Saturday at St. Joseph’s Indian School we had our eighth grade invitational basketball tournament. Four teams participated. Robert, one of our high school students, has taken to refereeing, and I enjoyed seeing him run the court and keep the game flowing and fair.
Our team lost their first game by only one point. Disappointed and tired, they didn’t play up to their potential in the consolation round and got blown out. That game was hard for the fans to watch.
It may be even more important to cheer and support when kids are struggling than when they are winning.
Some of the girls’ homes made a batch of sloppy joes, hot dogs and dessert bars to sell at the snack bar. The game room became a lively place to grab a quick lunch and catch up with staff and students.
Our younger girls had basic gymnastics practice in the afternoon. I see our students doing cartwheels all the time, and Heidi and Mark tried to teach them some new skills, like walking on a balance beam. I got in line and tried my hand (more so my feet) at the skill along with the girls.
It was actually much like the physical therapy I had to do to strengthen the nerves to my foot after the cancer surgery, and I had no trouble walking across. But when I tried balancing on one foot and leaning forward, that’s when I needed the spotter’s help to hop down. I heard lots of giggles, but at least I tried.
We had a blizzard warning and snow started flying Saturday night.
Our facilities crew came in early and had the roads cleared in time for Sunday morning mass. Much of the snow we get is dry and powdery. This was wet and heavy, and very much appreciated in an area that suffered from drought last year.
We’ve seen what the East Coast is digging out from, and keep all those adversely affected by winter weather in our prayers. After lunch, I saw a couple of the younger boys’ homes bundle up and head for the hills for sledding.
I ate brunch with the Summerlee Home (4th– 5th grade girls). I tried my hand at ping pong with Chassidy, who kept it going pretty good, and gave a quick lesson on how to hold a paddle to Daejah, who was fairly new at the game. Then it came time for all the students to sit at the kitchen counter and get their valentines written out for their classmates.
