There was a crisp chill in the October air today as the early fall leaves were
beginning to contrast against the crystal clear blue sky. Today was Saturday and
and as Summer had finally past, new goodbye's were also on the horizon.
I realized I had learned a few things about being a mom of a child in athletics.
As a piano teacher, I hear a lot about the numerous sports events that sometimes
conflict with my students lesson times. Though this is frustrating for me at times,
I can now identify a bit more with them.
I overhear conversations about playoffs, home or away game schedules and final
scores. Up until now, I could not identify or contribute to these conversations.
Truthfully, I could have cared less.
However, I discovered that living through the journey of being a parent of an
athlete brought me where I never thought it would. It was a combination of thrill,
heartache, exuberance and anxiety. There were the many celebrations over the
victories and comfort was needed after the upsets.
Since high school, I have attended football games, basketball games and even track
meets that I myself participated in where my parents cheered me on. During these
games, I never once considered the fact that there was a parent in the grand
stands holding their breaths as their first born son ran with the ball to first
down and feeling proud that there son had advanced the team. Never once did I
consider the tears of that mom as she saw her daughter who hit the ground after
the ball only to remain on the ground with an injury. Nor did I consider that some
of these parents sacrificed their work schedules and business trips just to be
there to watch their children play. For the first time, we were those parents.
Today, Madeline played volleyball. I saw her play on the court in her blue
uniform, knee pads and very long ponytail with a striped bow. It was a long day as
the tournament included 4 different schools that her team would compete against.
Before the final match they huddled up for their last chant of camaraderie before
playing against an undefeated team. It would be their last game of the season. As
I watched them play I thought about how she always needed two back packs, how my
heart would pound when the ball was headed in her direction and our bonding
experiences as we would hit the drive thru after practice. I remembered the
excitement in our home when she found out she made the team after a long wait on
the night after tryouts and I think there's even an onion left from the fund
raiser.
Her team showed fatigue as the opposing team was intimidating. The final was 25-
12 of which one of the scores was Madi's. A felt a tear in my eye as the last
point was scored. Not because of the loss but that Madi's first volleyball season
was over and her team was second place in Gwinnett county.
My Madi
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