The Rest of the Story
Ahh…it feels good to be back.:)
Every time the kids track out, I get sucked into an enormous funnel cloud. We fly around in this fog, bumping against each other, flailing about, with toys, projects, suitcases, and load upon load upon load of laundry (mountain ranges—not kidding) knocking against us. In fact, I imagine it’d be a little hard to see us apart from all of our chaos. At times, life in the whirlwind is exhilarating (“Did you see that?” “Mom, how does that work?” “That was so fun!”). We never know what amazing thing we’ll fly right into. Then there are the days (especially at the end), when I want the cloud to just put me down and I’m feeling a bit tired of arms and legs buffeting against my own, and I teach my children new big words like exhausted, deflated, and uninspired. Just when everything turns into one big blur and I feel stuck in a rapid spin cycle, it’s time to track back in. I drop the kids off at school that first day back, breathe a sigh that speaks a million things (I love them so much~I’m so glad I got to spend some time with them~I can’t believe how quickly they’re changing~I am absolutely whipped~I am SO GLAD school is back in…), and think how wonderful it is to feel my feet touching the ground again. Even though I know that this sensation will last roughly six hours until the school bell rings, it feels good. Really good.
I don’t think I ever told y’all the exciting ending to Riley’s first basketball season with Upward. So, now (channeling my inner Paul Harvey), the rest of the story:
A few weeks ago, as we were all watching the NCAA basketball tournament (and I was losing miserably in our family bracket contest, though to my credit, I did pick the Tarheels to be the National Champions), Riley got excited and popped up off the couch. She took center stage, blocking the TV (of course), and declared, “When I do defense, I guard my color like this!” She crouched into a perfect defensive stance and skittered side to side like a crab. A crab with a gigantic smile. “When I’m on offense, I shoot the ball! I play basketball because I like basketball.”
I couldn’t help but smile, both that a college game on TV would remind Riley of her own experience, and that her enthusiasm would inspire her to do a little impromptu demonstration for us.
In Riley’s last few games, we saw yet another amazing transformation in her. She became a really good defensive player. Having finally solidly mastered whom she was supposed to guard and how she was meant to guard them, she became as hyper-diligent about defense on the basketball court as she is about emptying trash cans (No full trash can ever goes unnoticed at our house. When Riley sees a full bag, she instantly whisks it away and replaces it with an empty one.) and managing our schedule. She stayed on her opponents like glue during those last few games. Once, I even saw her try to follow the girl she was guarding back to her team bench during a break in the action. The poor girl started sighing resignedly whenever she saw Riley coming toward her on the court. As you can see in the video, she unfortunately spent a lot of time guarding her opponent from the back, but hey—at least she had the right idea.:)
The same day that Riley’s defense suddenly took flight she scored her first points. Riley made three baskets that day, and the first time, I saw quite a bit of air between Kevin’s feet and the ground. Coach Carl seemed just as elated for Riley as we were. Yep. Three baskets. One on our goal. Two for the other team. Still, it was fantastic. Riley’s spirits soared (and ours did too:)).
After the game, Coach Carl wondered if all the crazy socks (it was crazy sock competition day) had created some “mojo” for the team. It was the girls’ first unofficial win (At Upward, there are no scoreboards, but as Coach Carl said, the girls keep score.:)) He suggested that the girls return in crazy socks for their last game, and when he found out how much Riley loves “crazy hair,” he told them to come in crazy hair too, if they wanted. So, in all the pictures of Riley’s last game, you’ll see that she created yet another piece of “hair art” upon her head for the occasion. The most wonderful part for me was the look on Riley’s face when she discovered that some of the other girls had done it too.
At the end of it all, Coach Carl had a special awards ceremony of his own for “his girls,” presenting each one with her own small pink basketball. He took some time to talk about each team member’s accomplishments, mentioning that he felt that Riley was “what Upward Basketball is all about.” He told us afterwards that he had wanted to say more about her than he did (and what he said was very encouraging) but knew he’d not have been able to keep his emotions in check. It feels good to know that she touches the lives of others the way she touches our lives every day.
Kevin plans to take some photographs of our favorite volunteer basketball coach for his 100 Servants blog, so be sure to check that out. As a matter of fact, while you’re there, check out both of Kevin’s blogs. They’re awesome.
In Temple Grandin’s book Thinking in Pictures,” she attributes her success to teachers and special mentors who believed in her and pushed her to excel. Just the other day, Riley said to me (and it seemed to come out of the blue), “Mom, what’s Coach Carl doing?”
“I don’t know. Do you miss Coach Carl?”
“Yeah. I miss Coach Carl.”
Our thanks go to Coach Carl for all of his efforts with and belief in Riley, to her teammates for truly acting as a team and offering her encouragement, and to all the other Upward parents for cheering her on right beside us. Every time we hear Riley say, “I’m a basketball player. I play basketball,” we smile at each other, thinking back to that first practice when our little wonder-girl was so lost. Riley has taught me more than I can ever write about the value of determination and perseverance. What a blessing she is to us.
