Sport. Your kid’s sport specifically. We get so involved and engrained. Mike and I spent many years, dollars, vacations, blood, sweat, and tears supporting our kids in the sports they chose to pursue. We both love athletics and were more than happy to travel all over the country making sure they both got to learn all the lessons that sport teaches.

Ian raced bicycles from the age of 10, won and was on the national championship podium 10+ times, raced and won races in Europe, was a member of the USA Junior National Team on the Road & in Cyclocross, and raced at the collegiate level for Marian University. Cate played field hockey from the time she could hold a stick at age 5 and moved through the YMCA league, middle & high school teams, club hockey, Team USA Futures, and played at the collegiate level for Babson College.

To say that we had a lot invested in their experience is an understatement. And then it was over. Ian decided not to continue racing after college and Cate played until her Senior year and couldn’t continue. Where once a lot, if not most of our attention was on who was where, racing or playing what, there was nothing. Crickets. It is so hard not to feel as though a part of you has died when these days end. And as I said to someone just last week, and you never know when the last time will be.

Easing The Sting

I think the first thing to do when these days come is to feel the feelings. It is a loss. There is no doubt about that. Go through your mourning period, but don’t put that on your kids. Them pressing pause on or stopping their sport doesn’t have anything to do with you. This is about them. If they have doing this sport since they were very young, maybe it doesn’t serve them and what they need anymore. When they get older, it is their call, not yours.

Continue To Enjoy The Sport

The sport, whatever it is, might not be the same for you anymore, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy or appreciate it. We watch A LOT of bike racing at our house. Of course there is a dose of “what could have been” when watching, but we are happy to cheer on some of the guys that Ian used to race with and against a few years ago.

We live down the street from Cate’s high school field hockey field. I love nothing more than stopping by on a walk or run to see the girls practicing. Watching those young girls is like time in a bottle – it helps me remember all the special times we had during her years of competitive sport.

Get Your Own Sport

Is it the competition you miss? If so, then get yourself out there and get compete yourself. There are so many different sports available to you. It doesn’t have to be the same one that your kid was involved in. Pick something that makes you happy, allows you to make new friends, keeps you fit, and gives you that little dig of spice in your life.

What is just as fun as being proud of your kid when they are kicking ass? Being proud of yourself when you are out there kicking ass.

When It Comes Full Circle

Maybe your kid will never play that sport again, but then again, maybe they will pick it up again. If they’ve been involved for many years, it is more than likely engrained in them and they will always need some sort of activity.

Both of my kids took 3 years away from their sport. It was painful. For me. For them it was needed. Both have started dipping their toe back in their sport. I try not to get my hopes up over it and I know I need to attach myself more to what I am doing and let them do their thing, however and whatever commitment. I’m just glad I have the opportunity to experience it again and especially since I do know that you never know when the last time will be.