Let it be known that I am a lover of Football.
Love the game, love the team mentality, love the very specific-and-yet-oh-so-large things that you can learn from football. I don't profess my loyalties to one pro team, or college for that matter. I do however bleed the colors of our high school and whatever other colors my boys may be playing for at the time.
I love sports in general, but Football is special.
I was a cheerleader in High School, which was a million-and-a-half years ago, but that's beside the point. I loved it then, too. The crispness in the air. The smell of the season starting to change from summer to fall. Starting fresh with old friends and making new ones. Meshing together as a team. I had friends that played that did great and enjoyed themselves but knew it was a game, a phase, and then they moved on. Something to just do. Some though, lived and breathed it and learned from it and it shaped who they were and who they would become.
I felt that way about Cheer. I wasn't the best, but I sure practiced hard and I enjoyed the heck out of it. One summer I set a goal to get better at a certain jump. So I would run outside and do 10 jumps in the reflection of our back doors and then go back in and do a few dishes. Over and over again. I did thousands of jumps that summer. When fall came I was the only one on the squad that could do that jump. I was so proud.
I realized that a little hard work done consistently adds up to big results.
The first thing I though of when I saw my husband was, "Hmmm...he's pretty cute. He looks like he plays football." He had. In fact, he loves the game even more than me and coaches it today. He's amazing. Now I look forward to seeing old friends and being part of our Football Family again.
I love what it's done for J. He's passionate about it. He worked so hard in 4th grade. He set his mind to it, worked hard and recognized results. Then he applied it to school and had great results there too. What an awesome life lesson, I hope he never forgets it. He's also become a student of the game. He watches, analyzes, scrutinizes, and loves the game. He will call the play and know where the ball is going before the it's snapped by reading the players. It's awesome.
T does football but not in the same way, and I love that too. His goals and talents are different. Sometimes it's hard for the two of them to agree to disagree. He plays because it's fun. He plays everything because it's fun. That's his goal. He's able to dispel the nerves and the hype easier. He thinks it'a awesome to win and gets over a loss easier than J. I hope he will learn the value of "leaving it all on the field."
Lu loves football too. When they play, she plays. She hikes the ball and runs like mad for whatever end zone there is. She hasn't been shoved into a pink box yet that says she can't play rough with her brothers. Sometimes though, we do have to remind her that there is no whining in Football.
I love the players who have natural born talent. I love even more the players who have heart. It's magical when you find a player who has both. That's how life is I think. God gives us talents. It's up to us to use them for good. It's really as simple as that. When we do a little hard work consistently, it adds up to big results.
Winning is awesome, and well, losing just stinks. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair. Sometimes it isn't. But that's how life is. Our greatest challenges can bring us our greatest growth. It's just as important what you do with success as it is with how you handle failure. I think one of the life lessons is when you remember there's always next season to look forward to. There's always tomorrow, there's always a way to be better. Get up and keep moving.
Yes, I love Football.
I was a cheerleader in High School, which was a million-and-a-half years ago, but that's beside the point. I loved it then, too. The crispness in the air. The smell of the season starting to change from summer to fall. Starting fresh with old friends and making new ones. Meshing together as a team. I had friends that played that did great and enjoyed themselves but knew it was a game, a phase, and then they moved on. Something to just do. Some though, lived and breathed it and learned from it and it shaped who they were and who they would become.
I felt that way about Cheer. I wasn't the best, but I sure practiced hard and I enjoyed the heck out of it. One summer I set a goal to get better at a certain jump. So I would run outside and do 10 jumps in the reflection of our back doors and then go back in and do a few dishes. Over and over again. I did thousands of jumps that summer. When fall came I was the only one on the squad that could do that jump. I was so proud.
I realized that a little hard work done consistently adds up to big results.
The first thing I though of when I saw my husband was, "Hmmm...he's pretty cute. He looks like he plays football." He had. In fact, he loves the game even more than me and coaches it today. He's amazing. Now I look forward to seeing old friends and being part of our Football Family again.
I love what it's done for J. He's passionate about it. He worked so hard in 4th grade. He set his mind to it, worked hard and recognized results. Then he applied it to school and had great results there too. What an awesome life lesson, I hope he never forgets it. He's also become a student of the game. He watches, analyzes, scrutinizes, and loves the game. He will call the play and know where the ball is going before the it's snapped by reading the players. It's awesome.
T does football but not in the same way, and I love that too. His goals and talents are different. Sometimes it's hard for the two of them to agree to disagree. He plays because it's fun. He plays everything because it's fun. That's his goal. He's able to dispel the nerves and the hype easier. He thinks it'a awesome to win and gets over a loss easier than J. I hope he will learn the value of "leaving it all on the field."
Lu loves football too. When they play, she plays. She hikes the ball and runs like mad for whatever end zone there is. She hasn't been shoved into a pink box yet that says she can't play rough with her brothers. Sometimes though, we do have to remind her that there is no whining in Football.
I love the players who have natural born talent. I love even more the players who have heart. It's magical when you find a player who has both. That's how life is I think. God gives us talents. It's up to us to use them for good. It's really as simple as that. When we do a little hard work consistently, it adds up to big results.
Winning is awesome, and well, losing just stinks. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair. Sometimes it isn't. But that's how life is. Our greatest challenges can bring us our greatest growth. It's just as important what you do with success as it is with how you handle failure. I think one of the life lessons is when you remember there's always next season to look forward to. There's always tomorrow, there's always a way to be better. Get up and keep moving.
Yes, I love Football.
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