One Day, I’m Going To Miss This

One day, I’m going to miss this.
I’m going to miss the hustle and bustle.
I’m going to miss driving hours upon hours to get to our destination.
One day, I’m going to miss packing up the back of the car as it overflows with sports equipment
and cases of water.
One day, I’m going to miss cheering on the sidelines with other parents as we witness our
children learn life lessons about perseverance.
Or maybe it’s a lesson of disappointment and losses.
One day, I’m going to miss seeing the joy in my children’s eyes as I watch them accomplish goals
they have been focused on and patiently waiting to see happen.
So often as parents, we take these traveling weekends for granted.
It just becomes another long weekend filled with sports, the same old same old.
It becomes another weekend filled with a lack of sleep, running on adrenaline, and a weekend
going to and from different courts or fields to cheer on our kids, knowing all too well we are their
greatest cheerleaders.
It becomes a weekend going from place to place, making sure we have enough snacks and
sports drinks to fill up our day, but all we want to do sometimes is crawl back into bed and take a
quick nap.
But isn’t it funny how, as parents, we may be tired, but we always muster up the strength to be
there for our kids, cheering them on, and never letting them down?
I mean, why wouldn’t we?
We have the honor and privilege to enter into their world filled with constant enthusiasm,
discipline, endurance, and passion.
It’s not only a gift to watch our kids play a sport, that brings them joy, but also to witness many
life lessons unfold right before them, often without them even knowing it. And these life lessons
can’t just be taught at home. Our kids need to live it and be in the thick of it for these lessons to
resonate within their soul.
They learn how to be a team player and how to be a leader.
They learn how to navigate different personalities and work with one another.
They learn how to deal with coaches they may not like and persevere through the season.
They learn how to work together, side-by-side as teammates, whether they are having a season
filled with triumphs or challenges.
Our athletes are also learning how to manage school, balance friendships and their social life,
time for themselves, college preparation, community service, and family time.

So, after many weekends filled with long car rides, I’m going to focus on the many positive life
lessons learned rather than any win or loss on the court or field. I may be tired at times, but
there is one thing I know. I will never stop cheering for my athlete. Because you see, it goes way
beyond who won a championship. It’s about heart and gaining character, which will last a
lifetime.
One day, I’m going to miss this.