My son and his best friend went to the A tryouts. My son did not survive the first cut for the A team but his best friend did and continued on with tryouts. When I asked the dear boy how he felt about that, he said, matter-of-factly, "That's okay, Mom. I am still gonna have fun." I was impressed by his attitude which was better than mine. After all, which parent did not want his/her kid making it to the big leagues, right? Society tells us that we must aim to be with the BEST teams, cliques, groups, or we are not worth as much, right?
Two weeks later, we found out his best friend ended up not making the final cut either for the A team and so, both boys landed on the same B team. Well, whaddayaknow.....turns out our head coach (always a parent volunteer) was somebody who's really been around the baseball league, coaching all the way up to the youth elite teams. He's played in all the major league baseball stadiums of America.
Well, three months of summer baseball later, my son has had the best season of his life, learning something new at every practice and trying new positions at every game. What was first a minor embarrassment (for me, not him!) in not being "good enough" to be on the elite team, turned out to be a blessing I did not expect as my son grew in talent and confidence under a watchful and skilled coach.
I need to remember this nugget from the ball park.Society is not always the best of teachers when it comes to the lesson about one's sense of worth. Just because we do not always get what we think is "best", doesn't mean we are devoid of all worth. Sometimes, we don't get the glamour of being on the A teams of life. But oftimes, the B teams of life offer experiences that are just as precious, if we simply open our eyes and hearts....
