Any other mamas outside remember back to when they were athletes? In my mind, I am still an athlete. But I was humbled this past weekend and freshly reminded that I am an old athlete.
My feet don’t move very well. I am slow. My baskets don’t fall when I think they should.
I am best when I am passing the ball…which that was to another mom, our friend Nancy who was visiting with her husband Casey and their three kids. Nancy and I teamed up against Hunter, age 14 and Noah, age 9.
Hunter blocked my shot and boxed me out a few times. I threw elbows and fouled him as much as I could. I might be slow and my shot might be off but my elbows are still mighty sharp.
Nancy had way more game than me, thankfully. We held our own for awhile against our sons. Then we called in reserves.
The Dads. The dads got to work against their sons. They were huffing and puffing but proved they still have game.
I retreated to the sidelines where I am now most comfortable. In my mind I can still have an inner athlete within me that moves swiftly. But she isn’t what she used to be. My best role is now the encourager on the sidelines. I have a son who plays sports and little girls to help them find their inner athlete and develop it.
I don’t anticipate any future mid-life crisis of me trying to relive my past athletic years. I needed too much Aleve or Advil to recover from 20 minutes of pick up 2 on 2 pick up basketball to push myself to any new heights. But I was reminded why I love sports from our basketball playing this past weekend.
Wow when I get there, I better get out to the hoop and shoot quite a bit! I have been playing co-ed with a women’s ball. It’s really too bad I can’t get some of my other friends to Wishek to beat up on some of those Wishek ballers! I know of few guys that could, but with their size and skill, just a few. 🙂
-Brother Joe
Really? You have sharp elbows and foul mercilessly?
…haha I should’ve warned Hunter. 🙂
I can sympathize!! My boys are.just starting to get interested in sports…and they already make me feel old and creaky!! But I agree..my job isn’t to be an athlete anymore. it’s time for me to be the cheerleader…(without the skirt though!)
looks like a lot of fun. 🙂
Someone once told me – “there is to much sports in schools” I disagree – I think there just needs to be a balance. Education is important to all our children but sports teaches children so much about life that they can’t get from a book. Working hard, accepting disappointment, learning to put team before themselves and most importantly, it teaches our children to set goals. I was never an athlete but all of our children were involved in sports. Crazy schedules, lots of miles, late nites and early morning practices, but I would never trade one moment of being their biggest fans. Our children are long gone but we still love supporting our local teams. This season has past but we are already looking forward to next year.
I think success can be found in the attempt and lessons learned as well as the final outcome. Great post!
You have got to be one of the coolest moms! I’m sure your kids are stoked that they’re mom can throw elbows like that. I’ll never forget the look on my teen childrens’ faces when I showed them that I could still breakdance. Priceless! Loved these photos…
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