I never played sports.
I never learned how to win.
I never learned how to lose.
How do you teach someone something you were never taught? Well, you follow your husband's lead and wing the rest.
It was a roller coaster season that really tested their resilence both as individuals and as a team. It seemed as though each high was followed by a low. After a nice win of their first playoff game they lost the semi-final game.
Throughout the season there were talks in the car about shaking off the strikes, the fouls, and the outs so you could move on to the next play.
Because there would always be another hit, another runner to get on base and another opportunity.
And sometimes, even when you know in your heart that you weren't tagged, you still get called out.
On the way home from this disappointing loss of the semi-final game I asked him if he knew what I was most proud of in that game. He rattled off every play he had catalogued in his head and I continued to respond "no".
Finally I said to him, I am most proud of your heart.
To which of course he gave me a silly 9 year old comeback of "what play did it make?"
After a laugh I explained to him that despite an error, or an out, or a bad call he stayed even and kept playing his best. He never gave up. He never lost heart.
For me, that is how you win the game, even when you lose.
I am thankful that the two little boys peeking through the fence will learn this lesson with every game they watch.
This is my contribution to Cherish This Day, you can see the full post here.