Our New Normal: On The Sideline
Weekends are a lot different now. Gone are the days of early morning rising rushing to get to a ball field. Reminding one of the boys to get a shower, brush their teeth and comb their hair. As well as running down the list of do you have everything. Your cleats? Shin guards? Mouth guard? Only to get to the field at times to discover in fact that one of those things was left behind. Ugh! What an annoyance that was.
It seemed like such a big deal at the time. We clocked many hours on the ball fields and in the bleachers watching from the sidelines as our boys participated in their sporting events. Some days were dry, warm and sunny. Some were wet and cold. But there we sat through them all cheering on our guys from the sideline. This season feels a lot like those days. except, these days our weekends aren’t full of activities and our sideline isn’t on a ball field.
Our sideline now is more undefined. It is now watching them and cheering them on as they navigate their lives. We don’t have to get up early. We no longer have to run down the equipment list. Thankfully they shower, brush their teeth and comb their hair without reminders now. But we do continue to cheer for them from our places on this abstract sideline in their lives.
The rules of this sideline are similar to the rules of the field sidelines. No running onto the field when they get hurt. No making excuses for them when they foul. They get the consequence and keep on moving in the game. Their ball fields look different now but we continue to show up and cheer. The weekends are a lot quieter now. The only places we have to go now are where we decide. The shin guards and dirty uniforms no longer adorn their bedroom floors but the lessons and memories will last forever.
Some days those times on the sidelines of the fields seem like yesterday and other days they feel like a lifetime ago. Some days I miss them terribly and other days as we pass by fields on those wet freezing days I am so thankful it’s not me sitting there. Life is a lot like those days on the field sidelines. Some are dry, warm and sunny while others are more wet and cold. But through all the days we will remain here on the sidelines cheering for our guys as they navigate their way through adulthood and we continue to adjust to our new normal.
Shine bright,
Teresa