I wanted to share with you a talk I've had the last few years with my daughter and let you think on it some. She plays her first game of the year tomorrow in a domed tournament. She has worked very hard and was able to get her throwing and hitting work in all winter and even did so today. She didn't lift today since she plays tomorrow early. As always, she's so excited to play. I'm sure yours are as well. She will have a definate challenge since the girl that will probably pitch against them tomorrow is considered the best in the nation. She can bring the big time heat and is reported to be throwing 70 now. I've seen her and it is awe inspiring. Well, my daughter sat in the car as we arrived home and I looked at her and said, "The Hay is in the Barn."
The meaning of this phrase is that the hard work is done and time to enjoy yourself and your efforts. I ask her every time to PLEASE just enjoy playing now. I don't know how many times she has ended a game with a loss, been a good sport and shook hands, talk to teammates and then entered the car and fell apart. She's geared kind of high and it scares us sometimes. Again, I'm betting that some of your kids are the same. I told her that the rough, yell, etc. Dad is done now and so tomorrow, I'll be the cheerleader. She doesn't like that much. I told her that if this ever becomes work that she doesn't have to play. I told her we love her no matter what. I told her the type of person she is is a lot more important than the athlete she is. She has gotten better and so, she promised to try to enjoy the moment more. Just for fun she said, "The Hay is in the Barn" and then made fun of my sayings. Something for us to all think about.
Original Post