Matt and fellow CSC swimmer, Lauren J, during half-time at IU Homecoming football game today. No, not a date, just good friends, Matt was at game, Lauren was down at IU on swim recruit visit, and the two had a great time at the game with others.
READING: The Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather (Quebec 1697-1698) and One of Ours by Willa Cather (WWI 1914-1920). These are the last two novels of Cathers that our library didn't have available before when I was reading the rest. I'd read them both in high school, so it was good to revisit them as an adult.
LISTENING TO: ...and watching the IU/Arkansas State football game on television, getting ready to watch the Iowa Hawk/Michigan game next.
COOKING BYTES: The season is changing...welcoming soup week straight ahead. I love soup, could exist on that and salad and never be bored. It's a simple thing, I am a simple person at heart.
FAV NEW FIND: The changing leaves, the cooler weather, the return of Orion in the night's sky.
FAV THING THIS WEEK: We have had a wonderful week enjoying Matt's decision to commit to Indiana University for college swimming. We tried very carefully not to express our preferences so that it was his decision and not ours. That was incredibly hard as we are such IU fans. You would have been proud, and astonished at our ability to display impartiality. He flew all over the country for recruiting trips, looking at this college and that, getting offers from here and there, but in the end, it was IU who had his heart. He got off the plane one Sunday and said, "I'm done with recruiting trips, etc. I just want to go to IU and swim there." Absolutely music to our ears! He will be going to college 90 minutes away from here and swimming where we can go and watch the meets. Don't think we aren't excited. IU's business school is ranked 10th in the nation, he loves the campus, the coaching staff (one of the coaches was coaching at CSC when Matt was 10-11), the team, and the city of Bloomington. So excited!!! You will all appreciate this. We said, "Are you sure? We want this to be your decision and not ours." He responded with, "Yes, I'm sure...I tried to have it NOT be IU, I tried to NOT want to go in-state, I tried to have it be somewhere else, but it didn't work, I just love IU and want to go there." This is the swimmer who won state last year with a swim he didn't want to swim and was determined to go to college out of state like most of his best friends, but in the end, home is where the heart is in this case, and about that swim, coaches can see further down the line than swimmers...we do what we need to do! He has been just delighted since the decision and we are all looking forward to him being a Hoo down in Hooville.
GOING TO: October 15th marks the day that NCAA college basketball teams can commence formal practice so Matt and Mark went down to Bloomington for the opening tip of practice, etc. (along with over 13,000 other people who attended) on Friday night, they stayed over for the homecoming game and festivities today, also taking in a swim meet at the IU pool, Matt hanging out with the swimmers and enjoying some friends who are down there this weekend on swimming recruit visits of their own. Besides that, there is choir rehearsal, etc. for Matt and some time for catching up around here with things that need to be done and enjoyed during fall. PRAYING FOR: Please join me in praying for Bill, Margaret's husband, newly diagnosed with cancer who is undergoing all sorts of procedures and treatments now.
