2016, the Best Year Ever, continues to impress.
Last March, Jay won his first National Championship.
The rings finally arrived a few weeks ago. JT kindly gave Jay a beautiful jewelry display box as well. It has a glass top, with UST’s logo, name, the year, event and Jay’s name etched in it. When you open the lid, a tiny light displays the rings to perfection. I say ‘rings’ merely because Jay has several. He even lost one in a break in over 30 years ago. This is his first National title ring but he has a Big Ten conference ring from ’82, a 25th anniversary Big Ten ring and the ring he was given when he was inducted into the NJCAA basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. The National Champion ring is half again as big as the others.
The Championship season went exactly how one hopes a season would go. They didn’t look like world beaters from the beginning. They were good but they lost a few games (30-3), which is actually healthy for a team. It’s good that they know they’re not invincible. They just kept getting better as the season progressed, culminating in the Championship game, when every single player brought his best game to the floor. One young man, Ryan Saarala, played completely out of his mind. I had no idea he could be so good!
How awesome is that, for the last game of your career to be your best game ever and in a National title game at that?
Spring came early and summer was warm, sunny and fun. Royana came back to visit! The draught is over, the lakes and creek are higher than I’ve ever seen them in autumn but most of the rain has been at night. I think we’ll have a very snowy year; there’s no reason to believe the precipitation will end just because we’ve passed the equinox.
Back in June, Katie told us she and Adam are expecting! Not only expecting but twins! Identical twins, which is rare and totally unpredictable! Girls, of course, as it’s 2016. I can’t think of anything cuter than a matched pair of little girls who are Katie and Adam’s. I can’t wait.
My sister booked a national ad campaign, my nephew started his own company, three more little Pivec descendants are, or have already arrived, my niece(s) got married and Hamilton, the hip hop version of the American Revolution, played by an all minority cast, the best musical of my lifetime, maybe in the history of Broadway, is sweeping the nation. We went to NYC and several cousins ran into each other unexpectedly in Manhattan. The likelihood of that happening are like two random needles finding each other in a haystack but it happened. Not one, but two new Star Wars movies by the end of the year.
And last night, the Cubs won the World Series.
Don't tell me miracles don't happen.
It’s as if God has been shouting “Don’t worry about a thing, I got this!” since the year began.
So next week, we’re choosing a president from among the two worst choices in all of American history: a scandal monger currently under investigation by the FBI and a crass pig*. You’ll have to forgive me for not being angst ridden but I’m not worried about the outcome. We may (and probably are) in for some hard years but we can handle it. Sometimes hard times are necessary to become the people we’re supposed to be.
This has been a year of unpredictable**, improbable and possibly miraculous events.
No one knows what the future holds but I say: Bring it on!
*as for who I’m supporting, well, in the choice between evil and stupid, I’ll take stupid every time. Plus, I’m voting for the person most likely to get impeached if he breaks the law.
**The opposite being the crash of Obamacare and skyrocketing premiums. the opposite of unpredictable is 'inevitable'.