End of an Era

This week Cal said goodbye to basketball.  He had definitely given this a great deal of thought and did not make this decision lightly.  Basketball has been a love of Cal's since he was in kindergarten and teamed up with "Onion Johnson" to beat Reggie Miller and I almost daily.  He loved playing on his LYC teams and took those games as seriously as any player ever could.  I still remember the time he and his team won the league championship tourney.  Once we got home he put his trophy on the shelf and brought me all of the other ribbons, medals and trophies he had ever received.  He said, "Mom, I don't want a thank you for participating award.  I want to earn all of my awards from now on."

Over the next few years Cal had some triumphs and setbacks in basketball.  Our entire family thoroughly enjoyed the weekend trips across the state when he played on his MBA team.  We also felt the sting of watching him deal with some "Bobby Knight" type coaches.  Through it all, the ups and the downs, Cal's love for basketball never wavered until this past year.  He hung in there longer than most and made some great friendships along the way, but Tuesday night Cal said, "Enough is enough."  The boy who played every day for nine months straight before he broke his ankle was done and we support him in making that decision.

I am proud of Cal for sticking it out as long as he did.  He has talked this past month of his interest in Physics and maybe even breaking family tradition and going to Purdue.  There's so much more to him than just being an athlete.  We always knew it, but are glad that he is realizing it as well.  When he left for soccer open gym Thursday night I thought of the quote below.  Cal has lived by it since he first heard it many years ago.  Thus, if you see him at tonight's game sitting in the student section cheering on his two best friends don't feel sorry for him and definitely don't chastise him.  Cal is not quitting he is just moving forward.

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward."