What I Know is True: Senior Edition

I've always heard that you should write about what you know.

Today, I'm thinking about what I know.

I know the squeak of tennis shoes and the thump, thump, of the roundball on the gleaming hardwood floor.

I know the sound of a whistle blowing and of girls laughing in the locker room. 

I know the taste of victory... and the agony of defeat.

I know the thrill of watching the ball swish through the net noiselessly, or the feel as the clock ticks down to 0.0 and you look up to see that it is tied.

I know these things viscerally. 

I can close my eyes and see them, see the huddle and him in the middle, and sometimes the eye rolls and sometimes the rapt attention as the play is drawn, and even sometimes the cracking of the clipboard in frustration.

I know when to encourage and when to just sit quietly and let the Coach stew. 

I know these things... because I've learned them in my marrow.

I'm learning some things, too...

Learning what a setter does and what an attacker does. 

Learning the different kind of serves.

Learning the look of pride when someone scores an ace on a serve or gets a spike or bumps it just over the net so it can't be hit back.

Same occasional eye rolls. Same rapt attention. Same frustration at times... and then pure joy at others.

Some things are universal. Some things are just true...

Teams become family and families occasionally fight, especially teenage sisters...

But love is all-powerful, and when you mess with one you mess with all of them.

Hard work really does pay off and practice doesn't always make perfect but it can make it so close that if you squint you can look past those mistakes. 

And the glory of the win takes away all of the agony of the defeat... most days.

As I watch a Senior sit in the bleachers and support her team even though she couldn't be on the court because of medical reasons earlier in the season, I know the meaning of true friendship.

As I  watch a Senior player who is playing for the very first year serve the game winning point on Senior night, I know pure joy from the smile that lights up her face.

As I watch a Senior dump it over the net again and again and again into the perfect spot, thinking of how at the beginning of the year she had to sit on the bench because of eligibility issues, I question what is just and right.

As I watch a Senior who is the most positive player on the team even when she doesn't get as many playing minutes as every one else serve time and again, even in high pressure situations, I think about lovely.  (And she really is lovely. Inside and out.)

As I watch a Senior that I have known since a baby dive for the ball...

As I watch a Senior jumpserve in the game and it go into play and be hit right back to her, and her knock it back over the net...

As I watch a Senior go for the ball out of bounds, making plays quietly and speaking more with actions than words, knowing that in between practice she juggles schoolwork and a full-time job...

As I watch a Senior volley and never give up...

I'm reminded that while I may not know volleyball, I know this. 

There is more to athletics than hitting a ball.

There's dedication and teamwork and perseverance and a few tears and some bruising...

And a true athlete presses on.

This month, I'm working through Philippians 4:8 for the #write31 challenge. 

Tonight, I'm pondering on what is true... what I'm learning to be true, and what I know deep down in the bottom of my heart.

I don't know my purpose in this life, other than to love God and others.  I'm still trying to figure it out.  I do know that this is true, though.  My husband is meant to be working with teenagers... and I sure do understand dramatic girls.  And sometimes, I shake my head in frustration... but most nights, I'm so very thankful... because I'm not just blessed to be Caleb's mama. 

I'm blessed to get to be a Mama to a group of lovely girls... and when they get sassy, they go home to their real Mamas.

 

Seniors Top Row: Brooke Adams, Michaela Southwood

Third Row: Candy Herald and Beth McIntosh

Second Row: Kasey Young and Morgan Slone

Bottom Row: Leeandra Henson and Katie Watts

Photo courtesy of Brittini Hayes photography

 

 

Thanks, Volleycats, for making me think.  For making me smile.  Now let's go win a District Championship.

2014 Breathitt Volleycats. Courtesy of Brittini Hayes Photography