Today I watched my 10-year old daughter play in her basketball game--it's actually only her second time playing in a game. She tried out a couple of weeks for a competition team and made it. She was pretty excited. But I was pretty worried. She'd never played basketball before. The day before she tried out, I asked my husband to please show her how to shoot. I used to play, but it's been so long...

So now I've added shooting hoops with my kids to my long list of hobbies--hobbies that take the place of writing, of course.

When I mentioned to my daughter that she seemed to take after her mother in her natural sport skills, she said, "No, I take after Dad." I corrected her quickly. Because, as anyone who knows me well, knows that I received the top award in high school for being "Best Sportswoman of the Year." No kidding. Granted it was a rather small school, in the middle of the city of Jerusalem. And my only competition was about nineteen other girls. But I'll take what I can get.

It seems that late-night writing sessions will become the norm. After all, who can ignore this gorgeous fall weather and a waiting basketball standard in the driveway? I certainly can't.