a sweet victory

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” - jimmy johnson

well the season has officially started and it was a big day in our house....in a lot of houses, i'm sure, but this one in particular....you see kris and jake share a birthday week - their big days are only 4 days apart - and since we celebrate birthday "week" at the bayers, there is always some overlap.....and in the last couple of years, this has been the first week of lacrosse....which has come with some challenges.....so THIS year, jake is healthy (finally), a captain, his brother is on the varsity team with him and all he wants for his 17th birthday is to open the season with a win.....no pressure or anything!!

not to bore you with the details, but suffice it to say THEY DID IT!!  this was such a great win for the team, but more importantly it was a psychological win for those boys....they proved that they had it in them to FIGHT to the end to bring home the WIN!!  this is something they struggled with last year, as a team.....they just couldnt seem to FINISH in the close games.....its like they didn't feel like they deserved to win, so they just couldn't close the deal.....and i am SO HAPPY to say that a different team showed up today.....one that perservered......and overcame.....and kept fighting!!

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while......you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.
Unfortunately, so is losing. - vince lombardi

why is this so important?  not only is this a great sports lesson, but its a great life lesson.....because we all know that sometimes its just so much work to FINISH the job.....so we don't....or we slack off at the end...or we give up......but that's because we forget what it feels like to WIN....to FINISH the job.....the sense of pride and accomplishment in NOT GIVING UP is so huge!!  and if it takes a sports victory here or there to hammer it home, then so be it.

“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall. ” ― Vince Lombardi

 

i know this is the biggest lesson that i ever learned in sports.....and one that has always carried me thru.....and for jake he has had his share of challenges in staying healthy.....its so easy to say "what if"....what if i hadnt gotten hurt? what if we had scored one more goal?  what if we had brought home that win?  but the reality is that all of those things are the hard part...they are the falling down from which you have to rise.....and its the RISING that builds character....and ultimately makes you STRONG!  if nothing is ever difficult, then there is no PRIDE in the accomplishment....but when you have to struggle, and persist, and push yourself to new limits, you DESERVE to be proud....and realize just how far you can go!

 

as i sit here typing (waiting for jakes banana bread to be done baking), my son turns 17....and he got his WIN for his birthday!!  and as i look back over his amazing young life, i realize that i am most proud because he truly does pick himself up every time he falters....he faces adversity and challenge with the drive to overcome and succeed.....i'm truly the luckiest mother i know to have such wonderful kids - and to be able to watch them become incredible young men is the best reward i can think of.....i cant believe its been 17 years.....they havent all been easy, but they have all been absolutely worth every second.....and all of the challenges we've faced along the way only make being here, right where we are, so much sweeter!