Believe

Do you believe?  I do, sometimes.  Is it just me or are you singing the Cher song Believe?  I’m not believing in my Vikings right now.  You know its a good football game, when the score looks more like a hockey score.  Of course I write this and the Vikes came up with a pretty good punt return.  Now Keenum is in and Bradford is out.  Perhaps we will see some offense now or maybe not.

One of the things I love about sports, especially at the youth level, is seeing the kids start to believe in themselves and their team.  We’ve been watching most of these kids skate since they were seven years old.    Some of these players were superstars out of the gate and still are, I’m looking at you red helmet kid.  In contrast, there have been other players that you could see very early that they were going to be amazeballs.  They may not have been superstars at mites, in fact, they may have been quite timid.  Nonetheless, they are know leaders on the ice.   Every player has a different path to success, but one thing that is constant is the inner drive to be better coupled with a support system that believes in them as an athlete and a person.

When I watch my Mayor on the ice, I can’t even take it.  He’s the smallest, the cutest little player you’d ever see on the ice, but he plays like he’s goliath.  I’ve watch him undress kids double his size.  This weekend he had the refs in stitches as he chirped the other team.  Chirping, for those of you outside of hockey, is an important part of  hockey culture that involves hurling insults at players on the other team, the refs or even the fans.  For my boy, it solely involves the other players.

As I watched from the box, the Mayor was chatting up 11 on the other team.  11 looked none to thrilled with what he was saying. There was a little bit of a skirmish between them.  As the Mayor, skated to his bench he had a devilish grin on his face.  According to the refs, he skated up to 11 (twice his size) and told him he sucked.  11 had no idea how to respond to it, so the Mayor continued.  Meanwhile, the refs were dying laughing as my pint sized Mayor chirped the Goliath size corn fed kid from the other team.   Undoubtedly, I love watching the Mayor play hockey because he plays like he’s six feet tall even though he’s the smallest on the ice.  The Mayor being the youngest of three boys has definitely made him one tough cookie.

I wrote last night that the Mayor’s team struggled their first game of the tournament.  It was truly a rough start, but Coach got them motivated in a great way.  He was able to channel that motivation into believing that they could in fact win the championship.  Of course, it didn’t hurt that he told the team they could shave his head and skate him the last ten minutes of practice if they won.  Well, they won and Coach vowed to keep his promise.    Hubby, who helps coach at practice, told me the kids were giddy and squealing in anticipation throughout the practice.   Indeed, the crew delighted in skating coach and then shaving his head post practice.

Meanwhile in Hermosillo, Mexico, my sister-in-law Mo has left behind the NICU in order to become a PACU nurse while serving overseas with Children Surgery International.  This amazing organization provides free surgical services to children in need while also training local medical professionals.  A lot of the surgeries they perform are to correct cleft palate.  Without this organization, these children wouldn’t be able to have the surgery and the opportunity to live a normal life.

Why the sudden change of topic?  I believe, with all the bad news out there, it is good to remind ourselves that there are a lot of good things going on too.  There are a lot of people doing great things to make the world a better place.  We all have our opportunity to make the world a better place.  Not all of us can serve as PACU nurses or surgeons overseas, but we have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life each and everyday.  Sometimes the only thing people need to be successful is someone that believes in them. Be that person.

You can also support the good work Children Surgery International is doing in Mexico by donating to them here.  That link is specific to their current trip in Hermosillo, Mexico.  If you’d like to support their broader mission, you can donate to the organization here.