Five Years Ago...

Five years ago yesterday I was in Scott's apartment at Cardigan when I got the phone call from my dad.  I had never gotten a call like this before and I remember dropping the phone and sobbing on the kitchen floor.  Scott couldn't even gather what had happened as I couldn't speak.  Our dear family friend (one of my dad's best friends who he coached and played with for years), my high school soccer coach (and club coach in the summers who, along with my dad, really sparked my passion for soccer in my late middle school years), the husband to a wonderful woman and father of three beautiful young boys who I used to babysit had suddenly (and I mean completely out of the blue) died.  He was young, healthy and in shape and he was just walking up a neighbor's driveway in his neighborhood when he collapsed. 

Bob was so funny.  He was a total space shot and his kids used to come to practice with him and run aimlessly in the woods for hours without Bob having any clue where they were!  He loved his family so much and was super involved in our community.  For years he had been the head soccer coach at the high school and he was SO good at it.  He won coach of the year and brought his teams to many championships, but mostly he shared his love and knowledge of the game with his players and we all fell in love with it. 

I still can't watch or play a soccer game without hearing Bob's voice in my head ("see how the ball never stops moving?  Heels to the touchline.  All you need is half a step to get the shot off...")  He had his priorities straight always telling us that Family came first, then School then Soccer.  Boys were not on the list (at least not until after soccer season according to Bob).  "The boys will wait," he used to say..."If they like you enough, they'll wait for you."  This was never an issue for me as I didn't have much (aka: any) interest in dating in high school, but I liked the concept of it.  If a guy really likes you, he'll respect the time you are committing to something that you're passionate about and he'll wait for you.  If he doesn't wait...he's not worth it.  I have to say this was a good lesson Bob taught me as Scott had to "wait" for me to come around for a long time in college and his patience paid off and proved to me that he was serious about me.  Bob came down to Gordon occasionally with my parents to watch me play and I always wanted to impress him so much.  A big hug from Bob and hearing him tell me how proud he was of me meant the world to me.  The summer before Bob passed away, Scott and I worked for him running a summer camp for local kids and I'm just SO incredibly thankful that Bob got to meet Scott and give me two big thumbs up.  He used to tell us that summer that whenever we were ready to buy a house, to look for the worst house in the best neighborhood (I think he'd be proud of our new purchase!).  Now, five years after his death, Bob's oldest son is a junior at Proctor and Scott is his advisor.  The fact that we can still be a part of their lives, that we still see his wife all the time and go to their house for dinner, that we can play a large role in his son's education the way he played such a huge role in my life is amazing.  Bob left this world way too soon, and I can only hope that I can impact one kid (whether on the soccer field or elsewhere) the way Bob impacted me.