I spent all day Sunday at a football tournament.
The coldest morning of the winter to date, and there I am layered up, shivering in scarf and gumboots, watching my son's team fight their way through some epic battles.
These lads have been unbeaten for the past two seasons, but now came face to face with some of the toughest teams in the region. There were losses. Missed opportunities and bitter tears.
Some of life's hardest lessons are first faced on the sports field: Being gracious in defeat; Learning to get back up after that defeat to try again.
As a mother, I absolutely love team sport (in spite of the fact that I have two left feet and was always picked last in P.E.). Team sport teaches so much.
My son is a passionate footballer. He holds nothing back and leaves everything on the pitch. The emotions which accompany such passion can be overwhelming for a kid.
Difficult as it was to watch my boy beat himself up for a missed penalty that would have delivered victory, it was heartwarming to observe his teammates put their arms around his shoulders and tell him he did great. Their words of encouragement meant more to him than mine ever could (I'm his mama; he thinks I have to say that).
While he learnt the lessons defeat had to teach, I learnt how to back off and give him space to process his powerful emotions, without attempting to dive in and make it all better.
We all learnt more from losing than we ever had from the back-to-back wins the team usually experiences.
Ah, yes, a Sunday well spent.*
* NOTE: Sunday morning is usually spent at church, a very important part of our life as a family. Mr G took the younger kids while I supported Dash at his tournament. For something important we can miss the occasional Sunday, knowing that God is with us wherever we are.
Best of Me Last Week
Last week was about finding my way back from the bloggy wilderness. I had become a barren desert, devoid of inspiration. Writers block was raging in full force. In true Bear Grylls style I decided to scour my wilderness and make use of anything useful I could find, to help me find my way back.
I started to go around with my eyes wide open.
And it worked. I found things to say, things to smile about, things to be grateful for.
So this week I'm going to ask you if you'd like to join me. Try a week with your eyes wide open.
Write what you notice, share what you see.
Let us get up close and personal.
What might we discover?
{Link up any Eyes Wide Open posts you write this week and/or your favourite post from last week - it's up to you}
Best of You Last Week.
I loved Tori from 2plus1's photos of an afternoon at the beach; when their plans were thwarted they took a spur of the moment side trip, and wow, loved the result. She really had her eyes open and her camera-phone ready that day.
I loved Rach from SweetasNZGirl's simple reminder to let our love have a face. Technology is no substitute for living breathing friends. An email can't hug as good as a human. Loved it Rach.
And I also loved that my old blog-buddy Melinda from Mothering from Scratch has reinvented herself and linked up another lovely reminder to love each other. Melinda is awesome from way back.
How to join in with my "Best in Blog" linky.
The "Best in Blog" Linky opens at 7am every Monday (NZ time*) and closes midnight Friday.
You don't have to write a special post, or take a photo on a theme or anything that requires extra work...
All you have to do is pick your favourite post from the past week (the one you are most proud of) and share it with us. I will feature my favourites on next week's Best in Blog.
Just one thing you need to do before you link up... Can you please dress your post with this pretty button I've made so your readers can find our linky too?
Thankyou kindly!
(Oh, and please leave us a comment telling us why you picked this one... even if it was because it was your only one, hahaha!)
*For some of you US readers, that will be sometime on Sunday!
*For some of you US readers, that will be sometime on Sunday!
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