I returned to the soccer pitch this morning after missing three games due to a badly strained calf muscle. My legs felt great although my fitness level certainly was not enhanced by the one-month hiatus. It was great to be on the field again and I played fairly well. I had two chances to score, the first on a very powerful volley from the top of the 18 after intercepting the ball that was just a few inches over the bar. The second from within the 6 after beating a defender which found the keeper rather than the back of the net. The officiating was terrible and both teams had players ejected, theirs for breaking our goalie’s nose (which he reports has corrected his deviated septum). Jeanine, Maya, and a Chinese exchange student who has been staying with our family for the past few days spent the day in Salem while I did a little kayaking on the Sudbury River.