Football

Sherwood is a very different little community. It boasts a top 10 spot according to Family Circle of places for families to live. Number 18 in the nation, according to Forbes. All these accolades, Sherwood received after we decided to move here. Everyday I live here, I love it more and more. Lake Oswego will always be home for me, but Sherwood will be my children's home. They will ride their bikes down the sidewalks, go to the football games and get donuts on the way home from the library. These kids are lucky little ducks to live in such a neat place. And guess what, football is free here....

Yes I said free. Well, kind of... You have to sell your five entertainment books and sell $75 worth of car wash tickets. So if you are an adept fundraiser, it's free. You have to supply a practice jersey and some cleats and socks, then you are good to go. They do an equipment check out every year, so everything gets recycled. We had 9 teams from 3 to 8th grade this year. Every single one of them made it to the playoffs. Not only does each team have at least 5 coaches, but then there is the team parents and all the people behind the scenes that coordinate it all. Can you say AWESOME!! Christian has been begging us to let him play football, and like it or not, he just doesn't have a natural ability towards sports. What he lacks in talent, he makes up for in confidence. He loves it. It's hard work though. 5 days a week of practice in August and then 3 days a week of 2 hours of practice and a game every Saturday. Needless to say, our lives in the fall, revolve around football. With the season winding down, only one more playoff game to go, we are thinking about what to do next year. Do we let him play or not?

We've been riding the fence of, he's not very good and it's a huge time commitment. He's never going to be Steve Young so what is the point right?...I know we are such bad parents, but really, he has to try really hard to accomplish even a little bit of what the other players can do. Then we repented of our short sightedness and realized that football was teaching him really important life lessons. He doesn't have to be the best, but he can learn, that with hard work, he can improve, be part of a team, connect with his peers, do something that he might not be gifted at, but grow to be better. I guess in my own little world, I really fall into the trap of doing only things that I am good at and struggling to get rid of the things that I suck at. Weakness made into strengths is hard. I don't shout for joy when I have a weakness that I have to work on. Christian is going to play football next year. He may get better, or he could stay the same, but he will learn that he doesn't have to be the best at something to enjoy the process. I'm learning everyday how to be a good parent, and he taught me a valuable lesson this year.