Life takes place, one moment at a time. Our brain holds this information, yet are minds, filled with thousands of thought per day, fail to acknowledge this fact… until we are given the gift of capturing it. A still shot in the midst of motion. A moment that is held for a millisecond, frozen for the rest of time. Do we remember the moment, or do we recall it through the gaze of this millisecond frame?
This was a basketball game. One of many this season. Due to the proximity of parent bleachers to court play, a few of us decided to get our cameras ready. My camera of choice lately? My phone. Why? It’s always with me. I don’t usually have great luck due to the flurry of motion, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I took one, two, then I saw my son through my interface… and I touched the clicker button. Literally, in a flash, an image appeared on my front screen for but a second… and I gasped.
In doubt, I frantically switched the mode to be able to view the picture I just took. No. Way. How did this happen? The image of my son – completely in focus. The background – faded away. No fancy photoshop tools, no fancy settings, so intentional tricks. Just, a gift.
As with so many pictures, this will be my “marker” for years to come. This will be the photo that will help me instantly recall the year that we watched our “boys” not only grow in size, and maturity, but also in character. For this year, each boy learned what is meant to be a team, to work as one, to run forward together, united in one goal – putting a ball in a basket and keeping the other team from putting a ball in theirs.
This year, they learned what their matching uniforms represent. They learned about anticipating moves, help-side defense, pressing, and traps. They learned what worked and what didn’t. They learned about adjustments. They learned about momentum and motivation. They learned about my sport being their sports’ punishment (running, haha). But mostly, they learned how to achieve success together.
In doing so, they built relationships. Strong ones at that. They learned in the heat of battle, some things are best left on the court. They learned that encouragement truly does build up and that simply giving your all allows you to walk away with success, every time.
Wildcats, we’re so proud of you. It’s a pleasure and a joy to simply be there, to capture the moments. For we know, these moments are defining your walk from boyhood to manhood. These moments are a gift. As parents, there is no greater joy.
Go Cats!
Filed under: basketball, children, parenting
