A Blog on Josh: the Second Spofford brother

Let me just get one thing out of the way very quickly: this post is long overdue!  As most of you know, I have three brothers; Joe, Josh, and Isaiah.  I wrote Joe a blog on his birthday and Isaiah a blog prior to his knee surgery in March.  I have been waiting for a major life event for Josh, but I was at camp on his birthday and wasn't able to do it then.  Well, finally, I am digging some time out  to talk a little bit about the second of the four boys.

A True American

I typed the opening paragraph and then sat for thirty minutes trying to think of where I wanted to start talking about Josh.  Not because I don't have anything to say, but mostly because there are so many things that I want to say about Josh.  I think that rather than stick to my usual format, I will be jumping around a little bit to moments in my life that I feel provide a good illustration of Josh from my perspective.

I'm going to begin by talking about soccer.  Josh probably played the biggest direct role in my improvement in soccer.  While Joe was a role model for my play, Josh and I spent a lot of time working on my individual skills to make me a more effective player.  We often drove to Webber Field or Colby, and spent hours playing one-on-one, shooting free kicks, and finishing and serving crosses.  Prior to my high school days, Josh, Joe, and I played World Cup in the back yard.  Joe played goalie while Josh and I played one-on-one.  I am sure that Josh wasn't going 100% (unless I was really good), but he challenged me enough to keep the games close and push me to be strong on the ball and creative with my touches.  He even made the effort to include me on his indoor soccer team, even though I was in eighth grade and the rest of the team consisted of high school seniors.  I never said it in these direct words, but it meant so much to me, and obviously made me a better player.  I will note that I was one of the team's lead scorers.  As I got older, I remember how important it was to me when he would show up to watch me play in my varsity games.  I always kept an ear out for him coaching me up from the fan section, urging me to go by defenders on my own and challenging me to do better.

I don't mean to brag in saying that the Spofford boys are more skilled in most sports than the average family of boys.  We played all different sports all the time, and the practice paid off.  None of us devoted a ton of our time playing organized basketball, but we did spend countless hours in the driveway playing two-on-two.  Josh has always been my teammate.  Unfortunately for us, our opponents, Isaiah and Joe, are definitely more gifted in the athleticism department.  When I was younger, Josh was always left with the tall task of guarding Joe (who is hyper-competitive and rarely misses, especially when someone is right in his face).
Typical games usually go something like this:

• Josh and I jump out to an early lead as Josh sinks a couple of shots from the right side. (Keeping in mind this is make-it-take-it)
• After the first couple of makes, we miss a shot and its snatched up by Joe.
• Joe hits a couple of similar shots in a row with Josh right in his shirt (Josh begins getting frustrated)
• Joe fakes a drive, pulling me off of Isaiah, kicks to Isaiah, Zay makes an easy lay-up.        Score: 3-2
• Joe pulls up, misses one, I get the rebound
• I take it out to the point, pull up and make it
• I check it up with Isaiah, drive towards the hoop-- Josh looks wide open, so I throw a pass to him.  Somehow, Joe comes out of nowhere and snatches up the pass.  Back on defense we go. Josh and I haven't been doing much conditioning.  It is at this point we start to feel the fatigue.
• Joe gets it, passes to Isaiah, who does his signature sprint across the face of the basket and do a sideways fade (it is a terrible looking shot, but it's impossible to block and goes in more often than not)-- He makes it Score: 4-3
• Joe takes the ball out, makes two more shots in Josh's face (Josh's frustration level is a code  red-- Joe better not make his next shot) Score: 6-3
• Joe passes to Isaiah who pulls up-- the shot is not good-- an airball.  Josh and I breathe a sigh of relief, when suddenly Joe comes out of nowhere, grabs the ball out of the air, and slams it home (keep in mind we're playing on an 8'5" hoop-- Makes us feel like NBA players)
• Josh punts the ball-- Noah goes to get the ball and the game starts again. Score 7-3.
• Isaiah starts with the ball, passes to Joe who pulls up, but misses this time.  Josh gets the rebound.
• I drive to the basket, past Isaiah, makes a lay-up
• I drive, but run into Joe as a help defender.  I kick out to Josh who pulls up from mid-range and makes it! Score 7-5
• I check it up with Isaiah and pull up from the top of the key-- Score 7-6
• I pass the ball to Josh, he pulls up for the shot, but is blocked by Joe, who secures the ball, takes it out, shoots the mid-range jumper and sinks it (Josh begins getting heated again).  
• I make the defensive switch onto Joe because Josh is getting frustrated
• Joe rattles off two more jumpers in my face Score 10-6
• Joe passes to Isaiah, who tries to put it up over Josh, but is blocked.  I grab the ball, put it up, miss, but Josh grabs the rebound and lays it in Score 10-7
• Josh takes it out, I cut across the basket, catch the pass from Josh and turn it into a fade-away jumper-- I make it Score 10-8
• Joe begins to sense a comeback, so he switches onto me to lock me out.  Josh puts up a shot, but is off slightly, rebounded by Isaiah.  (At this point, Josh and I are very winded... we have to work out more...)
• Joe demands the ball from Isaiah and sinks the game winner in Josh's face.
• Josh grabs the ball and punts it again.
• Joe asks if we want to play another... Josh immediately says NO! 
• We go inside.

Sometimes the games swing in our favor, but that is about what it looks like!

Josh and Isaiah prior to Josh's first homecoming?

As a younger brother, I always wanted to be hanging out with my older brothers and be one of the guys.  With Joe being about six years older than me, the age gap was a little bit too great and I would often be left out of his plans (I obviously don't blame him for that... It makes total sense).  However, Josh (being a little closer in age) was much more accommodating in having me around.  He always kept me in the loop about what he and his friends were up to and how he was doing in the girl world, which really allowed me to feel included.  I can remember spending a lot of time with him while he sat on the computer listening to music and talked to people on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for all you youngsters).  Although I didn't always go out to hang out with him and his friends, I always felt like I was in the loop (I was so cool!)  I can vividly remember when he taught me how to fast-dance (yeah, fast-dance... this blog is PG!) when I was in middle school (probably a little early for that).  If I am looking for life advice, Josh is always the first brother I turn to, because he was always there to give me advice when I was younger.  I will digress for just a second to point out a piece of advice Joe gave me that has stuck with me: "Noah, make sure to find a girl that laughs and smiles a lot!" (I think I did a pretty good job of that with Amy). 

So dapper!

Out of the four of us, there is no doubt or argument that Josh is and has always been the most stylish.  He (like myself) dedicates a decent budget towards shopping for new clothes and keeping up with the most recent styles.  I often find myself trying to imitate his style choices and it has helped me dress very well indeed!

When Josh is home on vacation, you will most often find him cozied up the recliner reading on his Kindle.  Josh has read so many books ranging from classics to modern day pop-culture reads.  He is definitely the most well-read Spofford.  He is also the most introspective of the Spoffords.  When he was young, he was often "in the clouds" as my Dad would say.  That imagination has allowed him to think critically and challenge normal conventions, which pushes people around him to keep up to his intellectual level and meet his standards (a quality that I am sure serves him well in the professional world).  This has been a double edged sword, because he has the capacity to do so many things, but has yet to decide the exact direction he wants to take these skills in.  He has thought about becoming a lawyer, nurse, librarian, or just furthering his degree in the field he is currently in.  When he commits, I am positive he will be extremely successful.

Josh and Sara on their most recent Maine trip

Josh, like the rest of my family, has been a blessing in my life and I'm so happy that he is one of my brothers.  He is a kind, compassionate dude with a real zeal for enjoying life in the here and now... a quality that I admire.  So even though it's a little late, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!! Hope you have an amazing, fruitful year!