Official notice: As of today, Sunday, May 2, 2004, free time for the Li's has officially been cast out the window. Do not pass 'Go.' Do not collect $200. Go straight to join the ranks of 'Sports Family'.
While we were out practicing pitching with Ariel yesterday afternoon in our back yard (you gotta love a backyard in which we can do that in!), we had a message left on our answering machine from the head coach of Ariel's softball team.
He called to tell us that our regularly scheduled game this next week was to be postponed. *whew* We thought - we had enough to do during the week anyway. Little did we know that that was just a setup for the Impending Doom (TM) that was about to befall our little family.
The second half of his message was the kicker. Here was where he dropped the bomb on us. He asked if Ariel would be interested in playing on the Maumelle traveling tournament softball team. Our jaws dropped. Nervousness, anxiety, excitement - all these emotions hit Ariel. Jen & I were even worse off. I told Ariel I'd talk to her coach & get some more info before we committed. We should have been committed, I tell ya.
I called her coach back later that evening and talked to him. It would involve practices twice a week. It would involve traveling to tournaments over the weekend. It would involve practice games. And that was in addition to whatever games she had committed to with her regular league team. Her coach also went on to say that all the girls playing on the tournament team (with exception to one) have all been playing for at least two years. But after seeing Ariel play, he felt she was a good enough player to play on the tournament team. What an honor, I thought. He also said that by playing on the tournament team, Ariel would improve in playing softball REAL quick.
Ariel was still fairly nervous - I think she felt like she wasn't up to playing with the other girls who were better than her. But once I told her that her coach wouldn't have asked her to be on the team if he didn't think she could play, she felt a lot better. So we committed. And boy are we committed. They had a 2-hour practice today (because they couldn't practice yesterday). We have two tournament team practice games this week. We have a tournament next weekend. Next week we have a tournament team practice game as well as three league games. And the following weekend is another tournament. Hoo boy.
I've always wanted my kids to participate in some sort of sporting activity. As parents, it's one of those things which give you all sort of Proud Parent Moments (TM). It's the chance to live vicariously through your kids for activities you never had the chance to participate in while you were young. And last night was a definite Proud Daddy Moment (TM). The best part of it is this time I'm not directly involved with the team so I can finally sit back and cheer on Ariel with the other Sports Parents (TM).
It's true that my free time is no longer my own. But I'd give up that in order to give my kids these wonderful opportunities of their own. Isn't that what parenting is all about?
No comments:
Post a Comment