Kudos to my daughter Cat and her team the Diamonds on their Victory yesterday. It was thrilling to watch Cat score her first goal, make 2 assists and success as goalie in the second half of the game.
Victory got me thinking of the other words in our language that begin with the letter V.
Vociferous--I was overly vociferous in my support of the team and my daughter. Why is it that I lose all sense of reason when I see my children succeed at a sport. Am I really turning into "that kind of mom?" Is it merely positive reinforcement to a slightly psychotic level. Is it different when she does poorly? Will I scream at the top of my lungs "That's OK next time try to kick it in the opponent's net, I still support you!!" as I clutch onto the hubsters arm hard enough to cause bruising
Videotaping--for those of us who are huge sports fans and follow the New England Patriots, I can't quite get my brain around this videotaping scandal. "Everyone does it" yes, I can imagine. But what are the other things in life are we going to explain to our kids that everyone else "does" and to just turn the other cheek. (sex before marriage, drinking before the age of 21, trying pot....)
Virtue--As a mother of 2 young children, its easy to imagine the kind of virtues I am going to try to instill on my girls as they become young women (don't do drugs, don't drink and drive blah blah). In "sports terms"-that's a "layup" correct? What are the virtues we are introducing without realizing it? Its OK to gossip about the other mom's in the neighborhood, its OK to skip church or work because we simply don't feel like going, is it OK to tell little white lies ..."tell Nana I am in the shower and can't talk right now!" Do these little indiscretions creep up on us eventually?
Value--Would my reaction been different had the Diamonds lost yesterday. Had Cat's goal, 2 assists, numerous saves while in goal been erased by the mere fact that they lost? I hope not. I hope that Cat realizes that doing her personal best regardless of the outcome is what we value and not necessarily winning. I hope that all of us "sports parents" keep that in check this season.
Volunteering--Yes, Very proud of Cat again. She volunteered to play goalie in the second half. What made me proud was the fact that I was such a shy and mousy kid, I never volunteered to do anything. Makes me wonder, is that 9 year old mouse still in me that makes me not want to volunteer for anything else in life and I have simply disguised the lack of volunteerism with being busy?
Valor--Defined means "strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness : personal bravery." Great word-in fact my favorite in the bunch. When I think of valor, I think of knights in shining armor slaying the enemy. In modern times in the suburbs, who or what is the enemy and how do we define personal bravery?~T
2 comments:
So here's my comment on voluteering....it may not be the mousy 9 year old in you that doesn't let you volunteer.....it may be the adult in you that realizes you don't want to spread yourself too thin.
It's that reasoning that may allow you (& hubby) to have quality time as a family at the end of the day and on weekends.
Time that is probably more valuable to your girls than just seeing your face in their classroom for 45 minutes. It's the time you spend with them to pick their brains & find out exactly what life is like in their little worlds.
It's time that belongs just to your family. Time to connect.
I wish I was better at just saying "no".
I might not need our walking therapy sessions if I did!
Congrats. I can only imagine how challenging it must be to impart good sportsmanship (sportswomanship?) onto your daughter, in this day and age. My children are only 1 and 3 so I haven't crossed that bridge yet. But it sounds like whatever you're doing is working though. (She's already volunteering for goalie, for the team.)
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