I've always loved sports for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would get to stay up late to watch games with my dad. KU basketball of course! I also remember being an avid Oilers fan back when they were in Houston, and completely infatuated with Rockets during their championship years. There's just something about sports that I love.
I think one of the main reasons that I love sports is that they teach a lot about life. You've heard the saying, "Everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarten". Well, everything I need to know, I learned while playing team sports. I learned perseverance, the value of hard work (and also that sometimes hard work isn't enough), how to motivate others and what motivates me, interpersonal skills, sportsmanship, how good it feels to win and how bad it feels to lose. I also learned that even when you are one of the best, most sought after players in the state, sometimes you run across someone who is better. I thought about this lesson a lot today at our state semifinal loss against Lake Travis High School. That is a tough one to learn, especially when you are accustomed to success. But it stays with you throughout life and reminds you to be humble in your successes and gracious in your failures.
Hats off to Lake Travis and Garrett Gilbert. They were simply the better team. We could have fumbled less, made a few more tackles, or thrown fewer interceptions...but honestly at the end of the day, they were just better. Give credit where credit is due. Congratulations to them, and best of luck next week in the state championship game. They truly deserve to be the ones going.
As for our team - there is absolutely no shame in losing to Lake Travis. No one else has beat them this year (or last year for that matter). We had an amazing run, and it was so much fun to be along for the ride. I always get a little bit sad at the end of a season. Not because of the game or a loss, but because of the relationships. It's hard to say goodbye to the seniors each year, knowing how much their lives are about to change. Jamie gets quite attached to them, of course, and I really grow to know them through his stories and watching them play. I also think it brings back memories of my own senior year and saying goodbye to my high school career.
For me, the transition from high school to college was the hardest transition of my life thus far. Harder than the transition into motherhood and the transition of divorce. I know that sounds crazy, but I truly feel that way. There was something very traumatic about leaving my home and the friends I'd known since 3rd grade and moving away to a new town to start all over as an adult. I remember standing in my room the night before I left for college and thinking to myself that things would never be the same again - and they weren't. We think when we bid farewell to high school that we will keep in touch with all our friends - that we will still see each other and be a big part of one another's lives. And we do for a little while. But time passes and people move in different directions...and we lose touch.
I watched as the kids patted one another on the backs on the sidelines and gave hugs. Some of these friendships are years in the making, and the bond between teammates is strong. Think of all they have shared with one another. I know they are thinking their friendships will endure the trip to college. Some of them will, but the reality is that most of them will not. It's hard to imagine everyone scattering to the wind, but I know in just a few short months, that is what will happen. It's not a bad thing, necessarily. Still it does make me a little sad.
Of course there is always a silver lining. We won't be playing for a state championship this year, but we far exceeded expectations by being one of the 4 best teams in the huge state of Texas. Our quarterback will play next year for Texas Tech, and a few other seniors may get offers to play in college as well. It will be a blast to watch Tech on television in the next few years to come. And Jamie and I will get our lives back! Well, at least for about the next 6 weeks until baseball starts again. We haven't had a full weekend together as a family since late July, so it is long overdue. I know Jamie is exhausted and can really use the break. I had a quiet moment in the stands tonight during the 4th quarter when it was incredibly apparent that we would not win. I just felt so thankful and blessed. I'm so thankful to be healthy & to have found a man like Jamie to share my life. I wish things could have been different today, but I cannot spend much time feeling bad about how it turned out. We are just too fortunate to be overly upset about a football game.
Congratulations to the 2008 Friendswood Mustangs on a season that has been unmatched since 1973!!!! What memories we will have of this wonderful year...just another reason to be thankful. :)
