Valleys and Peaks (week 519)

I learned an important life lesson this week.  Sometimes, our greatest passions can bring about both the greatest joy and the greatest sorrow in our lives.  For me, sports and competition are still hold the greatest interest in my life.  I love to play them, watch them, talk about them, and recreate them in my backyard and on the playground every day.  

This year, we had the best--and probably most fun--soccer team that I have ever played on.  My dad and Jeff were both coaches and we went undefeated during the regular season--an almost perfect 9-0-1 (with a tie on the last day of the regular season).  We were a defensive powerhouse--only giving up 10 goals in 10 regular season games; and, only 12 goals in 13 games overall.  We worked so hard and got so much better over the Fall, and played some of our best games as a team in the playoffs.  Nearly every player on the team scored at some point, and we were league champions.  Our only goal left was to finish the season as tournament champions.  I have never won a tournament championship in any sport I have played and I thought this would be our chance.

In fact, after taking a 2-0 lead in the first half, we did win our semifinal game 3-2, had a goal taken away by a referee on a wrong call.  It was a beautiful goal with almost no time left on the clock where I had a great shot blocked and Nate Huber scored on the rebound.  We ended our season losing in a shootout.  We were all so disappointed and learned the tough lesson that the best team doesn't always win; bad calls can end a season; and, life is not always fair.  Our life passions bring both our greatest joy and our greatest sorrow.  But (a) it is the hurt and the pain that can drive us to do better, work harder, and motivate us to do more; and (b) it is not the result--because the result can always be taken away from us--but the journey that matters.

Saturday night was also the day of the big Belmont Shore Christmas Parade.  While dad and Christopher were dressing up and riding the float through the Shore, I was home sleeping and preparing for the big game.  They had a great time but it was a long, cold night along the 1.9 mile parade route.  They say over 20,000 people attend the parade!