Basketball Memories

Yesterday I dragged all our children to Matthew's basketball game so we could be a supportive family (Ok, that's not quite true. I wanted see his game, and Sierra was gone so I couldn't leave Nicole).

Matt helped ref the game because Matthew's regular coach was gone for the long weekend. He found time, somehow, to leave work mid-day and be there. I don't think he's ever missed a game, and he works every Saturday!

I filmed the game for about 5 minutes before the battery died. Oops! The last 10 seconds showed Matthew making his first two points (out of 10) for the game! Someday, I'll take the five minutes needed to learn how to download that onto this blog.

As I sat on the bleachers I felt miserable because I have a kidney infection. Nicole and Dallin jumped all over me because brutalizing my body seems to be more fun than running, coloring, or anything else they can do in a gym. I watched Matt coaching the team from the sidelines as my sweet Matthew showed a lot of potential in his future basketball career. He is FAST, and he is short enough the other teams mistakenly overlook him. He uses that to his advantage. He can steal a ball and be well on his way to the basket before anyone knows what happened. He also has a lot of stamina. They play straight through with only a four minute break at half time. He rarely sits out.

Suddenly, a wave of reality hit me. I realized suddenly that Matthew is no longer a little boy. My adorable baby, and the monstrous 3-6 year old I thought would not live to seven is now a 10 year old boy who is growing up faster than I ever wanted him to. I see him every day, so I'm not sure how I've missed this, but I found myself crying in the middle of the game as I realized he will suddenly be leaving the house to go on a two-year mission. I need to prepare myself a little for that! It was a little embarrassing to have to wipe away the runaway tears in the middle of the basketball game, but absolutely necessary.

We have five children, but they are all still little in my eyes (except Sierra, who is only 1/4 inch shorter than me). They are growing up faster than I ever thought possible. And with every naughty deed, and every mess, I have two good memories of how sweet, innocent, and loving my children are. We joke about Life When Our Children Are Grown, but it has always seemed so far away I never thought about what it will really be like. No messes? Cooking for two? A quiet, clean house? I don't think, after eleven years of complaining, that I'm ready for that yet. I love Sierra's artistic endeavors placed all over the house, the smell, sound, and occasional destruction of boys and basketballs running back and forth through the house (that's a rule they consistently ignore!) and Nicole's constant chattering. Those five have given me so much more than they take, and I love each of them. They have truly made our lives complete.

So, I guess I'll have to maintain control of my emotions, get over my kidney infection quickly, and head outside to play basketball while I'm still tall enough to get the ball!