When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player. My best friend (Bryan) and I would spend hours passing, kicking, shooting, chasing, dribbling, and talking about life as famous soccer stars. We started out in kindergarten and we were very successful. We played a lot of soccer, we won a lot of championships, we shared laughter and we shared tears in defeat. We. The common word here is We. We were a team. We would not be separated. Our families respected and cared for one another. We were brothers.

For many years it was just the two of us taking on the world. Whether playing tennis-racket-guitars to Def Leppard and Van Halen as a crowd of millions cheered from the street (ok, no crowd but to us there were millions) or seeing who could finish their SRA work in class the fastest, it was always the two of us. Our soccer teams were always good and we often played a few years up in age. At one point, Bryan competed in a Jesse Owens Track Invitational and beat everyone in the city. He went to California and competed on a national level. If my memory serves me right, Bryan placed in the top 5 across the nation in the 200m for our age group. I remember going to his track meets and watching him run. It was at these race I began to realize this was something he could easily do without me. It was just Bryan and the open lane in front of him. My voice was being drowned out by the rest of the cheering crowd. I was just a spectator to my best friends success.

Junior High came around and I attempted football and Bryan track. Our new adventures in sport didn't force us to spend less time together. Instead, it was the demands of our full schedules that kept us apart. Eventually, we would join back together on the basketball court and it was the two of us again. We both had become burned out on soccer and so basketball was what we fancied most. Bryan ended up playing on the Southwest Conference Championship team at Southern Methodist University (SMU) just before the SWC disbanded. Although I was in a different city, I was cheering him on once again. My friend who will always be in my heart because of the most wonderful childhood memories a boy can have.

This weekend I enjoyed a beautiful Saturday from the sideline of Sam's soccer game. The sport is extremely difficult for him. His mind wonders off and he is regularly distracted by airplanes (which happen to be a complete obsession right now). I watched some other boys playing chase before the game and felt my stomach turn slightly. Sam has such a difficult time with these situations. He will smile that gorgeous smile of his, laugh along with the rest of the group (even when he doesn't know why they are laughing) and he will look for me. I see his eyes scanning the wide open space until he finds me. He needs to know I am there. He needs to know WE are still connected. It helps comfort him and ease his stress.

It makes me sad to think that first grade is coming to an end for him. I wish so much that he had a "Bryan" in his life. Someone that understood him so well that they could complete his sentences and would stand up for him no matter what. Sam tells me that sometimes he feels very alone and sad. This simply should not be. Sam's schedule is and has always been packed. For so many years, therapy has consumed his life. Now, school, therapy, and lots of events we used to only dream of. Still, the friendship void looms.

I am so proud of what Sam has accomplished. There are no award ceremonies, no podiums, no after game speeches for all the things Sam has accomplished. We celebrate the victories. We can't replace the void of friendships though. I am sure there will be a time and a place that this might come together for him. He will hopefully find his Bryan and together they might conquer the world. Regardless of what the future holds, Sam will always have me to cheer him on. I will be the one who will complete his sentences and laugh at his jokes. When he scans the crowd to make sure someone is there for him, he will find me with a smile on my face. I will remember what is was like at 8, 12, and 16 when it's important to know you have someone in your corner. Sam will always have me.

On Saturday, we celebrated making it all the way through a soccer game. We went to Willow Bend and ate Sonic in the food court, we walked all over the mall and into every department store to find their Exit signs and compare the different brands of toilets each one had. To top off the celebration, we drove out to the airport and parked near the runway and watched planes take off. We tilted our seats back and watched these engineering marvels lift off high into the deep blue Texas sky. We felt the warm sun on our skin. We listened closely to hear the differences in the engines. We would take turns telling stories about where the planes were headed. We. The common word here is We. We are a team. We will not be separated. We are father and son. We are best of friends.