There are a lot of ‘old sayings’. Some prove to be a little off and others like they come from a prophet. This year, the old saying ‘April Showers bring May Flowers’ is coming to fruition. At least the April Showers part.
April is usually a busy month. Outdoor activities usually start to increase as the daylight goes deeper into the evening. School activities seem to pick up in preparation for the end of the school year.
Toss in Easter and the calendar seems to fill up quickly.
One of the best events in April is the Masters. The prettiest golf tournament in the world. I can appreciate the beauty of some of the old courses on the British Open circuit. Even the US Open has some pretty cool courses.
But nothing matches the beauty of Augusta National. It will be on display this weekend. Unfortunately for my buddy Steve Webster, it will take place without Tiger Woods. Not sure if Steve will still watch or not. Probably will, but he won’t pop that bowl of popcorn in anticipation like he would if Tiger were teeing it up.

Prep Thoughts
Wow. Just wow. It’s quite a stretch the prep sports are having to deal with right now. Cancel, postpone, reschedule, and postpone again. At some point the spring sports will roll into high gear. It just hasn’t happened yet.
There are make-up dates available. It just bogs things up. For track, make up dates can be tough to find. Many times the meet is just scratched. For soccer, golf, and tennis it isn’t quite as bad but when multiple dates start to stack up, it can be a challenge. Softball as well.
Baseball can be a pain in the behind. If you get too many dates to close to each other, it starts to challenge your pitching depth. But it wouldn’t be spring sports without weather challenges.

Former Barton Athlete/Coach update
A former Barton coach has a new coaching job. It’s not Lane Lord as some had expected. Nope, Wichita State gave the gig to Keitha Adams, the Texas El Paso coach originally from Kansas. She coached at Indy CC for a while about 15 years ago. We’ll see how that goes. I think it’s a mistake by the Shox, but it’s wasn’t my decision to make.
The former Barton coach with a new job is Jack Owens. The long-time Purdue assistant is the new head coach at Miami University in Ohio. The Redhawks, a member of the Mid-American Conference, finished 11-21 last season and just 4-14 in the MAC. He takes over for John Cooper, who was 59-100 in five seasons. Miami hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2007.
Jack was an assistant for the Barton men in 2001-02. Best of luck, Coach.

And Finally
Prom. Another fun event for fathers.
First there was the dress shopping. I guess I should count my blessings, actually. We never venture out of Great Bend to get Katelyn a formal dress. So at least I have that going for me.
Although for Hollyball this past winter it was about a 20 minute excursion. She saw a dress she liked right away. In and out. This time it was a wee bit longer. Crystal, Katelyn and myself took to dress shopping over spring break and were joined by her Prom date’s mother. Donovan’s mom Anne joined our venture.
Yep, myself in a dress shop with two women and my daughter. I guess that beats a trip to the dentist. Maybe not. After what seemed like several hours and too much money, a dress was purchased. A dress my little third grader looked beautiful in. I refuse to give in to the fact she is actually a junior in high school.
Now I get to look forward to Prom on Saturday. It will be a day filled with Katelyn and her friend Molli getting ready at our house. Doing makeup, hair, nails and all those fun things.
Then there is the mom factor. Crystal will, of course, have ‘mom moments’ during the day. And the dogs will be stressed because of all the activity and no one paying attention to them.
Finally, they will all leave for Prom. That is when I am left at home. Alone with Crystal. After our baby girl leaves. There will most likely be more ‘mom moments’.
And when these moments arise, I will be looked upon to help out. But what mothers need to realize is these are moments fathers are incapable of helping with.
I have learned that patting your wife on the head and saying it will be okay isn’t really want they want. Pretending like you don’t hear them doesn’t work either.
Perhaps they need a security guard for Prom. Maybe I should check into that.