My plans to get to bed early tonight have been set aside! It is just before 11, and Ben and Amanda went to bed. Generally when Ben has to stay up late (tonight to attend a graduation open house) he generally outlasts his mom. Tonight that was the case. I made her get up from sleeping on the couch and Ben and I put her to bed. I then say, “okay, let’s go to YOUR BED,” which causes him to run to my bed and climb into my spot. The good news is that he goes to bed there quickly, the bad news is (for him) that he will be mowing and shoveling snow at a much younger age than Stephanie and Scott!

My youngest sister, Anna, graduates from Cathedral High School this year. Her open house was yesterday, and had our team not been in the final four, we would have been there. She is an amazing young woman, and will be heading to my Alma Mater Butler. My brother Michael (who I know as Mike but will call him anything he wants because he is about a foot taller than me) will be a Junior there as Anna starts. Fortunately for both of them, I in the great Tirman tradition, never set the bar too high there….unless consecutive semesters on “academic probation” counts. I will ask my dad, but I don’t think it does. It is just great to see them both there because it is such a great school.

Well I am off to bed before I turn into a pumpkin as m grandma would say. Puddy and I got to type this out on the porch, 45 degrees and all, but it does me good. I unwind here the best, and today has been too long! I needed it.

I hope your day was truly blessed! Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

Well it is finally over. Our delay last night was just too much to overcome and it left our girls frustrated and flat today as we took the field against Culver. We had lost to Culver earlier in the year, and though we gave it our all, in the end the Eagles were victorious. They went on later in the day to beat Park Tudor for the State Title too.

We played a second game for 3rd or 4th place, but with the rain from last night it meant we had to play it back to back with the Culver loss. And considering it was against Zionsville, the team which was unbeaten in Indiana until we played them last week, there was no way they were going easy on us! The Final Four is not for the faint hearted!! Zionsville took their revenge upon us.

But for a team that was not ever expected to be there, we held our heads high. It was a great honor. Three of our players were elected to second team All State, Stephanie Tirman, Alyssa Jarvis, and Bobbi Mills. And all three of them were elected to the Tournament Team as well, meaning that they were among the best of the Final Four. It was quite an honor for a team just beginning to make our mark.

Six seniors played their last game with us today, and they will be sorely missed….including our goalie. But we have a strong team coming up, and we just may be there again next year.

As for me, it has been such a privilege to coach such a fine group of girls. We are adding three Assistant Coaches for the next season, so watch out Indiana. We are not done wit you yet!

Fourth in Indiana…..not bad!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless. I need some sleep for sure!!

Tom+

Yes, we went to the Final Four, but our game was postponed due to lightening finally at a little after 10 pm. We had played 5 minutes and the score was 1-1. Tomorrow at 12:30 we start it over again……0-0.

Needless to say I am wiped out! It is midnight and I am typing in bed. Say a prayer for me, because all this makes things seem chaotic to me and that leads to fogginess. And I really NEED clarity tomorrow for the games. Sadly, we will not have the advantage of playing just once tomorrow, like we should have. And that is going to make it harder for the girls. But if it has to happen that way, I cannot think of a better group of girls to have playing.

Okay, enough for me. More storms are coming and I need to rest.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

At practice today we worked on a few things, but as we head into the Final Four, there is not much you can do to adjust. At this point you go with what got you here, and to be honest, all that stuff is pretty darn good.

After practice Scotty, Ben and I went to the playoffs for our boy’s team, and though we lost, it was encouraging to see about half of our women’s team in the stands. Character is important in sports, and we have a lot of it on the women’s team that’s for sure. I am certain the boy’s appreciated the support too.

Tomorrow everything comes together and in the end we hope to be victorious! Keep us in your prayers! It is a big time for them. It is a big time for the town as well!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

I am sure happy today was today and not any other day this week, because sometimes my brain shuts down and I just need to sleep (my grandma warned me of this post-stroke) and today was such a day. Fortunately we had no games, and it was raining, so no practice. I had gone to bed at 10 pm the night before and just couldn’t get up till around 3, and only because I had to.

These zombie-like states don’t happen all that often, and fortunately for me, when they have they have always been during down-times like today. (at least that is what I remember) I am not cognizant of any during times I had a lot going on, but I suppose my staff might tell you different. In truth, I have been worried about this happening for a few weeks. I have really had to struggle these past few weeks in terms of my concentration. My focus has been hard to manage, and all I really had to hang my hopes on were my chiseled good looks, my Mensa mind, and my tanned 6’4″ frame. Yep, foggy and still quite delusional…….

But is is almost 9 and I have been up since 3. I am tired still, but an early bedtime may help to get me back on track. I have a big weekend ahead with the girls, and I want to make sure I am there as their coach and not Napoleon Bonaparte. Time will tell and sleep will help. Who in the world would have ever thought that one stupid blood clot could make me crazier than what being married to Amanda already has? (It’s a joke honey……most people think you are crazy. I am the one who married up!)

Anyway, it is a short but successful day for me! More rain is coming and hopefully it will help me to sleep.

Thanks for checking in my friends! Goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

Yep, we did it. Tonight we upset Indiana’s only undefeated team 11 to 9, and we did it on their home field too! In doing so, we earned a trip to the Final Four to be played this Friday and Saturday at Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis.

Though we struggled a bit in the first half, I had no doubt in my mind that they were capable of winning. They seemed all depressed at halftime, but we made some adjustments and made it happen. I was so proud of them. I have always believed they were the best team in the league, and we are on our way to proving it!

Anyway, it has been a long, stressful, but WONDERFUL DAY! Onto the Final Four we go!!

Thanks for checking in! Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

Today I was able to visit one of my favorite parishioners and one of the most loyal and dedicated followers of this blog…Flo Kinworthy. Flo was admitted to Clarian North Hospital yesterday with fluid around her heart, and today I got the privilege of competing with doctors and nurses for her time! Flo looked great, and is in a great hospital getting great care! (Ben was born in the same hospital!) And we expect her home soon!

One of the things you should know about Flo is that her eyesight is failing. She cannot see well enough to read my blog. So each night her daughter Jo (also a parishioner) reads the blog to her! Flo always comments, as she did today, how she feels like she knows our family from reading it. And in truth, she really does, not just because she reads the blog, but because she cares to be a part of our life. I really only started blogging regularly as a discipline following my stroke. But Flo knew me far before I started blogging, and she and Jo are dedicated Christians and friends. Keep her in your prayers!

Ironically, Flo had just purchased a couple of chairs for the new Narthex of St. Patrick’s. I did mention to her she ought not to buy any more chairs, because every time she does, she ends up in the hospital! She did promise no more chairs, but has a few other pieces she wants to get. And in truth, she will. She is a wonderful woman with a lot of miles left! Deacon Dan and Merry Ann will bring her Communion tomorrow, and I will see her a few more times this week. She will probably be surprised to read about herself, but she is special to us, and we are glad she is in the right place and getting better!

Keep it up Flo! We love you and are looking forward to your healthy return!! Keep her in your prayers!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. Here in Indiana it was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed it very much.

Unfortunately in our family, with me always working, celebrating today with Amanda is always hard. We gave her flowers and cake and cards last night to not look as if we were behind, and tomorrow night we will take her out to dinner. Steph had to work today too, so after I got home Scotty and Ben and I went to see my mom in the nursing home. We brought her a turtle sundae, which she totally enjoyed! And all the little old ladies there just love Ben!

But today my thoughts are all about Amanda. Amanda, though she never really thought she wanted to be a mom or thought she would be good at it, turned out to be the very best mom I know. (Sorry, everyone else ties for second place!) Sure, she was pretty pathetic at picking a husband, but don’t we all thank God for that? I know I do! But the mom-thing is a place that she is always at the top of her game….at least in my book.

And get this…..she wants us to fix her dinner tomorrow night instead of going out! NO WAY! We already do that all the time anyway, and we are onto her cheap little ways! Tomorrow we have a “no dishes” policy in place. Instead we will go out and honor “Supermom.” She is certainly the best in our eyes, and we love her. And she’s going to get a dinner whether she wants it or not!!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

We WON our game tonight putting us into the Sectional Final against Zionsville High School on Tuesday night. It was a great game against a great opponent. Heritage Christian gave us a great game, but in the end we won 13-9. And since we are the second seed, and since the first seed (Zionsville) won their game, we will have to travel to Zionsville to play next. We intend to win there as well.

Tonight our girls looked like the athletes they are. They hustled, they showed great skill, and LOTS of heart. They were in control of most of the game, which helped my heart! I really do not need the stress of a close game, and they did their best to make sure I was okay!

So now I am home and getting ready for work tomorrow! They say there is no rest for the wicked, nor will there be for the Noblesville Lady Millers Lacrosse Team! Practice on Monday!! Sweet!!

What a great day!! I hope yours was as great s mine!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Well it has been a wild day. Amanda and Scott are up in South Bend. The boy’s team played in Elkhart (my birthplace…blame them) and the team is staying overnight for games tomorrow….one against South Bend Washington, and the other against LaPorte. Scotty did score last night taking him into “double-digits” for the year. Why he cannot just say “ten” I do not know, but nonetheless I am proud of him. Hopefully he will add to it today.

We played our last JV game of the season last night. They went 7-0-1, and give us great hope for our future!! It was a blast and it was nice to play it against such a great team. Westfield and NHS are very close geographically, the girls have a great relationship with each other. We hope to do a few things over the summer too.

Tomorrow is the second round of the Sectionals, and we play at home at 7pm. We will face Heritage Christian, a team we beat by only one earlier in the season. It was their first loss, and I know they are coming to attempt to avenge it. We however are no longer the team that beat them. We have really developed. And though I am sure they have improved, we intend to put on our best game yet. In the end, we hope to be heading to the Sectional final next week.

Anyway, Ben is with me (and Steph) though she is at her friends watching a movie. It has been a pretty great day and tomorrow should be even better!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless. Thanks for checking in!

Tom+