Hallie came home late Friday night after hanging out with friends. As per our typical routine, she sat in the chair in the office and shared the happenings of her evening with me.
After she was done sharing, she asked how Hunter’s soccer game went that night.
It was a tough game (with large stakes) that ended in tears and as I recounted the game, the feelings I had experienced earlier that night started to bubble to the surface once again and the pit in my stomach returned. I was sick for the team and especially Hunter with how their season ended.
I recognized and even verbalized there was nothing I could do to change the outcome but sometimes you sit with the pain your children feel. In that moment, Hallie reminded me of the seeding committee meeting that was taking place the next morning that would determine the bracket for the state tennis tournament. Suddenly Hunter’s game was in the rearview mirror and the pit in my stomach shifted to hoping Hallie would be seeded correctly giving her the best chance at state.
The next morning, we learned Hallie was seeded for doubles at #5 in the state – this was our best case scenario and we were so happy for her. She was equally stoked.
Parenting is fascinating – within 12 hours we were mourning with Hunter and celebrating Hallie. Being a parent can be emotionally taxing! In the grand scheme of things both events were trivial – neither were going to be life changing and probably not even remembered years from now. But this weekend they were a big deal to them and because they were important to them, I took on their emotions and owned them as my own and they spanned the gamut.
When Hunter was hurting, I was too. When Hallie was ecstatic, I was too.
Isn’t that the story of parenting?! I have young kids with young emotions – I can only imagine how much harder this is going to be when they’re older with bigger heartbreak and even larger joy.
I’ll take these young emotions as building blocks for not only them but also myself. 🙂
