Mom's Eyes Are Seeing Lifetime Friendships Being Made

2009 Friday Night Lights- Week 3:
This week we travel to a city an hour away. It is their Homecoming night. Therefore we tolerate the accompanying gala. Within minutes of the sun setting I am once again reminded of how sad I am that I have lost my football blanket.
Our team looks a little better this week, mostly because we are keeping mistakes to a minimum. Our QB still seems more comfortable with a hand off versus a pass as there were only four pass completions on the night. That’s a tough night to be wide receiver #21 as none were completed his direction. Play after play, I realized this may not be a season with exciting plays, and awesome catches. There has been a little disappointment in that assumption, but it allows for other thoughts. As I sat next to H (my husband) in the second half, we exchanged knowingly glances. B was not having a banner day. He had actually been slow on some tackles (Yes, he’s playing defense again), and misread his kickoff opportunity. I said to him “I just think it’s neat he gets to be a part of this whole thing.” He agreed.
Then I began to notice some of the “other” parts of the game--
It’s the little things like knuckles to a teammate, helmet slaps coming off of the field, celebrating with the kid who took your spot, and then my three favorite from last night:
B asked the backup quarterback to warm him up- as in get him some passes to mechanically warm up the catching of the pass. It was cool to see the intensity, and then the thank you ‘handshake’ from B to him-back-up QB.
Late in the fourth B’s teammate and fellow safety got an interception. B who was on the sidelines was the chest bump recipient in celebration. Jason came running over to find him.
And then at the end of the game, to a crowd of only a few, the Fight Song was sung loudly by a bunch of boys who really can’t sing, but relished in the joy of their first win!
Play for play, B struggled, but early in the fourth quarter returned a kickoff to the 45 yard line for a reported gain of 37 yards to set his team up for the winning score.
At 2am, I sprung out of bed as the old 4-Runner made its way down the driveway. We chatted for just a few minutes. He was already very sore and somewhat frustrated at his mistakes. I encouraged him to own them, and then learn from them. He joked about how Madden hasn’t quite taught him everything. It’s impossible to know how this season will end- whether we will even make the playoffs. What I do know, is that there is a lot more happening on and off the field than the common eye can see. Mom’s eyes are seeing lifetime friendships being made- and a boy well on his way to becoming a man…
To be continued. . .