Ridiculous Thoughts

Kids Should Have Fun!

OK, I admit that I already knew that this was the right answer to questions about kids and sports and other events. But every parent wants their children to excel, to be the best. This makes it hard to internalize the lesson and as a result sometimes we either put too much pressure on them, or we miss the true glory of the moment. This happened to me twice this weekend.

My son, Arthur, had two tournament events this weekend. The Destination Imagination regional tournament and the State Championships for his swim league were both this weekend.

At the DI tournament, the team didn't win anything. They had some trouble in the instant challenge and their "Surprise Happening" for their prepared challenge didn't work. They had a bottle with vinegar and baking soda that was supposed to blow its top and make a mess. It didn't blow. I was very disappointed for them.

However, if I had been thinking about I would have realized that they did a great job recovering from the bottle problem. The show went on and they finished smooth and clean.

Best of all, the whole team was happy with their performance. They worked for months on it. Struggled and pulled together a good performance when it counted. Great job guys!

At the swim meet, again I was disappointed that Arthur didn't win anything, or even score a personal best time. However, he swam hard and did a great job. He was also a great sport -- cheering on his team members and rooting for them to do their best. He had fun swimming, had fun with his teammates and felt that he had done his best. I was paying attention to the wrong thing at the time.

So, think of this as a gentle reminder of what we all already know. Look at the whole picture and remember that you have fun at the things you enjoy -- even when you aren't the best. I'm certainly not the best coder or astronomer.

Finally, when you realize you forgot this lesson; make up for it. After I talk with Arthur tonight, he'll know how proud I am of him!

Steve