Goal Pride

It was just a few minutes into his first game and the field opened up in front of him. The ball had popped out of the swarm of little players and suddenly his little legs switched to charging pistons as he raced for it. The opponents entire half of the field was open before him. But Josh being Josh didn't take the ball all the way down and score the goal. No, he simply power kicked the ball as hard as he could and with perfect accuracy he had blasted a kick from midfield that wasn't going to stop until it was nestled in the back of the net.

Wow! What a way to start his soccer career!

There was no doubt I knew he could do it. He, like his big brother, has dribbled a soccer ball since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. But I was still unprepared for the amount of pride and joy I had swell up in my heart. I know that the big sappy smile planted on my face showed him just how proud of him I was. His sheepish little thumbs up when he got back to the middle and waited for the other team to kick off was one of those moments that will forever be with me.

I was wondering how I might react when Josh scored his first goal. In my wildest dreams I never expected he would be the first on his team to do it. Okay, well that's actually a bit of a lie. I knew how the kid can match up and playing with an unforgiving big brother gives him an edge that many kids don't have. Never-the-less I knew I would be proud when it happened but the euphoric buzz it gave me and still lingers today was not something I anticipated.

The older we get in life the more important it is to pay attention to those special moments. Sure it would be easy to say the kid scored a goal - big deal. But it really is a big deal. It was seeing a little person find his own mojo and for one of the first times in his life, play on a stage that was once and only occupied by his big brother. It was amazing to see how excited, thrilled and proud of himself that he was. Gosh isn't that what we all want for our kids whether it be in sports, at school and of course ultimately in life?

Hope everyone is having an incredible weekend!

Ripple On!!!