The Joys of Parenting Part 1

Tonight was one of those evenings when the fruits of parenthood are obvious.  Cal had a tennis match against a rival non-conference school that proved to be well worth watching.  As the first set began it was obvious that he and his opponent were very evenly matched.  I watched mostly by myself for the first hour and a half.  The doubles court beside him finished early as did the number 1 and 2 singles.  All that was left was a heated match between the number two doubles and Cal's.

As the second hour of the contest began, so did the third set on Cal's court.  Two dubs, as they are commonly referred to, held on for a three set win and that left the overall team match at two-two.  Cal had to win for his team to persevere.  Both teams and their parents quickly gathered round this third set to support their teammates.  Cal had won the first set and his opponent had captured the second.  With all of the encouragement he was receiving, Cal quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead.  I knew it wouldn't be easy to carry that momentum throughout the third set and with Whitko fans loudly cheering, Cal's opponent turned it on.  Several more games went to deuce until finally, Cal grabbed his racket to serve.  He was up 5-4 and finished 4 straight points to earn the victory for himself and most importantly his team.  It was an awesome feeling as a Mom to watch him succeed and hear the shouts of joy from his teammates.  Cal was interviewed later for our local paper and he said that once his coach had told him that he needed to win for their team to have a victory, he never felt nervous.  He knew his teammates would rally around him and that would be just the extra momentum that he needed to keep going.

As Cal came in the house late last night, he was all smiles.  Not a young man of many words he was eager to fill his Dad in on the match.  He was proud of himself and the interview with the reporter.  He had earlier asked to ride home with me in hopes of making the volleyball game.  That quickly changed as he looked to celebrate with his teammates and lead the charge to Taco Bell.  I am glad that he is coming into his own this year.  He has found success in a new sport, become a leader in the student cheer block at other sports, and is doing well academically.  Sometimes the joys of being a parent are not as obvious, but tonight surely was.