soccer

once upon a time a third grader named cheyenne played soccer on a team; one day, cheyenne was standing about five feet away from another larger girl who thrust all of her weight into her leg and pelted the soccer ball into little cheyenne's stomach, knocking the breath out of her.  she cried and quit soccer.

before tonight, the last time i played was about a year ago, in church hill, with people from the neighborhood.  and much to my pleasant surprise, i wasn't half bad.  i was rather quick, and i found myself in the midst of confrontation over the ball, and uh– y'know– kicking it well and stuff.

well tonight, i took the field once again as a defender.  the first half was tough and for a minute i was intimidated into not giving my 100%, but in the second half i was determined.  and uh– yeah– i kicked the ball well and stuff.  i did get pelted in the stomach with the ball again, but this time i didn't cry or quit– i'm getting so mature!

okay, so to be serious now, i think... playing soccer here has been different... i feel like, it's still competitive, people want to do their best and show up in the game but it feels more like playing with family than any sporting event i've taken part in before.  same with when i play volleyball with people from the neighborhood after church sometimes... i love playing here because i feel i'm progressively becoming better at the game but not feeling put down when i falter.  there is a spirit of encouragement that is rare here.  and... it makes all the difference between my being a comfortable spectator versus an engaged player.

i needed the exercise anyway, haha, it's been about two weeks since the last run at least!