Winning and Losing

Isn't it awesome that his team was the Bees? We loved it!

Last night, H played in the championship game of his Rookie Little League series. H was the youngest boy on his team, but he's done really great, getting the hang of real baseball, with fielding and striking out and everything in between.

During the regular season, they didn't keep score. During the tournament, they did. It was interesting to watch the difference in the players and the parents. During the regular season, parents seemed pretty relaxed, having fun, and not worrying about things beyond how their own child performed. But everyone got a little more excited and nervous during the tournament. And really, it was more fun (although, my stomach did flip flops during the championship game.)

During the three games leading up to the championship game, H's team blew everyone else out of the water—even with the five-run limit to each inning. But the big game itself was a nailbiter (obviously, since the opposing team had beaten all of their opponents.) During the game, I kept worrying that H's team might lose, but knowing it would still be ok if they did.

They won. And it was a great win.

I'm glad that H has reached the level of play where there is winning and losing. I like the fact that he can strike out (even though I feel sad when he does). I think it's important to teach kids that there's both in life—that sometimes you win, which is amazing, but sometimes, even though you do your very best, you lose. And that's ok, because there's always another game, another challenge, and another day to try again.

Congrats H!