An Experience That Most Will Never Have...

For the last few years my sons have all wrestled during the cold, winter months .  Last year my oldest had one heck of a State Tournament with an extremely hard bracket, loaded with a few kids that he had never won against all season.  So he stepped out on that mat, with his former-wrestler Coach/Dad off to the side and he wrestled all the way to the 2nd place match against a kid that usually pinned him in the first round.  My son did everything he could to escape the kid's holds, throws, and offenses and wrestled him all the way to a final decision score of 4-5.  He ended up with a 3rd place trophy but what he gained that day was so much more than a hunk of wood and plastic gold could ever give. 

So this last August my oldest son fell off a mini-bike and broke him arm.  There goes soccer season!  We got him healed up eventually but his doctor recommended that he not wrestle in the winter...but hockey was ok (um, seriously?)  My son was so excited!  For the last few years he wanted to quit wrestling and play hockey but we listened to his wrestling coach who told him to stick with it for a few years, then make the decision.  Well he heard hockey and his mind was made up!  So we signed all 4 kids up to 'Intro to Hockey' designed to let 3-6 year-olds try the sport for 2 weeks for free (my oldest 2 kids actually did it when they were 6 and 4 but never enrolled in the actual season after it).  So off we go: get all the hockey equipment, sign all the paperwork, pay all registration fees, and the first day of Intro to Hockey this massive 12 and 10 year olds were intermixed with their 6 and 4 year old brothers and their classmates.  One of the Board Members even came up to me and told me that my 12 year old was starting really late and he was going to have a real struggle on his hands and she was very concerned if he could handle it.  Well obviously you don't know my son.  My oldest has always been the under-dog and is under estimated by almost every coach he has had; but just you wait.  I chalk it up to his quiet demeanor, manners, and gentle-nature but his work ethic and determination is something I haven't seen in most children.



The two youngest during Intro (the littlest not excited)



The oldest kids at 'Intro to Hockey'

Ever since October, my husband and I have watched our kids just like they are babies all over again, trying to learn the basics of hockey: how to stand on ice, how to skate, how to turn, stick-handling, and how to STOP (my oldest really had to work to get that skill down).  But the last few weekends they have had tournaments/games and they have completely transformed right in front of our eyes...they look like hockey players! 

LOTS of practice. practice. practice!!!

Now growing up in North Dakota, there is a certain spot in most people's heart for the sport of hockey.  If you know anything about UND there is pride for our SIOUX hockey team that takes on a life of it's own.  If you have never been to a UND SIOUX Hockey game, you better, and you will know why once you are there, trust me.



My Family with their families at the UND Sioux Hockey Game this last Christmas

So this last Christmas after watching the UND Hockey game, we ran back home because my daughter had a hockey tournament and we were playing a rival team- BISMARCK!  The game was very intense; the kids played hard, the parents were cheering, and the game could go either way.  My husband was actually recording our daughter in the 2nd period to show her after the game that she usually isn't in the correct position.  Well the puck got loose, she shot and scored her first-ever hockey goal (so obviously she was in the right position). Now I am NOT a very quiet mom during a game and my husband makes fun of me all the time for it.  But I think the coach in me comes out and that day, boy, was I loud celebrating her first goal!  Our oldest son actually scored his first goal against a Montana team a few weeks before that (which I missed because I was with my daughter at her game).  What a feeling to actually score a goal for your team and all the hard-work, sweat, and daily practices just trying to learn the basics finally pays off!

Well the game ended in a tie and the coaches decided to go directly into shoot-outs.  Our team's 5 best skaters shot against their 5 best skaters and it was still tied!  Onto SUDDEN DEATH!  The 6th skaters, 7th skaters, 8th skaters all took their turns at shooting and the score was still tied!  I looked at the bench and the coach was talking to my daughter and I knew that she was next.  The butterflies in my stomach started and I turned around and told my husband "She is the next shooter".  He looked over my head at the bench and saw what I meant.  He got his phone out ready to videotape, and I silently started praying for her.  Now let me explain why...I have been there.  I have been in sudden-death shootouts.  I have had my whole team and coaches counting on me for the win.  I understand the pressure, the feelings, the emotions, and even the panic as the gravity of the moment settles into you just before you take your shot.  This is where character is built.

We watched her come out of the box, skate to the referee, and await his whistle.  I told her to "take your time" and "get your shot" which I'm sure she didn't hear from up in the bleachers and over the glass, but I willed her to hear me subconsciously.

The whistle blew; she skated forward, and took the puck with her stick.  Down the ice she went, gracefully pushing the puck from left to right, stride-for-stride, heading to the opponent's goalie.  There was a hush over the crowd, I was holding my breath as she got closer, clasping my hands tightly together.  She pushed the puck to her right, aimed, and shot to the rightside of the net.  The goalie slid to get underneath the puck with his glove and then I heard it "TING"---the puck bounced past the goalie, hit the inside post and in!!!  AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!  The fans exploded, I exploded, my husband started yelling louder than I have ever heard, and the moment of pure pride, accomplishment, and celebration came pouring out of all of us to her!  What an amazing, incredible, indescribable event! 

  

This was HER moment in time and she rose to the challenge and did something that most people never get to experience in their lives...she, my daughter, made the GAME-WINNING GOAL in a sudden-death shootout!  Now to all you parents of athletes, I hope YOUR child each has THEIR moment!  There is nothing more amazing in this world then to see your child come through for their team.  HUGE congratulations to her team, each player, and especially the Goalie who had save after save to keep them in the game!  What a night!

 

That is what life truly is all about. To be able to come full-circle is a very humbling and grateful blessing.  I too made the game-winning goal where I ran to my teammates to tackle each other and scream in celebration.  Now it is my turn to sit up in the bleachers and watch those same scenarios that transformed my life and formed me into who I am today; is also molding, shaping, and influencing my children exactly the same way.  I am almost relieved that it is my turn to be the one in the bleachers.  This is their time, their moment.  Life is a cycle and someday my daughter will sit in the bleachers and watch her children make that game-winning goal and have that same feeling and emotions swell inside and consume her.  That is why we are here.  That is why God allows us to live on this planet and have the life we have.  It's not about money, or material things, or how much stuff you accumulate.  It's about WHO is in your life and the experiences you have together.  Those memories you get to take to heaven; everything else stays behind.

Needless to say, she won the 'Golden Skate' Award for the game and she got to choose any restaurant to go celebrate.  So as she ate her chicken and sipped her Shirley Temple at Texas Roadhouse, I looked over at my family, and then her, and realized: she experienced something that most people never in their life get to.  To say I'm proud of her, doesn't even come close to describing it.  Hopefully God-willing, I will get to see her children make that game-winning shot someday.  I will be sitting up in the bleachers, with a knowing-smile on my face, celebrating not only her children, but HER too! Because now, she too, as come full circle.