‘Those who do not jump will never fly.’ Leena Ahmad Almashat
On Saturday our youngest child started a new sport. Although he is a dyed in the wool, multisport athlete – this new sport, Lacrosse, was new to all of us. As I was helping him get into the significant amount of safety gear required, he had his very first experience with a protective cup. Apparently it was my first experience as well because the way I instructed him to insert it into his pants made my husband laugh out loud when he peeked around the corner at us. This little blunder of the upside down protective cup did not exactly up his confidence level, which was already sorely below normal for an athlete that is used to mastering whatever sport he plays.
As we arrived to the field there were a multitude of kids streaming around everywhere. He was nervous, but he was working hard not to let it show. He put on his helmet, threw his stick over his shoulder, and headed out with the rest of them. It took about five minutes for the coach to let him know that he was going to be needing a new Lacrosse stick…. because the one we had purchased for him was for a girl. (Again my blunder).
Uh oh! This was not exactly the confidence boost we were hoping for…. As we waited for the coach’s words to settle in, I was half expecting him to march his girl’s Lacrosse stick right over to me and be done with this sport before he ever even started. Instead, he looked over at us and shook his little helmet slowly side to side, as if to say, ‘You idiots’…. and then just as he took off in a full sprint to join his team, he grinned the enormous grin that we love so much.
In that moment all was forgiven- and we were so incredibly proud of him. Upside down cup and girls stick be damned…he was gonna learn this game…. And true to form, within a half hour or so, he was well on his way.
Whatever the circumstance, when life says ‘jump’ he always does. He must have heard that those who do not jump… will never fly.