And A Season Ends

I'm not so sure that the change in the seasons isn't harder on the parents than it is on the kids. Even as we wait for the first frost to harden the ground for the pending winter and we watch the last of the beautifully colored leaves fall from our trees, I'm not talking about the seasons of Mother Nature.When a youth sports season comes to an end the kids always seem to be ready to bounce right into the next opportunity that's available. In the mean time, moms and dads can't help but think just a couple of more weeks and Sally or Jimmy would have that great game that they will remember for a life time.  The hopes of a couple of more weeks might be all our team would need to turn a lackluster season into a real winner. The kids were just showing the beginnings of understanding what the coach had been talking about throughout the season. The moves were nearly there, they were flowing as a team, and they were on the verge of being champions. Actually, we've all won. Our kids have had fun. They've learned, they've played and they've won and lost. As parents we've had the opportunity to witness this all of this. We've been proud, frustrated, and jubilant; dismayed by what we’ve seen our home team do, often in a single contest. But most of all, we have seen our children grow. You don’t necessarily notice the change from game to game, from week to week, but as the season ends and you think back to the awkward moments at the beginning of the season you realize that something good has happened here and if we had just one more game or one more week of competition we would be able to see the light shine for the team.

We will adjust; we’ll deliver the kids to the next team practice, pay those activity fees and look at the new team with a faint memory of last season and high hopes for the next.