Tomorrow I am being called upon to do something I really don’t want to do. I’ve known that sooner or later this was bound to happen. I was hoping for later. Much later.
My youngest son is on a basketball team this year. It’s a newly formed competitive homeschool basketball team. They have been practicing twice a week for a month and a half. There are two mothers who not only have sons on this team, one is the coaches mother and the other is the “administrator” of the team.
These two women were long-time family friends. One of the mothers and I were quite close. I haven’t spoken to either of these ladies for over a year. I kinda wanted to keep it that way…just saying. It was inevitable, once my son joined the team, that we would be in one anothers company on a twice-a-week basis after the season began. The season has apparently begun. Tomorrow after practice there is a “mandatory parent’s meeting”. My husband has attended the others without me, however, tomorrow’s meeting occurs while he is at work.
I considered ditching the mandatory meeting. I’ve been known to avoid an unpleasant situation or two in my life, and I tend to have a rebellious spirit that I work hard to keep in check. “Mandatory meeting, you say?” “Watch me NOT come” kind of attitude. Not going to happen tomorrow.
The problem began when my family went through our moving ordeal last August. When I told the one woman what was going on, she responded by email (finally) that I had shaken her up so badly. She needed time to process so she would contact me when she and her family returned from their Florida vacation in September…2010.
The other woman tried, she really did. She was there on moving day, packing and helping us settle into the apartment. She asked me a question about it all during one particular conversation. I guess she didn’t like my answer. I haven’t heard from her since.
The problem with all of this isn’t about who said what, or who did or didn’t commit an offense. It IS about taking time to show you care. When I was going through one of the most difficult times of my life I needed my people, friends and family alike, to hold me up and help me through because there were honestly days I didn’t want to continue my earthly trek.
I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this all…one of many. I need to care enough to show I do, no matter how unpleasant and trying the circumstances. I need to ” trouble myself on behalf of others“.
So ready or not, mandatory parent’s meeting, here I come…to face my giants. I’m just glad it’s not until tomorrow…
When in a similar situation, I simply attended the “mandatory parents’ mtg” as one of the crowd, got the information, and left… No personal interaction, other than a simple “Hi” in passing one another on my way out. It was relatively painless, but my child did not end up participating on the team. That is a “wrench.” <<3><
You can do this. You are a mighty woman of grace and strength.