As I sit down to write the POTW this week I admit to 2 things 1) there's a LOT of grey area in raising kids and 2) some rules are made to be broken.
Spencer quit the high school lacrosse team.
Phew - feels kind of good to get that off my chest. This all happened last weekend and, to be honest, I have very mixed feelings about the whole situation. There is a long back story on how we got to the point where we would even consider entertaining the idea of letting him walk away from a commitment he's made. We aren't people who DO that... and yet we just did it - and honestly it feels right.
I don't want to get into the gory details because I'd be sharing only our side of the story. I'm sure there's another side to it - although we've not heard it. I will simply say that Spencer felt like he was wasting his time attempting to participate on a team that didn't value him. The actions taken by the coaches pretty much proved this to be true at every opportunity. SO when Spencer came to us last weekend and said he felt like his time would be better spent lifting weights, getting stronger, and starting the preparation for football - we agreed with him.
There's a part of me that is relieved. Honestly, watching him go through the first half of this season was painful and frustrating. It's also obvious that he's comfortable with the decision because he's been in THE BEST mood all week. Like nearly giddy - and certainly a joy to be around - all week. I'm sure working out nearly non-stop and the resulting endorphin high is a part of that, but so is being a part of a group that shows him he matters to them. Seems so simple...
There's another part of me that is pretty damn sad about this whole thing. The Bovenizer family has put a LOT of time and energy (and money and more time and some additional energy) into the lacrosse program over the past 7 years. (Yes... 7 years. Spencer's first season was in 2012.) I like the sport of lacrosse. I enjoy watching it. I really love the fact that all my boys played it. I loved that they had fun playing lacrosse. To see that come to an end is sad. But certainly not a reason to continue to ram your head into the brick wall...
So Spencer's hung up the lacrosse cleats. We've put the long poles into storage. He's put on 7 pounds - and looks stronger than I've ever seen him - in a week. He's gearing up for spring football and summer wrestling. He won't play lacrosse again. I don't blame him.
Quinn is still on the team. Who knows what will happen with him next year. This particular program doesn't value multi-sport athletes and my boys wrestle. The combination is... unfortunate.
Here's an old picture from Spencer's first season. I'll miss seeing him out there on the lacrosse field - but 1000% support his decision to do what's best for himself.
This weekend we are looking forward to a visit from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Phyllis. Quinn's got a couple of freshman games and Bob's U9 team has a game on Saturday too. I'm off to Scotland on Saturday afternoon for my next MBA course - accounting this time. My colleague and I decided to take a mid-week day off to do a little tourist sight-seeing and we are doing a highlands tour next Wednesday. Stay tuned for pictures - we may see the Loch Ness Monster!
