Sentimental Journey

Forgive me. I'm going to wax a little sentimental. We are a sports family. I don't know how it happened. I was born a princess (my mom was hoping for a cowgirl, but she got me). Somehow, Heavenly Father saw fit to send me three sons. So I adjusted. Now I'm a sports mom. Our lives are dictated by a coach's schedule. It has been this way for years now. Six years is a long time when you really only have about 18 with any particular kid.

We started small, park & rec and AYSO. That wasn't so demanding. Sure, it cut into our ability to travel on weekends, but the vacations and summers were ours. We told the coach when we would be there and when we would not.

Six years ago, Justin started Pop Warner football. Now the coaches started telling US when and where we would be. Tyler started playing the next year. I really didn't think they'd like it. They got better and they liked that. They liked being part of a team. I think they even liked the challenge and the discipline. Even when they weren't winning, somehow they kept going. Then on to high school football, where there really is no "off" season. Justin originally tried to play basketball and football but learned by his junior year that he'd have to choose if he wanted to be successful. He surprised us all by choosing football.

When he started playing varsity, we finally figured out how intoxicating the "Friday night lights" could be. Now we're nearing the end of his last year of football. His team went into last Friday's game 3-0 in league playing against a cross-town rival that was also 3-0. This was it. This was the game he'd waited his whole football career for. I don't even think a post season game will mean as much (unless by some miracle we get to the championship). 48 minutes of play and they were able to decisively and convincingly earn the Foothill League title for the first time in the school's history. It doesn't get better than that!

This is Justin's good friend Justin Wells, our outstanding center. I think his face says it all so I included it because I like this picture so much!

Here are some action pictures for Justin!

So, for the 20+ senior football players and their families on our team, it was the highest of highs. I can't help thinking about the other 100+ throughout our valley whose senior season was less than they'd hoped. It has been a road we will always remember.