The sun lit up the clouds to the East, allowing me to stay in the home stands to capture the sunset in all of its glory. The weather was perfect fall football weather in Southern California, cool, but not cold. And it was Senior Night, a celebration of four years of hard work. And it was my birthday.

The only thing that could possibly have made my birthday evening better would have been seeing both sons get playing time. Our boys have been plagued with injuries in every season they’ve participated in football. That has fueled a strong love/hate relationship with this sport. On this Senior Night, our Senior was sidelined with an ankle injury sustained on a kickoff return two weeks earlier. His only action was helping run the game camera.

But there was so much joy on the field as parents joined seniors before the Varsity game. Standing feet from the sideline, we all watched and cheered as the JV team came from behind to go to 8-1, then enjoyed a few moments with our families as each kid was announced to the fans.

The Boy was joined by everyone in our family except our oldest son, who could not make it for the game. I think we were still the largest family group on the field. And then we watched the Varsity team also go to 8-1 with their win over Foothill League rival, Canyon.

Yes, it was a practically perfect birthday evening. Life is good.

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