It’s Just A Game - -

All last week the boy and I kept discussing the coming weekend and what the/our schedule(s) looked like.  I knew that I was engaging in an invitation only seminar on an ancient yogic way of breathing that brings fortune, luck, abundance, love and all sorts of good things on Friday while also trying to handle Saturday’s basketball schedule while also trying to clean the house before the Chinese New Year today, and, of course, and what WAS most importantly, the Ravens - Pats / Giants - Niners games of yesterday.  That last agenda, in fact, topped ALL the others.  Should we watch at home or go to Beth and George’s big blast?  If we watch at home should we have people over?  I decided against that last idea because A) it was a Sunday and we get up BEFORE the crack of dawn around here and B) if the Giants ran late it would be a lock that so would we first thing this Monday morning.  And, so,  considering how first thing Monday morning was/is also Chinese New Year and there are rules and regs as to how to handle this day so that we can get the most and biggest benefit/blessings for the whole of the New Year ahead, well, we decided to just do the Giants by ourselves.

Now, the gist of this post isn’t what a busy, blustery weekend we had, but, rather, how much emphasis and importance was placed on being ready and rarin’ to watch the Patriots and the Giants.  Until, well, it wasn’t.

And that happened Saturday afternoon at a small gym in suburban Virginia Beach.

The night before, during another local high school basketball game, an anonymous shooter came to the First Colonial High School gym, allegedly wrote some angst ridden manifesto on the walls of the one of the stalls in the Men’s Room and then went out into the parking lot and squeezed off a couple of rounds.  LUCKILY!  BLESSEDLY!  FORTUNATELY! no one was hurt.  But, with the shooter still at large and another whole day of bball scheduled the following day, including our game, tensions were running high and electricity was in the air.

We hit the floor facing off against a team that got cockier as the digits increased on their side of the scoreboard.  Smack talking and immature, these boys taunted and baited ours until finally our center snapped and pushed one of the ruder kids.  Our kid got ejected and the electricity immediately increased.  I have to say as well that we had a ref that was as contentious and immature as the kids and kept baiting boy after boy after boy fueling what was already a steamy situation.  OH BOY!  I couldn’t wait for it all to end - too much stupid and senseless drama for me.  For a Saturday afternoon basketball game!  Emphasis on that last word.

Because, during the fourth quarter when energies were at a crescendo pitch and the parents were behaving more badly than the kids, my son turned to a particularly punchy parent and simply said “Stop.”  Then he looked around at all of the other kids surrounding him on the floor, from both his team and the other one too. and with calm and cool simply said to them, “Just stop.  Stop.  Everyone.  It’s just a game!”

And right there and right then the whole Patriots and Giants BIG deal folded into a much, much smaller one. For me at least.  And even though they both won their respective leagues last night and even though both will now go to the Super Bowl, ANY ONE OF THOSE FOUR TEAMS could have pulled off the win.  ANY ONE OF THEM.  But it shouldn’t really  matter too too much because, well, it’s really just a game.

See below for the email I received from the boy’s basketball coach yesterday morning.  Reminding me that out of the mouths of babes sometimes comes more maturity than we adults can ever even imagine.  Life.  It’s only a game.  Play it to your highest and best and stay in your integrity.  Honor ALL the players.  You never know who’s going to be on your team when it really matters.

Here now, the email that allows me to remember not to get too caught up.  Gratis a wise and wonderful 16 year old teacher!

Hi Ellen, I just wanted to tell you what a marvelous job you’ve done raising such an outstanding young man. I was totally impressed with Grayson having the ability and confidence to in an appropriate manner handle a parent behaving badly yesterday by reminding everyone why we were there and pointing out how it was disrupting the game. I myself wanted to throw my clipboard at her…and your son did what I wasn’t able to do. Anyways, just wanted you to know you’ve got a great kid..but I am sure you know that :O)”

Yes, I sure do know it.  Now, if I could only act like it!  XOXE