VALIDATE(d)

We don't do sports at our house. Don't stop reading...Hear me out. SOMEBODY STILL WINS IN THIS. I realize that sports have their place in society, and I was a cross-country/track runner in high school, so I'm not bashing them. Heck, I even got a petition signed into place at my junior high so that I (and other girls) could play football! We just don't do them now. I think I saw one too many coaches yelling at small children or too many freezing kids out on soccer fields on Saturday mornings for me to even consider putting my girls in organized sports.

I agree that there are valuable things to be learned in sports-teamwork, losing graciously, physical exercise as a great outlet, that kind of thing. Sadly, many times all I see is the need to WIN, to conquer, to be better than everyone else. As someone who gets to spend time on the playground at an elementary school, I see the entire spectrum. It goes from the kid who just wants to have fun all the way up to the child who sees him/herself on television playing for the big names. Kids who want to share the ball they just got, and kids who are going to take that ball at any cost. Kids who want a turn to just kick the ball and kids who are going to be THE ONE who has the ball for the entire game, and everything in between. Sometimes the arguments that constantly break out over games on the playground get to me. I really do just want everyone to get along and have fun. I really do not EVER care who wins, because there is good in every person, good on every team. And I'm okay with people rooting for teams. I just am not a person that thinks that sports define who you are. When the kids ask me if I'm a BYU or Ute fan, I tell them I'm a BYUTE. It throws them off a little, but I tell them there's good on every team.

But back to the playground, sometimes my favorite view is of the sky-not the soccer field. Yesterday I watched a little brawl begin. Someone fell. I headed down the field to work things out and watched one of the little ones rolling around, clutching himself into a ball, looking like he had sustained the worst injury ever recorded at the school. Kids gathered around him. I picked up my pace and ran to kneel beside him- patting his back, asking what had happened and if he was alright. Then BOOM-he was up and running, grabbing the ball, screaming "I'll be fine!", and getting back in the game. At first I was bewildered and slightly bothered that I had been so worried and he was just fine. I was thinking to myself that these little kids watch these big athletes on TV-rolling around and looking like they are in the worst agony of their lives, then hop up and start playing the game like nothing ever happened. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. In elementary school it should still be about having fun and being part of the game. At any rate, I thought about this for a minute, and then the next "injury" occurred. Same scenario, different kid. He jumped up, said he was fine, and got back in the game. All of a sudden it hit me that what these kids needed was VALIDATION. "I fell down, can you give me a pat on the back and I'll be okay?" kind of validation. "I played the game" kind of validation. "I might not be the star, but I was there" kind of validation.  The kind every human needs at some time or another. So, today-I saw things on the playground a little bit different. There are still going to be days that the bickering gets to me, and I will want to ban sports for that day, but today I tried to give a little more thought to what was really needed. And thanks. Thanks to my peeps who validate me. I hope I return the favor. I have a great team-and I'm grateful!

Leaf Bouquets-a Non-Competitive Playground Activity  ;)