Athlete

What does it mean to you?

It means so many things to me. I consider myself one. Well, a former one. One that enjoyed every.last.drop. of the game. And what I did was not even a game. I was an individual sport athlete. In that sport, there were relays, and team scores, and of course, the team won and lost, but the bottom line was at the blocks when the starter shot the pistol, it was you. You against them. Period.

I was competitive, not fiercely, and not nonchalantly either. I loved to better my own time, to be the athlete for me. I loved to be with the team ... the rah, rah. The atmosphere was what did it for me. The love of the "game" but never the win of the game. It was cool to win, don't get me wrong, I even love it now. (and I am no fan of losing, for sure!) But the win was less important to me than others.

He, that little 7 year old spit fire of a 50+ pounder that I am partial to, HE has it. He has the spirit. The grit, the love of the win. The desire to be the best he can be. The rah rah is ALL he wants to be a part of. He loves athletics. He thrives in the atmosphere. S and I are so similar in that we won't force, never will we force. We support and encourage and provide the road, C walks the road. As so many do, but we are that type of parent - the type that has been there, and done that. We are not doing this because we missed out on something, or we fell short. We are here, and with him as support for him. He guides us. He fuels the fire. We literally sit back and enjoy the love from his heart and his eyes. It is his game to develop, and his game to enjoy. It is his time.

I've learned so much from the spirit and the energy from my squirts. I love that they are teachers for me, as I am a teacher for them.

K is so different than he is. Athletics are so fun, and so entertaining, but they are sport for her. They are not the very fiber of her being. Oh, she has gymnastics, and she'll be doing softball this summer, and she certainly finds her way into any and every "game" she can. She is our artist. She is not competitive. She is not about the team. She is not interested in the win - or the loss. She is not remotely involved in the outcome or the possibilities. She just wants to see what colors there are, or the pattern there is. She wants to pair the outfits, or the magical and pretty music to the movements.

It is the most amazing thing to have two only 20 months apart be so phenominally different.

It is so apparent too. Tonight, for instance. We have a hockey tournament this weekend, and after the second game (an ugly game, at best) we ( S, myself, my parents) all ventured out with the head coach, his wife, and another parent. All the kids - 6 in all - were awesome together. Playing games, outside (a mild 50 degree day here ...) and also some bowling and video game inside. But the two youngest, mine and the head coach's, were gleefully creating masterpieces on the high top table with K's colorful pencils, and multitude of papers. Ignoring the games until well into the night. K would look at them, and ponder a thought or two, then, return to her work. That was the first 2 hours or so. Then, when the play began after dinner, outside, they (the youngest two) joined them with their stuffed toys as props, pretending to be a family while the football game ensued between the 4 left.

I watched the scene, and wondered how two kids bred the same way, exposed the same way, developing in similar fashion, and living in the same home, can be so very different - and so very similar.

I cannot help but wonder what my future holds for these two marvelous creatures.

I find it impossible to imagine that they have only been a part of my world for 7 and 5 years. I don't remember the life that I had before.

I don't want to.

Athlete.

What does it mean to you?