Soccer update

Soccer tournaments are next weekend. This season has seemed long at times. And sometimes, it feels like it it flying by. We still don't know if this will be her first and last soccer season. Or if she will try again. But we have learned a few things about our girl:

• She LOVES to be active. To kick the ball. To make friends and push limits.
• She also fatigues earlier than her teammates. After working so hard physically, she needs more breaks.
• She gets frustrated. When the game is slow–during kickoff or when the ball goes out of bounds–she is much more into playing. Once the game takes off, it seems to move around her.
• She is a DIVA. I'm not sure if she consciously rationalized it or not, but it seemed that she knew folks were going to be doing a lot of staring anyway, so, she wore diva shades and a matching hair bow. DIVA.
• She actually likes soccer. She likes to watch her brothers. And, we think, she likes to play. She gets excited for practices and games. She screams and laughs.
• Above all else, she is a little girl. Making friends. Trying new things. Realizing her limits.

I can't tell you how many times other soccer parents have thanked me for letting her play. Thanked ME. They said that they loved watching her play. They loved that we didn't set her limits for her. That their own horizons have been expanded. I didn't expect that. When I stressed about saying "Yes" to my girl, I worried about injury and that she would be ostracized.

And now, I feel that twinge of sadness I get when something good is about to come to an end. That I'll have to wait all winter to see all of the kids play soccer again. And I don't know if she ever will. But she did it. She tried. She hasn't scored a single goal. She hasn't made any flashy plays. Mostly she has just had a load of fun.

Which is COMPLETELY fine by me.