Today is Saturday. The day began with my son Alex's indoor soccer game at 7:45 in the morning. 7:45 is early, but last week the game started at 7, so I can feel like we got to sleep in! Alex is a good little player. And I mean little. He is very small for an 8 year old. The kid has zero percent body fat, and that means in a game like soccer, especially indoor, he gets physically pushed around a lot. Alex is good on defense, he always stays back to help defend his goalie; and despite his small stature, he is never afraid to confront the opposition. The team the boys played today probably shouldn't have been playing in this league. This is a YMCA sponsored recreational league, and I'm pretty sure the team they played was a competitive team during the regular seasons. So needless to say, they got their butts kicked. 7 to 1. They tried, but the other team was bigger, faster, and not afraid to throw an elbow or two or three... I have to say they took it well, and we'll push the loss aside and try again next weekend.
The day then continued with my daughter Aili's volleyball game at 1:00. She plays on the 5th grade Christ the King school team. They also lost today. The second match I thought they had them. They had a sizable lead at one point, but then seemed to freeze up, and let the other team overtake them. It was Aili's first game as we were in Wisconsin last weekend to visit family, and Tim and I were both nervous as to how well she would perform. She did pretty well. I think she had some first game jitters, but she definitely held her own. She isn't always the most athletic kid, although she really, really puts her heart into it; and there are some very athletic girls in her grade. But she made some good plays, and we are very proud of her performance. All the girls did really well, the other team just played better. Again, we'll just have to wait until next week to try again.
Finally, at 2:30, we were back at Soccer World for my indoor soccer game. It's a team from Tim's office, but he had a conflict and was unable to play (on some Saturdays he takes blind and wheelchair-bound people bowling with the YMCA Adaptive Physical Education program), but after rushing across town from volleyball, I was able to make it. We play in a co-ed recreational league. A minimum of 3 girls must be on the field at a time, and if a guy scores a goal, a girl must score the next one. We lost 2 to 1. Our girls just couldn't get a foot on the ball. I'll tell you...the ball spins so differently on the indoor carpet than outside in the grass. And although the guys tried to give us opportunities to score, we just weren't able to pull it off. Myself included. I just couldn't solidly connect with anything today. Again, as we were in Wisconsin last weekend, this was my first game of the season, so I'm a bit rusty. So just like the kids...we'll try again next weekend!
Tim joked that we were just a bunch of losers. Anyone who knows Tim knows that he loves to tease. And that is all his comment was, harmless teasing. But I have to say I disagree. There were a lot of things we could have done on a cold Saturday in the middle of January. We could have sat on the couch and watched T.V. all day. We could have taken the Christmas tree down. The fact that its still up is a different issue...maybe that will be tomorrow's post. We could have gone to the movies and eaten a bunch of fattening popcorn and drank giant slushies. We could have gone to the mall and spent some of that disposable income that we really don't have. But we didn't. We went out and did healthy, physical activities and cheered each other on as a family. I think that makes for a pretty good Saturday. For Christmas I got Tim a sign to hang on the wall. It says "A Family That Plays Together Stays Together." I think that is very true. We love to hang out together. I think it makes us a stronger family. We cheer on and support one another. Even though we all lost today, we can take pride in what we accomplished. We can learn from our weaknesses and will all try harder next week.
I'm proud of us, and even if we all lose again next week, we're not a bunch of losers...we're a close family supporting each other and trying to have fun doing it. Although, I will admit...it will be more fun if we win!!
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