Day 5

Today is Dad’s birthday. If he had lived, he would have been 74. Today is also the first tournament of the 2023 tournament season. At first we weren’t going to stay in Arizona for it since G3 was supposed to leave for summer camp today. However, once we realized it was Dad’s birthday we were all like, “Of course, he has to do this.” Today of all days would be a day that Dad would be shining down on him.

Since this tournament opens the season on the heels of the TOC, and since it is a AAA tournament, the competition is stiff. Not quite as hard as it was Thursday, but still not easy. Knowing that the competition would be tough, combined with the over priced entrance fee for each event, plus the fact that this is a new experience for all of us, we only signed G3 up to do forms—the one event that brought him here.

G3 had to be on the mat at 8:00, so we woke up at 4:30 (thankfully we’ve tried to keep our bodies on East Coast time which made this a bit easier). This gave us time to eat and drive to the Convention center with plenty of time for G3 to warm up.

He was much less nervous than he was on Thursday and it showed. He also retained some of his confidence, convinced that his grandfather would be looking out for him. His performance was much better than it had been in the TOC. He did well enough to finish in third place. The boy is happy again. He’s bringing home a bronze medal and enough points to land him in the top ten in the World. It’s a strong start, but the season is long. What will the upcoming season bring? At the start of last season, we certainly didn’t expect to get here.

When G3 finished, we stuck around for awhile to watch his instructors compete. By 4:00, our stomachs were rumbling so we left to get dinner. G3 wanted Nello’s pizza again so that’s where we went. Following dinner, we went out for ice cream, this time to celebrate the fact that G3 took home a medal. Kati learned a valuable lesson: eating an ice cream cone in 114 degree heat might not be the best idea. It melted quicker than she could lick.

We are leaving tonight—a red eye back to Newark. When we land, we won’t go home. Instead, we will get right in the car and drive 6+ hours to New Hampshire to get G3 to Boy Scout camp. Why? Because we are insane. Also, it is our punishment for not having faith that our son would qualify for Worlds. Back in January, when we had to commit to camp we knew there was a conflict. But we signed G3 up anyway. Back then, G3 had recently done poorly in two tournaments and we had just changed schools. At that point, we weren’t even sure a State Title would be feasible. Why wouldn’t we sign him up for camp? Especially since he was disappointed the previous two years that COVID had prevented him from going. But alas, the new school transformed his form and made a Districts Title and trip to Worlds possible. And now we have a hellish commute in front of us.

Question is: Will our flight take off? Will it be on time? Kati is one hundred percent certain that things will go smoothly tonight. Why? Because it’s Dad’s birthday. And he would not want G3 to miss anything fun or important at camp. Dad, while you are busy helping G3, I really could use a teaching job. Or even better, a literary agent. Think how much more I could do for G3, Dad, if you granted me one—or both—of those wishes.

As we drove to the airport and I was writing about Dad, lightning split the sky. Thunder rumbled. Wind rocked trees and traffic lights but through the clouds G3 pointed out a rainbow. Was that Dad’s way of saying he heard me? A sign that maybe my fortune would turn for the better? Or just a reminder to search for beauty in the darkness of the storm?