In The End

In the end, the ending didn't look at all like my boys had hoped. Their last soccer games as Black Tigers weren't as fantastic or picture perfect as they wished. They were tired and worn out and it showed on the field. In the end, though, all of those things didn't matter because they were on the field with the boys that they have grown up with. They were on the field with friends and teammates alike, and THAT is what mattered.

If you think about it though, the ending was actually rather perfect. Because what the ending showed was that even though they were tired and worn out they were not going to give up on each other. They were going to slosh through the game as best they could while having each other's backs. They were 11 young men trying their hardest out there on the field to see each other through the ugly parts of playing back to back games- the tired, cramped legs, the pulled muscles, the physically rough opponents - and they did so by quietly doing their best to push themselves and each other to limits they were not sure they could reach. Certainly, they could not have reached these limits alone, but together as one united team they could.

Walking off of the field for the last time as a Black Tiger. 

When my youngest son came off of the field for the very last time with tears in his eyes I knew the heartbreak he was feeling because I was feeling it too. Here was a young man who lives and breathes soccer. Who all his life has lived and breathed soccer with his two best buddies, and who was now closing the chapter on that part of his life while knowing that they would continue on without him. I just wanted to tell him that everything would be all right. That he would find new teammates in the spring. But in the end, I didn't say a word. I just held him as he quietly cried in my arms because I knew that even though he would find new teammates in Las Cruces I knew it wouldn't be the same. Growing up and playing a sport you love with all of your being with your best buddies is a privilege that not many kids get to experience. Josh was lucky to get a chance to do that, and he knows how lucky he is.

As my boys hugged and high fived their teammates for one last time I could help but be so grateful that we had an amazing last year. I am so grateful that I got to see my boys play on the same team. I am grateful that I got to see them have such a successful year. They had more wins as a middle school team this year than the school has seen in years and years. They were exciting to watch even when they were frustrating to watch. I am honored that I got to sit on the sidelines this one last season and see just the tip of what this school team can become in the future. I wish them the best of luck in the years to come. I thank them all for the wonderful memories that I will walk away with, but more importantly I thank them for all of the memories that my boys will walk away with.