The first game was last weekend, but we were unable to go because of our trip to Marion. Yesterday we told Lucy that she was going to play soccer today, and that is all she has talked about since. She was excited to wear her new soccer clothes and to see her friends on the team. This morning we went out for breakfast to celebrate her birthday (more on that later) and then came home to grab our stuff and head to the field. Here is a picture of Lucy before we left:
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| Still really excited to play soccer |
When we got to the field Lucy was fine, but when we took her soccer ball out and one of her friends took it away from her (ya know, like someone might do in a game) she lost it and threw herself on the ground.
When her coach, the father of one of her friends, had the kids do a few drills, she laid on the ground and wouldn't participate. I won't get into specifics here, but Steve and I tried just about everything to get her on the field. We tried the stick, the carrot, and everything in between. We finally got her out there, but one of us (mainly Steve) had to run around with her. She certainly was not the only kid who had this issue and there were many adults on the field, but this was not the way we envisioned the game going.
Here are some highlights:
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| Me trying to get Lucy to run with her friend, Caroline, and her coach |
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| Steve helping her get to the ball |
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| Steve getting a workout |
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| Everyone is cheering because our team scored (on the correct goal this time!) but Lucy is starting to pout because she "didn't win." |
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| Pouting after the game |
This was an interesting exercise in patience for me and Steve. Both of us are pretty competitive people, and as Steve said, "I didn't expect her to be Mia Hamm but I at least wanted her to play without crying or throwing herself on the ground."
I have reminded Steve that this is how Lucy operates when she is put into a new situation. If she is forced to jump in right away, she freezes. When we went to the water park for the first time she would barely go on the kiddie rides, but after a few hours there she would do just about anything. There is a gymnastics place where many of her friends had birthday parties. The first party Lucy refused to do anything but sit on the sidelines with me. This lasted a half hour until she realized that her friends were having fun. Now when we go there she is willing to participate immediately.
Unfortunately for Lucy, she operates much the way I do. I can handle change, but it takes me a while to warm up to the idea. When we first moved I had a pretty tough time just letting go. I worried about a lot of things that weren't worth worrying about, but now I look back at it and laugh. Steve, on the other hand, does not have this problem. Neither does Caroline. While the two girls have a lot in common, it is clear that they handle things in very different ways.
So next week we will go back to the soccer field, and while I do not expect Lucy to turn into Mia Hamm, I do think it will be a more positive experience that will involve less running for me and Steve.
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