Where does the time go?

The last week has been exciting!  I got to see my oldest off to kindergarten for the 4th time today, and every time I see her get on the bus, I am so proud of her!   And I have to admit, I'm proud of myself!  It's so hard to let go some times.  My Ellee is such a strong and independent person (just like her mom) and I know that she has to start going out and doing things on her own!  For the past 16 months she has always been with one of 6 people, at all times, who can are trained to deal with her Type 1 Diabetes.  I was very excited about her starting school, but as the mother of a T1D child, it's hard to hand the reigns over to a stranger.  I have to accept and know that they will take good care of her, she is not the first T1D student, and unfortunately, she won't be the last.  I have to accept that she is in good hands!

In addition to starting school, we are also giving soccer a second shot!  This time an old friend of mine talked me into co-coaching the team!  R & I keep talking about how amazed we are with the kids' progress over the last 2 weeks!  I'm huge on the idea of getting kids into sports, give them something to concentrate on and look forward to, and above all, it gets them out and exercising! Since this is a U6 team, we agreed that we want to keep practices fun and work on basic skills to set them up with a solid foundation for a future in the sport.  So far, I think we are doing a great job!  I have no idea how our first game will go next weekend, but I'm excited to see!  These kids have improved their skills by 20%+ from one practice to the next and I am confident that by the end of the season, they will have the hang of the game!  We don't expect miracles at the first game, we just want participation and effort!

For the past few days, all I've heard and read about is everyone's excitement about the start of Buckeye Football.  Don't get me wrong, it's great that they are proud of the school and their football team, but how many of them personally know some one on that team?  I really wish that all of those people would take half of that energy and put it into their excitement for their child's sports involvement.  Yes, our lives are busy, but isn't it worth putting aside the 5 hours a week for practices and games to see the joy in your own child's face when they have a great kick, hit, catch, run, or score?  It is to me.  I could care less about some over paid athlete in a pro sport or about a great collegiate when I have an opportunity to put my time and energy into something more important - my own children, my community, and the future of the community!

I really wish I could post names and brag about all of the kids on our team!  I can't for privacy purposes, but I hope that by the end of the season, the all the kids understand how proud of them R & I are of them and their efforts!  I hope that years down the road, they don't remember our game record, but how much fun they had at practice and learning new things!