I am thankful that my family is into sports.
On an average, when I was growing up, Indian families were not into playing any sports, with the exception of cricket. The national pastime was watching cricket and almost every young guy tried to play in the narrow streets along the houses aiming to be the next cricket prodigy.
Parents in India focussed mainly on studies. Education was a way to climb the social ladder. Competition was stiff and studying to become a doctor, engineer, lawyer did not leave much time for playing anything. We were exposed to sports in school, but it was a half hearted attempt on the part of the school to give us a well rounded experience.
When we moved to America, we were introduced to the concept of league sports for kids. Both my daughters played in the local leagues for soccer and basketball throughout their school years.
It was a novel concept for me. After picking them from school, I would give them a quick lunch and then it was chauffeur time to the various practices and games.
Initially, it was overwhelming. This was pre-gps era so all the directions had to be found and noted down before we left the house. Any wrong turn would mean precious minutes lost trying to find the venue and rushing in, barely on time, then suffering through the guilt inducing looks of the coaches.
The side effect of this, a good one, was that in no time I became an expert in the geography of three counties. I knew where all the schools were and the nearest eating spots and groceries to them.
At no time did I find taking my kids to their sports activities a chore. There were some sacrifices made, we couldn’t go on vacations if sports was in session, so many weekends were filled with back to back games, which meant I had to organize my days around them, there were some social events I could not attend. I was rushed at times to prepare dinner and make sure homework was done.
But overall, I am thankful that my daughters followed their sports through high school. They learnt to be organized, they learnt to work under pressure, they learnt to get along socially with their team. They learnt what it was to work hard at something, and sometimes experience failure even after putting in their all. They learnt that one can have good days and bad days and in the end everything is alright.
I enjoyed those days. Yes, there were tears when they didn’t make a team or got yelled at by a coach. But I mostly remember singing along their favorite songs on the radio. I remember being out in the cold freezing rain in MI watching my older daughter play soccer. And being in the hot burning sun watching my younger daughter kick the ball on a dry field in CA. I thanked my stars when she decided in middle school to move to basketball.
I am thankful that my husband is into sports.
There is not a single sports event, on the television, that he does not watch. All the tennis matches, the majors and the minors, basketball, football, national athletics, olympics, you name it, he watches it. Golf.
The other day I caught him watching a curling competition.
Recently he has started waking up in the middle of the night to watch cricket, which, due to the time difference, starts at midnight.
It doesn’t stop at just watching the matches. He then has to discuss and analyze each one with his respective friends. He discusses tennis with a school buddy and cricket with his brother-in-law. Golf tournaments are taken apart with his brother and I am his Olympic match companion.
I used to get annoyed at his ‘hobby’ when the kids were young. One can’t show enthusiasm for a great tennis rally when lunch has to be placed on the table.
Nowadays, to his credit, he prepares to watch his favorite games by making sure he has contributed to the household in some way, whether it’s by doing the groceries or ironing his shirts while watching Sunday football.
But nowadays, I don’t get irritated by his desire to watch all the games either. I am thankful he is busy glued to the t.v., it gives me time to do my stuff, like reading or chatting with my own friends. I am gradually learning to join him after dinner, bonding over basketball.
Overall, I admire his ability to sit for long hours in front of the box watching the games with full concentration.(I don’t think he’s ever focussed on a complete sentence I have spoken.)It’s not a passive activity for him, he is very much into each move and play.
It motivates him to take care of his health, so he exercises everyday. Which is one less thing I have to nag him for.
Make no mistake, we are not a hard core sports family with our favorite teams, except my younger daughter who is a Lebron James fan. We don’t get the merchandise or hold Super Bowl parties, or even get any specific snacks on game days. We enjoy tennis and basketball and soccer for the sake of the games, may the best team win.
So yes, I am thankful for sports, it has added a nice texture to our days. And thank you to all the sports people, may your tribe grow.
