Saturday on the Sidelines

Yesterday we drove to Richmond for our daughter Phoebe's Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Phoebe's brother Willem, sister Kathe, and brother-in-law Jim joined us on the sidelines to cheer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Such a joy to see the circle of friends that swarm around my youngest child, while chatting with the rest of the family. What more could a mom want on a gorgeous fall day?

Sunscreen. You'd think that after all of the years I've spent on the sidelines of my children's sporting events, I'd remember to pack the sunblock. But I guess I'm out of the habit. That soccer photo is probably from my 6th year as a soccer mom and sometime coach. Countless hours, countless games, countless practices, many, many tournaments, over 18 years. Sunburn. Foolish me.

 

I wore a pair of earrings that I made last summer on the same day I made my Red Hot Chili Pepper earrings. I wore them to help Phoebe move into her college dorm in August, before I knew that I'd be on the sidelines of a game.

I should have saved them! But perhaps those others are more appropriate: a flashy disk, surrounded by a pair of red beads. What Phoebe loves about Ultimate Frisbee and the Red Hots is the unique team dynamic demanded by this sport. She's been a member of many teams, in many sports. She says this is the best team sport ever invented, combined with the best team spirit she's ever experienced.

At this tournament, Richmond  fielded a full Alumnae Team who demonstrated the remarkable sense of community- through-sport that she describes. For the final few points of their tournament scrimmage, the two teams blended, experienced alumae playing alongside freshman newbies.

For these young women, their Ultimate Frisbee team is the star, not the Red Hot players who move the disk around the field. That's what these earrings mean to me.

Those 18 years on the sidelines must have been time well spent!