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Do you ever feel that your kids are growing up so fast, you have to stop and try to focus amid the blur?
My wonderful sister-in-law once gave me this wise advice: “The days may go by so slowly, but the years fly by too quickly.”
I did not believe her when my babies were small. Those days, and weeks, and months were L-O-N-G. I did not recognize what doing that job 24/7 would do to an introvert like me. I was never alone long enough to fully recharge. I stumbled through life, day after long day, wondering what was wrong with me. To have uninterrupted time in those days, I had to resort to tricks, such a 2 lb. bag of m&ms doled out one at a time to a toddler. In retrospect, that was a really bad idea. Unfortunately, sometimes desperation is the mother of invention.
Now, when I write, it recharges me. It helps me look at single snapshots of my life with my kids, and reflect on the Now of it. The years have started flying by, indeed. I better write fast to keep up.
The state tournament for the FIRST Lego League Robotics program was this past weekend in Dayton, Ohio. I coached an elementary school team this past fall (rookie coach + first time team = probably not the ideal choice). I did not plan to be a Lego Robotics coach; I did not attend the back-to-school “information meeting”, which was probably my first mistake. I did not know it was the Coach Nomination Meeting. Had I been there, I could have provided an animated and persuasive argument for why I was NOT the person to take on a team, no matter how badly the school needed just one more parent volunteer coach. After all, I made it through a decade of legos strewn around the carpet of my home without ever developing the tiniest inkling to actually build something out of them myself. As it was, I sent my engineery husband instead. I promise you, this was the logical choice, given the two people involved: hmmm, let’s see… science, technology, math, engineering, team emphasis, coaching experience — he was perfect!
Because when it all came down to it, here’s the deal: the organization has an impressive mission, and one that I want to celebrate. The FIRST Lego League Robotics Program provides kids an alternative avenue to hear the cheers of a crowd. Of course, youth athletics are an outstanding, well-recognized way to learn teamwork, dedication and the payoff of hard work; but there are other alternatives for kids to learn equally valuable life skills, and this program is one of them. The vision expressed on the FIRST Lego League website from founder Dean Kamen — “To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes” — says a lot in a world where sports heroes are repeatedly shown to be great athletes, but not necessarily great role models for kids. Any chance we have as parents to develop and challenge the whole child, whether through athletic or academic programs, is worth celebrating. Having experienced a gymnasium packed full of fans cheering loudly — about teamwork-based science! — it is an exciting scene to witness.
I’m proud to have been a part of the whole thing. My team, Team G.E.E.K., did not qualify for the recent state tournament, but we sure had fun. (Not that that means that I am already volunteering for next year, because I am not ready to commit…) By the way, our G.E.E.K stood for Global Energy Engineering Krew. At first, the kids were not sure about being known as “geeks”, but they soon embraced the slogan that “geek is the new cool”. It’s OK to be smart and other kids can and will respect you for it.
jane, candid 