Don't Feed The Yabut

I run a high school basketball program and while I specifically coach the Varsity all the lower level teams and their coaches fall under my purview.  We are gearing up to start our summer ball program which means the litany of excuses is about to start rolling in. Today I called a program-wide meeting and as they filed in and found their seats I told the following story:

"Have any of you heard of the yabut? It is a little animal that is very dangerous. There have been reports of these creatures being found all across the country around high school gyms."  At this point the girls began gasping and looking around at each other incredulously.

I continued, "They are potentially deadly, a real killer of hopes and dreams. What makes a yabut so dangerous is that they look harmless and cute and friendly, so people feed these yabuts. What happens when you feed animals? More show up wanting to be fed. Not only that but they grow bigger and stronger, making it much harder to get rid of or defend against them."

I could tell at this point that a few of them knew some greater lesson was coming, but most of them were still on the hook believing there were these animals running loose, possibly in the gym we were currently meeting. 

I went on, "The scary part is that some of you have yabuts." They start looking at each other, some start laughing; others quieted their teammates down knowing the hammer was about to fall.

So I said, "For instance, I may say, 'It is important for you to be here this summer.' and you say, 'Ya, but I need to babysit that day.' Or I might say, 'You need to come to this meeting' and you say, 'Ya but I can't make it.' The yabut thrives on mediocrity and excuses. The only way to avoid the pitfalls of the yabut is to stop feeding your yabut. If you quit feeding your yabut with excuses and justifications it will die."

"So, as I start to go over our summer expectations I want you to think about what your yabut is. What is holding you back from reaching your goals or becoming the type of basketball player that you want to be?"

At this point, one of my players says, "Wait, so is this real? Is there really a yabut? I don't get it."

Disneyland/California Adventure/San Diego

Last week my kids were on Spring Break so we decided to head to California and take our kids to Disneyland. Our children have never been and it has been around 15 years since I've been or my husband. After three days in Anaheim we spent two in San Diego. I would have loved to spend more time in San Diego. It is one of my favorite places in the U.S. We stayed right on the water and the kids enjoyed watching the boats dock in the marina. 

Two of our three children were the perfect age for Disneyland and California Adventure. They went on EVERY ride: Space Mountain, Star Wars, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, etc. It was great being able to get on everything and not have to worry. Our youngest was too short for most which ended up working out okay. A few days before we left she suffered a bad head injury, which resulted in an expensive ambulance ride to the hospital, a CT, and an overnight stay for observation. We left with a concussion diagnosis and were told to limit stimulation -- hello, Disneyland -- and any rides that could jolt her or spin her. Fortunately, she was scared of most rides. She loved the Ariel ride in California Adventure and I did take her on the tea cups but we didn't spin the cup and I held her pretty tight. Outside of that, she slept in a stroller through most of it or my husband and I used the "rider switch" feature quite a bit.

 Ready for Day 2 at Disneyland and California Adventure

 Seaport Village has always been a favorite of mine. Something about walking around the shops and being so close to the water is just relaxing. We always stop in the little candy shop and get a ridiculous amount of taffy to enjoy the rest of the trip.

In years past we have always stayed on Coronado Island. For whatever reason, I opted to try something different this year. While our hotel was nice I will likely go back to booking on the island in the future. Despite staying off the island we spent a day on the island, walking around and playing at the beach. I was certain the water would be too cold and the kids would want no part of it. So certain was I that I wouldn't let them wear their swimsuits. Lesson learned. The kids ended up totally in the water, loving every chilling minute of it.

 Me and my babies on the beach.

 Me and my youngest on Coronado Island

 Love these pictures of my older two running into the waves. Sheer, unbridled joy and excitement.

 Even our youngest went waist deep into the ocean in her jeans and sweatshirt.

 As a random side note, our son was so sick with an asthma flare and allergy complications when we left town. About an hour into California he stopped having symptoms entirely. Zero problems the entire trip. An hour back in to Arizona and he was back puffing on his inhalers.

 I had to keep pulling him in because I was afraid he was going to get pulled out in to the ocean. He had no fear.

 My husband our our youngest surveying the tide.

 The family.

 My daughter, who is convinced we need to move to San Diego.