Coaching...Kids...

(This book is helping us coach our kids...those upcoming adolescent years, after we read this together and discuss at night and the kids head off to bed...Jay and I will stay up and rewind back to our junior high and high school years, how we wish we had these insights)

It suddenly dawned on me today, while going for the long run for the week (why do all the prominant ideas gush forth as these moments?), as if it fell from the sky, the thought and reality of raising kids having so many parallels to the kinds of decisions and thought processes as coaching...basketball in particular, for me. Before we had Ethan and Romay, years of playing the sport and having 7 years of coaching experience built confidence in understanding the many dynamics and scenarios that can happen in the game, I feel that I can interact with other coaches and help players develop as they grow to learn and appreciate basketball. In short, over years, I felt I had become specialized in what started as a hobby, or love...Now, when Ethan & Romay happened upon our household, you can imagine the fear I internalized, mixed with excited feelings, a responsibility, the opportunity to raise healthy kids as they discover their God given abilities, disciplining, training for a future job, laughter, memories, and so on and so on...in one short summarized word, coaching..."oh, I get it...now"...Often, lately, I have been reflecting about the day, what was said, how it was said, did I do this...what was neat..how can it be improved?...

I depended on what I knew (still do) of a sport, to what status I was as a parent, a rookie. What I know of basketball is fairly comparable, in principle, to raising children...I'm okay at coaching basketball, yet still fairly new at parenting, preparing them for the game of LIFE...

No wonder, 9:00 am, when the hat haired, sleepy eyed children roll out of bed, the "coaching" begins...9:30-10:00-Reading (a non-negotiable, they enjoy reading, quiet time...they read the classics, Dracula by Bram Stoker, or Beowulf, kids versions...but not for long, both the kids are starting to dip into a few of the unabridged versions!)...10:00-11:00-Visiting and eating breakfast (they can make their own meals here, French Toast...Egg Sandwiches, etc...independence) 11:00-1:00 or so (finishing up home schooling...preparing for the future...) LUNCH (eating balanced meals, drinking water, etc) Well, the day goes on, you get the picture...this is so simplified...but by 9 or 10 pm, your coaching is coming to a close (granted they don't wake you up in the middle of the night)...and no wonder...just think...you might be a little...fatigued...frustrated over something that happened, maybe some sort of failure...but usually, satisfaction, a note of success, the little celebrations and awe in the ability for children to learn as you guide them daily...I'm happy to be a mom, really, in other words, a coach for my children...I can't wait to see what kinds of directions this will continue to go...