I (heart) This Kid

Zion had a soccer game tonight. This was big stuff, as the rest of the season's games are played on Saturday morning. This was the 7 year old soccer player's equivalent of a Monday Night Football game, minus Hank, Jr. singing "are you ready for some football!!!!"

Notable distinctions of the game included a bitterly cold wind, impromptu wrestling matches on the side lines, and Dwayne Roberts stopping us all in our tracks by yelling at the team "Give'm Hellllllllllp!" It should be noted that at the point of his yelling this, one of our players was getting overrun and needed some assistance, but by the time Dwayne got the 'p' on the end of 'hellllllllllp', Cory Russell and I were staring at him like he was a lunatic cursing a team of 7 year olds.

This is Zion's first season of soccer. He has shocked us all this year with his soccer prowess. This boy, born less than 6lbs light and knicknamed "Peanut" by the nurse, who now exudes a certain rock star cool and trademark dry sense of humor, is dead serious and intense about his soccer skills.

On game days, he puts his jersey on about six hours early. An hour later, he puts on his shin guards....and waits.

During the game, he leans forward - sometimes to the point of putting his opponent on their can in the grass. Tonight he threw a hip hard enough to wipe out a kid considerably bigger than him. They went sprawling on the grass while Zion scooted the ball around them and ran down field.

I would have cheered but it was a girl.