Lessons of Losing

I am sure there are many lessons to learn in losing, they are hard lessons to learn.  I am a competitive person by nature and my husband is even more competitive than I am so when Eli's team lost yesterday we took it pretty hard.  It only took a moment however of looking at Eli's big blue eyes filled with tears to make us realize that as difficult as the loss was on the parents (insert sarcasm here) the boys needed to hear how proud we were of them.  

Did they make mistakes that last game?  Oh yeah the whole team made mistakes but looking back over the whole week the Macon Impact played with heart and soul, they gave it their all.  They won some big games over the course of the week and it was exciting to watch.  This was an important parent moment for us, the kind that you have to stop and think before you respond.  

The game was a blow out and tensions were high so when it ended we needed to take a deep breath and choose our words wisely.  The disappointment of the loss was not more important than the opportunity for us to let the boys know that we were there for them , to cheer for them and encourage them because we love watching them play their best.  It was a great week with a great group of coaches and families.  We are so blessed to be a part of the Impact family!  

Our second week of vacation was a lot of fun.  We went to the beach and the pool until we couldn't go anymore... The only bad thing about our trip was my realization that apparently I have a very large head.  I have seen such cute pictures lately of ladies wearing cute beach hats, the fidora style so everywhere we went I would try one on.  Now these hats said "one size fits all" but I have to tell you that is a lie or I am not included in all.  I never did find myself a cute hat to wear in the sun.  I did however find a sweet Under Armour visor that I am pretty excited about, it's adjustable.  

Our last two days in Orange Beach were mostly spent at the baseball field but I did manage to get a nice long run in with Emery.  At least my plan in my head was to have a great mother daughter bonding run along the trails at the beach.  My plan and reality were vastly different.  Emery ended up in tears and we walked three miles while generally being attacked by misquitos and giant sized gnats.  This was not my finest mother moment.  I had to really take a breath and decide not to be annoyed that my 8 year old couldn't keep up with my 9 minute mile pace...what is wrong with me?!?!  (please see first paragraph about my competitive nature)  

Some friends from the team ended up staying with us for the week and we were able to enjoy his delicous homemade salsa.  The kids and Matt sat at the table and ate this stuff for two days straight!  It was so good!  

We decided to beat the traffic and leave last night but first we went to eat a local favorite "The Hangout".  This place was pretty fun and the kids had a blast playing in the giant sand pile.  Did I mention how much I hate sand?  

On the way out of town we drove straight past the champtionship game and decided to stop and watch the game. Luckily Matt didn't fall asleep while driving until we got into Fort Valley.  I tried my hardest to stay awake and help but I failed miserably.  I kept falling asleep mid sentence until finally around 5 am we pulled into our driveway! 

We are so blessed to have had the opportunity to go the past two weeks and we had a great time.  I am glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed!!