of Arizona, not once but twice to earn a trip to the Super Regional next week in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Door 🚪 # 2 – Dennis ” Preacherman ” Zimmerman was going to be in the pulpit this morning at his church ⛪️ up in Shenandoah, Virginia. The service was set for 9:30 am, and being that Dennis is the backup Pastor, there was no telling when the next sermon would take place.
Up and back in the same day would be quite the long day, and staying overnight wouldn’t work because our Junior Varsity Softball team are set to play their final stand-alone game at Cavalier Park on Monday evening.
Door 🚪 # 3 – stay home in Laurel Fork, attend the Church ⛪️ service of Pastor Stephen Puckett, then change clothes and drive 🚗 over to Hillsville Elementary School in support of Coach Vickey Ritchie and our Special Olympics Basketball program..
When one is having a conversation with another about what guides the decision-making process, if the second person is one of Faith, there’s no need to mence words. Otherwise, you can swap Faith for Karma.
Stephen Puckett and I have a rather unique relationship, to say the least, due to the fact that we deal with the same people but from different angles. His Church ⛪️ sits on the corner of US-58 and Stone Mountain Road out here in uptown Laurel Fork. If I am in town on a Sunday morning, you can find me in his sanctuary listening to his message.
The other half of the Carroll County Sunday 1-2 punch 👊 is Vickey Ritchie. Anyone who reads my work on even a semi – regular basis knows that I have a soft spot for the efforts of our local Angel 😇 on Earth 🌎. Anything that I can do to make her life easier is worth doing, blindly !
Spend an hour with your Pastor, then two ➕️ hours with an Angel 😇 and how could you go wrong ?
There was never a doubt about the fact that our friend Dennis would be able to deliver the Lord’s message once again. The answered prayer came in the young ladies’ standing next to Dennis and Big Daddy are members of the Page County Lady Panthers Softball program !
One down, one to go ! Duke was losing to Arizona in game one, but we were busy having too much fun at basketball practice to worry about that much.
Duke found away to rally back against the Wildcats and force a winner to take all Regional finale !
During the drive back to Laurel Fork, I was listening to the game on ESPN+. Then there is the right turn at the Church and finally back at our place.
Duke held off Arizona to once again win their Regional tournament.
To recap , three softball teams were involved, and each had themselves a good day !
Carroll County High School JV Softball will have themselves a day on Monday.
Page County High School Softball team made their way to Church ⛪️ in support of one of their own.
Duke University Softball team is now going to pack up and fly out to Arkansas in hopes of getting another trip out to Oklahoma City for the College World Series.
Stephen Puckett is a good friend and a pastor, while Vickey Ritchie is an Angel 😇. Call it Karma or call it Faith, but results are hard to argue with !
P.S – bonus to cross paths with Principal Amy Nester at the practice. Just another hard working Administrator here on The Hill. The Shark 🦈 was just the latest prop in the endless toolbox 🧰…
Fayetteville next weekend sounds fun until other options present themselves.
It’s Shark 🦈 Day of Shark 🦈 Week, and we have 17 folks participating today ! When you factor in that, it’s the third event of the weekend, that’s a strong number of participants.
We could rename this ” Imagination Station 🚉”
Practice has concluded, and fun was had by everyone who was in the Gymnasium!
Graduation is set for this coming Saturday, and we will be saying goodbye to another group of kiddos who have been educated under the watchful eyes of Principal Chuck Thompson. Now, Mr Thompson relies on a tremendous number of people each and every day to accomplish this feat, a giant Thank you to every member of our dedicated staff.
Some of our next batch of graduates 🎓 are set to move on to the next level of education, and others are set to join the workforce. The next group is still trying hard to decide what is going to be next in their lives.
The amount of emotions involved for our students is trumped by what the parents are experiencing, probably more for the Moms than the Dads as their world 🌎 is about to change forever. Having raised five kiddos myself a long, long time ⌛️ ago, I am confident in saying that this is a life changing week.
The week should be a week long celebration for the students and for the Moms. I’m not crying, you’re crying will be heard repeatedly this week as the moment gets closer and closer.
We can call this week : Senior Mom Week and for the Junior Moms, the message should be, enjoy the next year because it will be over before you know it.
The end of the week will be life changing for many and on different levels. No two families are the same, and we can show a few different examples.
Mom #1 – Vickie Easter has been experiencing this week a few times before. The difference between this one and her girls is twofold. It’s her baby boy who will be wearing the cap and gown. Thankfully, she has grandchildren now that she can love on !
Mom #2 – Shelia Harris is experiencing her second graduation in two weeks as Natalie finished up college, and now her baby girl is ready to leave the nest. No grand babies yet, so she will have to spend more time with Marion. That sentence can be read one of two ways !
Mom #3 – Kristy Jones is about to send her young man off to Lynchburg, and in this case, Maci will go to receiving Love for 2. The hugs 🫂 will get tighter at first, and eventually, Maci will say, “Mom, I can’t breathe because you are holding too tight.”
Moms #4 and #5 – Denise Webb and Debbie Odum. These two young ladies are going to need a new hobby to help fill the void that will be created by the lost time they have been blessed to spend with their daughters. Two terrific children raised by two neat ladies.
Mom #6 – Joi Ogle has not only raised Wyatt since his birth but has also spent more than a few years coaching her son in the swimming pool. There Bond is obviously a great one as it has led to him going up to Roanoke to swim 🏊♂️ at the next level. Fortunately, the Star 🌟 City is a short drive away, and the Ogles have younger children.
Mom (and Dad)#7 – Mr. & Mrs DeHaven are rookies at this week as Camden is set to graduate. Kevin has the type of job that has him interacting with a large number of students each year, but this class includes the couple’s firstborn.
If you see 👀 someone on The Hill who has a glazed look in their eyes this week, just know that they will all eventually be back to normal life, it might just take a while. Let’s try and make the transition as smooth as possible for them.
The road less traveled ! 