maybe

as some of you already know, i've tried to encourage my eldest to participate in a variety of sports since she was barely a tadpole. so far i've tried baseball and basketball and soccer and tennis. hell, i've even tried golf once. but she just never seemed to take to any of those sports. those sports closest to my heart. she just never seemed to take any joy from them. and so, despite my best efforts, my sincerest efforts, she would always find one reason or another to beg out of practice early. to take a breather. to take a short rest. a short rest that would inevitably extend into hours. yet being the eternal optimist that i am, i never lost hope.

and then, earlier today, something magical unfolded at the park around the corner from my place. but first, a little background information. this morning at the breakfast table, my daughter informed me that she was interested in joining her school's cross country team. they have a cross country team for seven-year-olds at your school?, i asked. yes, she responded, and for eight-year-olds and nine-year-olds and ten-year-olds, too. she then inquired as to whether i could help her train for the try-outs scheduled for tomorrow at 8 a.m. uh, yeah, i blurted out, barely able to contain my enthusiasm.

and so, when i arrived home from work today, i told the kid to grab her sweats and sneakers and follow me to the aforementioned park around the block. to help you visualize the setting, you must imagine a tiny soccer pitch located on the property surrounded by a swath of small maple trees. once our stretching and warm-up exercises were completed, i went over the basics of running with her. you know, how to hold your head, how to position your arms, how to breathe, all that jazz. and then it was time to see her stuff.

i drew an invisible starting line in the dirt, told her to take her mark, and she was off. and you know what? with g-d as my witness, the kid can run. why, following her first circuit around the makeshift track, she was barely winded. i, on the other hand, was practically hyperventilating with excitement. and what's more, she even seemed to be enjoying herself, going so far as to suggest that she was actually having fun. do you wanna go for another spin?, i proposed. and before i knew it, she had already begun galloping around the ad hoc course for another go.

and here's the thing. normally when i try to introduce a new sport to my daughter, she responds with moderate to severe hesitation and stubbornness. but today, every time i attempted to show my daughter how to increase her stride or prolong her endurance, she seemed genuinely interested in what i was offering.

and as we finally left for home late this afternoon, i tried to explain to my child that a try-out meant some of the kids who wanted to join the team might not actually be selected to the squad. but quite frankly, the kid didn't seem too fazed by that caveat either. she even requested that i help her train again, tomorrow after school. but what if you don't make the team?, i posed to her delicately. so what?, she replied.

"any kid will run any errand for you if you ask at bedtime." - red skelton

somebody once asked, "could i spare some change for gas? i need to get myself away from this place."



p.s. she did play ball, and she was good, but she didn't love it. i did.

p.p.s. and by the way, she made the team.