First, I want to tell you how proud I am of Pickle this week. She is a lot of wonderful things, but risk-taker is not usually one of them. She prefers to know in advance how everything will go before she decides to proceed. Obviously, she doesn't always get that preference, but when she can opt out of situations that are completely out of her comfort zone, she often does. As I've mentioned before, she is heading to a new school for high school next year, and that alone is a bit anxiety producing. This school has an excellent (6x state champion) volleyball team. She casually mentioned to us that she'd like to play. She has never pursued any athletic endeavors--she was a dancer only. She has little volleyball experience--basically only PE class. We all sort of dismissed the idea, thinking that she might be out of her league on this one.
Then I helped with Field Day at the elementary school and met the PE teacher there who helps with the volleyball program. She asked if Pickle played and told me of the C team that often doesn't have cuts. Hmmm. Pickle dismissed the news--saying she had given up on the idea. Fine.
Fast forward to this week, when a discussion about keeping fit led to Pickle saying that she still wanted to pursue volleyball. We hop on the internet and find out the volleyball camp was (of course) this week. She had missed half of it--but hubby was able to find out she could attend for the last two days. SO, my non-risk-taker daughter, with no volleyball experience, knowing nobody, halfway through a camp that the girls had been at for days--walked into the gym and gave it a go. She was super-nervous, but decided that it was worth pressing through the anxiety. That is the part I am proud of--that at this point in her life she has begun to figure out that sometimes you push through fear to pursue a dream.
And, she liked it. She is sore and bruised--but she did it. She made a new friend or two. She has plans to work hard this summer in preparation for the late-summer tryouts. I don't care if she plays on the team (okay--I'd love it, cause it's my favorite sport!), but what I'm proud of is that she is going for it!
Today, we are off to a VBX work day. Tomorrow too. We are working hard to paint and build and set the stage for a great adventure! We will be doing some of this:
and this:
and this:
can you believe they let me touch power tools??
What are you doing today??
that is such a good step forward for your daughter! I honestly wish my parents had encouraged sports for me when I was in HS. I think I could have gotten a lot out of it but they never seemed to have any interest in me pursing any of that.
ReplyDeleteI love it when kids push through fears to reach a goal - it's always so maturing, and those little successes build confidence and character in ways that the easy road never does! It's great that she's jumping in and it's a blessing that she has the freedom to fly or fail in a safe loving home!
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of VBX or VBS or DVBS - depending on where you're from I guess! So many kids who never would hear the Gospel otherwise, hear it at VBS - so your work is of a very lasting sort!
Best blessings on your VBX. Ours is next week and we are getting ready for all the kiddos!
ReplyDeleteAlso, hooray for your daughter!
Okay, what ARE you building for VBS? We have to see the finished project. Way to go for your daughter stepping out on her own.
ReplyDeleteWow! I am so impressed by your daughter's courage and tenacity. That is awesome.
ReplyDeleteOkay, weird question. Is your church the one with a funny shape that is located a few blocks behind a major retail area? (Vague, but I'm trying to respect your privacy). It looks familiar, and I know you've told me a bajillion times which church you go to, but I can't remember!
Good for Pickle! At that age (or even now) I don't think I would be able to do that.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with VBX!! It is always exciting, and I know all about the joys (and non-joys) of the director position. I'm super excited because this will be my older daughter's first year really participating. She wasn't old enough last year and wasn't potty trained, but I did bring her in every day to see the different things that went on. We've been listening to last year's CD since summer, and now we have this year's CD since hubby is the music director and he needs to introduce a few songs during worship service. And this will also be my first time leaving her with non-family members for 3 hours!! Yikes, she's growing up....and me too. =p
Anyhow, it will be fabulous time and you will have lots of fun stories to share with us. =) Looking forward to pictures of how everything turned out.
My daughter, who is almost 6, is a bit like your daughter. It's nice to read about how she is branching out - it gives me hope :) And good for you guys for subtly being there for her, and not pushing. That's likely what helped - being supportive and encouraging, without being pushy!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your week ...