Monday night was a heart racy night for me. I held my breath. I tried to be calm, but the anticipation and anxiety of the awards ceremony was way too much drama for this mama.
Monday was the end-of-season football banquet for J Serra High School where my son Kyle plays on the freshmen team.
Kyle is a tight end and middle linebacker. And although he scored about ten touchdowns over the season, it’s the defense that captures his heart.
One of his coaches’ told me in private, “Your boy has violent hands. You can’t teach fierceness. Either you’re born with it or not. Kyle’s a playmaker. He disrupts, he intercepts, he makes fumbles and quarterbacks run when they see him.”
Yep, that pretty much sums Kyle up.
When he was little he had an over-abundance of energy. I took him to the pool or the park religiously to wear out the little tyke.
Now Kyle always shared his toys. He was gentle with girls and small children. But woe to the boy child who stole from him, pushed or bullied.
That kid was going down.
I don’t know how many times I had to jump in the baby pool as my son confronted a bully or an out of control water-gun shooter and knocked him on his butt.
Kyle was the Chuck Norris of the toddler set. He was the defender of the weak. He was also very difficult to peel off when he was tackling (I mean teaching) another kid a lesson.
Football was a Godsend.
He was seven years-old when he set foot on the field. After the first week of full gear and contact he came to me with tears in his eyes. “Mommy, thank you so much for letting me play football. I get to hit people and its ok! Thank you so much!”
You’re welcome?
Seven seasons later I sat next to this tall, muscular and mature young man at an extravagant awards dinner and held my breath as they called out names.
They announced the big awards last. The suspense was killing me. I sat there and thought, “Why am I so nervous? Why is this so personal? Why do I care so much about his success?”
I guess it’s just what football moms do!
This is the kid I’ve pushed up and down the street a thousand times in his Flintstone car to hear his giggle, the kid I’ve loved and battled with and washed a thousand stinky jersey’s for, this is the kid who is a gentle giant (off the field) with a wicked sense of humor. This is the kid whose smile and soothing personality brighten every day…
I looked over at Tim and Brent. They were sweating bullets too. I smiled and laughed inside. We all care so much about Kyle’s journey.
As the coach started talking about the last defensive award, I knew he was referring to my boy. He mentioned how the quarterbacks at Orange Lutheran want nothing to do with this kid. (Kyle knocked both the starter and the second string QB’s out of the game). He mentioned his ability to make magic on the field, his work ethic second to none and his leadership that set the tone for the entire team.
He paused and grinned at my boy, “The Defensive MVP Award goes to…Kyle Adams.”
Is it ok to thank Jesus for “violent hands?”
