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I don't see my kids clearly. I'll admit it. I see them as stand-outs, as angels, as stars.
When my son runs down the basketball court, I hear music. Harps. I see beams of light shooting out behind his head.
How about you? When my son makes a basket do you hear music and see bright light? I didn't think so. And no offense taken.
When OPKs (other people's kids) run down the court, I hear nothing. I see no beams of light. Oh I see great performances from OPKs, but they are human performances and full of reality.
The funny thing is, I hear the music and see the beams even when my kid misses a pass or gets a foul. Or sits on the bench.
Is there a name for this phenomenon?
Taken to its extreme, it has parents believing their kid is never wrong, never at fault and keeps them from holding kids accountable for their actions. That’s not the kind of affliction I’m talking about. I’m talking about the kind that is relatively harmless and usually only hits when we see our kids on the playing field or on stage.
I look down the row of chairs I’m sitting on and I see other parents with stars in their eyes. Or is it just me?
The new head coach of Ranger basketball held a mom's practice at the beginning of last season. And as I reflect back on it now, I bet the coach was more nervous about the meeting than we moms were. He'd faced the moms before. He knew what we could be like.
Ostensibly, we were there to hear about his coaching philosophy, tour the locker room and receive matching shirts. Coach even brought coffee and doughnuts to that Saturday morning meeting. But the real reason for the meeting was to get us to brace ourselves for the coming reality - some of our kids weren't going to start or even play much. And we needed to get comfortable with that.
This photo shows what we looked like that day.
But I wonder what we looked like to the coach? Perhaps a pride of lionesses ready to pounce if our cubs were to get hurt?
It's the coach's job to pick the best players for the team, but I bet if he had taken a secret ballot that day, most moms would have ranked their own kid as one of the best on the team. Probably nature's way of insuring our offspring grow into adulthood. But it can't be easy for a coach, who sees our kids and their talents realistically.
Lionesses we are. Lionesses we must be. At least we all have matching shirts.
I don't see my kids clearly. I'll admit it. I see them as stand-outs, as angels, as stars.
