Beautifully Ordinary Mothers Doing Extraordinary Things: Never Give Up

SC Sliderzz ~ Champions
Tournament of Champions 2010

A couple days ago I was reminded of an important truth that I had been touched with the first time I heard it, and it rang loud and clear again as I heard these cherished words...You are never a failure as a mother as long as you never give up. That's it, plain and simple, NEVER GIVE UP. Sounds a bit too easy, well, some days maybe not, but really, just keep going and you will not fail. There are going to be bumps along the road, and often times your children are going to make choices or do things that you wish they wouldn't, but never give up. Perhaps you're one of the few fortunate ones whose children haven't strayed or don't find it a struggle to stay strong in this world of turmoil and grief, but perhaps you still get down on yourself for not being the perfect mother that you want to be each day. Maybe you've had one of those days where you yelled a little too much or you were a little too distracted to give your little ones the attention they needed. Maybe you didn't take a small moment to enjoy the simple things with your children, or to teach when the oppotunity was there. Well, do not despair and do not get down on yourself. Start again, and do not give up.

I spent many weekends this summer watching my oldest son play baseball with his 8 year old baseball team. They were a great team and did not face many defeats. They won a lot of tournaments and because of this, were invited to the Tournament of Champions, a tourny where only past tournament champs or other invited teams were participants in the tournament. As a mom, I was very excited for this tournament, though I was pretty nervous too. Although I knew our team had a good potential to do well at the tournament, I really didn't know for sure what to expect as they faced other teams who were all great teams too.

Well, the competition did prove to be quite tough, and all but two of the games those boys played over the course of those three days were hard fought battles. In fact, in all of those games, all but two, the boys got behind at one point or another and had to fight back to regain the lead and claim the victory. Quite exciting were these games, and nothing could make a mother more proud than seeing those boys out there fighting to the end, never giving up, and always trying again to give their very best, even if for an inning or two they struggled and faltered a bit.

Each boy on the team had at least one moment of glory, their moment when they were the hero and did something amazing to start a ralley, save, or even win the game. One of my son Kyler's glorious moments came in the final inning of the championship game. We were up by one run in what had been a very tight game. There were two outs, and the tieing run was on second with the winning run up to bat. Wow, can I say I was SO nervous. The batter was behind the fast pitches of our pitcher, and he was fouling off hits on the right side of the field. Kyler was playing 1st base, and after one failed, diving attempt to catch a foul ball near the dugout, I began to get even more nervous. As the count became full, the pressure mounted, and we all knew, this next pitch could be the ballgame...the deciding hit of the championship game. Something told me that it was going to Ky. I still remember, like it was yesterday, the hit, the hard line drive hit that was surely heading for the fence, that Ky reacted to, jumping up and to the left with all the might and energy his body had to give. Did he catch it? Well, it all happened so fast, luckily, so I didn't have time for my heart to stop beating, but no, he didn't catch it. It hit off of the pinky part of his mitt, and then rolled behind him. For a split second I thought the game was over with the catch, and then disappointment, and for another split second I thought it was gonna be a hit. But then, what I saw happen was the perfect symbol of what the boys had done for the entire tournament...they never gave up. At this moment, Ky wasn't about to give up either. With the passing of the ball, he turned and ran behind him, grabbing the ball and then running and touching first base before the runner could, to get the out and to secure the victory and the championship for our Sliderzz baseball team.

It was a joyous celebration for sure. It seems that the games that prove to be the hardest are the games that bring the happiest of celebrations in the end when the victory is on your side. The feeling of accomplishment becomes heightened as you know you had to work your hardest, giving it all you have got to come out on top and gain the triumphant victory. It's the games that although you were behind at times, you fought back, hoping and wishing and knowing that if you never gave up, you could become the winner. That proved true this summer at the Tournament of Champions on that happy, sunny, summer day in Heber City, Utah when our Sliderzz team earned the title of the best 8u baseball team in the state.

It will also prove true for each of us mothers as we fight through the hard times, giving it all we've got, and even sometimes having to come from behind when we've had times of not being our best, only to come back and become our best. You will each have those times when you are the hero, when you've done something extraordinary, something your child will always remember and for which you will always be appreciated. We will prove victorious as we endure to the end, being great mothers, giving it all we've got and most of all, never giving up.

So start again today, try a little harder, be a little better, and remember, You are never a failure as a mother as long as you never give up.