Work.

"We need to teach [kids] that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline." - President Obama in January's State of the Union Address.

Yeah, that's right. I'm quoting Obama. Because when he said that, I was all, "You know it!" And, okay. I am seriously counting the hours until the Celtics play at eight o'clock tonight, and I have been since yesterday. I just want to watch hard work pay off, and I feel like Ray Allen's three-point record will be an amazing example of that. Here's a guy who's in the NBA, and clearly he knows how to shoot a basketball, and still he practices his shots additional hours before every game. For starters.

I, of course, referenced Ray Allen and his work ethic during field hockey preseason when I asked my team to run through a three-man weave again. They were so bored with it, and I could tell that they wanted to be doing something different. And it's ridiculous. Most of them had learned to play field hockey in the last three years, and still they were so put out by my asking them to run through fundamentals. But those basics need to be maintained, and sharpened, if you want to be great. You have to work, and it's not always FUN or EXCITING, kids. And Ray Allen, two baskets away from the three-point record. his work ethic, and his deserving this for his self-discipline and the hours he's put in, is why I can't get enough of the pre-game hype this week. It's ridiculous, but I feel proud of him.

In November, my family filled a cookie jar with slips of paper on which we'd written and drawn the things that we were thankful for. Celtics games was one of my first. That's partly because of watching athletes like Ray Allen, and partly because I love how the Celtics play as a team; I love the crisp, strong, and sneaky passes that Rondo and his teammates carry out. I love hearing Doc in the huddle because he's preaching the basics, too: "Together!" And I love that it's just five guys out there running through complicated plays that they make look easy. Because they practiced. And they worked hard. So, go Celtics! And go RayRay! For threeeeeee! And for threeeeeee again! Got it!

(Marley, by the way, was thankful for her cousins last holiday season. Among other things, of course.)