Lessons in sports...

Tyler's last basketball tournament (apologize for the fuzzy picture)

I am a sports mom.... what I mean by that is I have kids in every sport imaginable. I have cheered on my wrestler, football player, track participant, soccer player, basketball player, cheerleader and baseball player. I have sat through wind, rain, sub zero temperatures, heat indexes well above 100 degrees farenheit and in gymnasiums, football fields, track fields, wrestling mats and in sweaty, smelly cramped bleachers. I KNOW what it takes to be your child's biggest fan. What I also know is that I have learned many vaulable lessons in sitting there cheering on my favorite sports particpants and teams. Great lessons... life lessons. I am going to share these mainly because today I watched my son take last place in a tournament he worked so so hard on. You know the best part? He was happy... HAPPY to be there. He was smiling, he was laughing, he was excited about his part in the game and he was proud. Of himself- his team and his coaches and it didn't matter if they were first or last... they were all WINNERS in his book. I am so proud... so very very proud.

1. Always...always...always tell your child you are proud. Whether they score the most points, the least points, no points. Tell them you are proud because what it all boils down to is that all they care about us what you think of them- not that W on the scorecard.
2. Be the bigger man when it comes to you and your opponent. I saw teams who were getting beaten by 40 points or more smile, not get frustrated and still trying 100% to get that one more point. They never gave up and they never quit.
3. Do not be THAT parent. You know the one... the one who is so engrossed in their child's performance they cannot breathe or look away from their viewfinder as the videotape every single breath their child takes. What are you missing behind that viewfinder?
4. For every negative you mention to to your child "you could have done this..." or "maybe you missed this"... follow with at least 2 positives. If all you give them is negative what can they feel proud of?
5. Learn from my son, be the best athlete you can be whether you win or lose, whether you are ahead or behind, whether you are excelling or lag behind. Learn from mom son because I am fortunate enough to have learned from him today.

I know there is more I can say I learned... but I wanted to take a minute to say how I feel today because this post is dedicated to my amazing son who taught me today about how to be the winner despite what the scoreboard says... and I could not be any prouder. Love you Tyler, I am the luckiest mom in the world.

Where or where could we be?

Now I am sure you are wondering...as many people have been... where are we? Have we dropped off the face of the earth? Did we come back from Florida and disappear into oblivion? No... not really... we just have..been..kinda busy.
I was told long ago by my parents that "life is what happens when you are making plans" this is true... so VERY true.
Imagine my surprise when after settling into a routine after returning from Florida that Clint comes to me and says "what do you think about a move south?" Long...VERY long story short. ( I am going to make this as short as possible folks) Clint accepted a job, he quit a job, we sold our house without  listing it, he got a real estate license, we relocated 3 hours south and much closer to family, we bought a house, we changed school systems which lead to me applying for and GETTING a job... and whew.... it's not over yet... we started a new school, I started a new job, the kids started new activities, we started a new preschool, and finally... yes finally we are now settling into a new "normal" at least fo now for us. We have been here 4 months- in a new town and now have new friends and new relationships we are buidling. In this whole mess I beacme horribly deliquent in our blog, Many apologies. We... are... well.... adjusting.
I have been asked what the biggest change has been for us. Honestly it has been the forced move into town. We are so used to being "country people" that this has been hard. We have adjusted, knowing full well this is just a stop in the path we are meant to take. We will get there. Together we will get to wherever it is we are meant to be. I realize now that there are more changes ahead for us and we may very well move again and while 2 months ago they thought sent me reeling, I am okay with it now.
The kids- the are GREAT. Kids are strong, they adjust. The best gift you can give them is wings to fly. We hope in taking them to new communities and new opportunities they WILL fly... and so far they have. They have met friends, have maintained the straight A averages they have had and have maintained old friendships in our old community while making new friends here. I think they truly will be better rounded people who are comfortable making friends because of this opportunity we have given them.
So where have I been? 4 months+ of living life, opening doors, walking through them. Was it scary? Yes. Would I do it again? Probably, but ask me in a year beacsue so far we are still adjusting. But we will grow where we are planted- this I can assure you, and for now the roots are digging in!
Stay tuned- life is just bound to get more interesting for us!
~Laura

                                               Kids this summer at the Shirbroun reunion