A Charmed Life

My younger son is an average size boy in the world of competitive sports. You might have even said he was below average, before he grew over three inches in the last two months. He's now just under 5' 6" and slim.

I have tremendous fun watching him play soccer. He is an aggressive defender and marking back, often finding himself matched against boys much bigger and taller. That's one of the reasons the recent growth spurt is so welcome.

But no matter what size he is, he is always sturdy. He has an uncanny ability to stay on his feet, leaving his larger opponent on the ground after a contest for the ball.

Soccer rules allow players to have shoulder-to-shoulder contact if it is part of a genuine attempt to play the ball. As far as my son is concerned, he is always making a genuine attempt to play the ball (except maybe when he's dogging an opposing forward's heels.) Yesterday was no exception, and fighting for possession of the ball, the other kid ended up on the ground with a separated shoulder and broken collar bone.

I don't know how he does it, this one boy wrecking crew. He seems to be consistently lucky while those near him are not.

When Wiley was a toddler he cracked his daddy's rib in a moment of exuberance. When he was about four years old he came diving over the back of the couch I was laying (lying?) on. He broke my shoulder, which had to be repaired with surgery a few painful months later.

I and the rest of our family have learned to approach him with caution. He's the sweetest boy I know, but sometimes not safe to be around.

How he uses his "luck" over the next few years of high school should be interesting. Think it will change when he discovers girls?