He did such a great job and we were so proud of him. We had been prepping him all week and he was so excited that morning to put on his uniform and cleats. We got all dressed and headed out to the field. It was a beautiful day and he couldn't wait! Jimmy was coaching because the regular coach was gone, and as he headed off he said, "bye mom, I'm gonna kick so good!" Love him. Anyway, he did so great in the warm up - he kicked the ball in the goal, was excited to see his friends - it was looking promising...until the game started and he was the first to have to sit out. In hindsight, that was a big mistake, but certainly Jimmy didn't mean for it to be. Well, he did fine standing there for awhile, but when the minutes kept passing, he begin to lose hope. I'm still not sure if he thought he wasn't going to get to play, or if he didn't like standing there all by himself (which I don't blame him for), but he started crying and no matter what we said, we couldn't get him to stop. We all took a turn trying to console him - Daddy, me, Memaw - but he just wasn't having it. My heart just broke for him because he WAS so excited (which we were SO shocked about) and then to have his excitement dashed by being made to sit out...I'm crying right now just thinking about it! :) Finally he did make it in the game for a few plays and he did GREAT! He kicked the ball a few times, but finally decided to call it quits and sit with Memaw. I must admit that a part of me was starting to get frustrated, but I quickly remembered that I had NO expectations and I also realized how he must've been feeling, so I was SO proud of him for what he did do - because that was a HUGE step for him and I know that just going out there at all was a push out of his comfort zone. He is so much like I was as a kid - which is challenging because I identify with him and want to just tell him he doesn't have to do it, but at the same time I know he needs to be pushed out of his shell a little bit.
Anyway, it was a great day and a mental image that will be ingrained in my mind forever. I'm sure this is the first of MANY days out at a ball field.
Love you, J.D. and I'm so proud of you!!
This was him standing on the sideline patiently waiting his turn before the meltdown:
This was him standing on the sideline patiently waiting his turn before the meltdown:
Oh my goodness. That is so cute. I was tearing up as I read it! I made Anthony read it too! He didn't get teary though. :)
ReplyDeleteWe were so proud of JD too. I hope he is ok with trying again this week. I know he'll do a super job!!!
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