Here’s just another little tidbit about Borgette that kinda made my weekend….

For those of you folks who know me, you know how I feel about my kid, for those of you who don’t, I can refer you to almost any of my past daylogs or you could go to her home node and see some of her stuff yourself.

Anyway, this was soccer Saturday and my-ex was kind enough (or maybe she came to her senses?) to let me take Anna until this coming Wednesday. Never one to miss out on a opportunity to see her, I jumped at the chance to meet them at the soccer field and watch her play. It was a little chilly in the morning but by the time the game got started it had turned into one of those kinda crisp, breezy days that typify the onset of Spring here in good ol’ Columbus, OH.

Her coach this year seems to have everybody on track and manages to keep the kids interested while learning the basics of the game. They have fun, they learn respect, they learn the building blocks of teamwork and even, in these days of video game overkill, manage to get some exercise and some fresh air. My kid has worked hard at the practices and always plays her best no matter what the circumstances.

It paid off this weekend. It was about 5 minutes into the game when she cut across the goal, went to her left foot (a rarity in one so young or so I’m told) and drilled a shot into the corner past the goalie. It was her first.

As a parent, I know this image will be burned into my head forever. It wasn’t so much the goal, (she had come close before), as it was her reaction. No trash talking, no upraised arms, no whoops of joy. She had acted like she had been there and done it before and put her head down and jogged back to her position. Score one for the good guys I guess – her team was up 1-0 (They eventually lost 3-1) I don’t how she felt inside (I’m asking her to make that a noding assignment over the next couple of days) but I’m sure the thrill she felt is one she will remember for a long, long time.

As the game moved on, she kept trying harder and harder to make some plays. She came close to another goal late in the game but was stopped by a pretty decent save by the opposing goalie.

I dunno, it’s kinda weird being a parent and overhearing other parents saying something to the effect of “Who’s that number 9 kid? She sure is good.” All the while I sat back and watched in a sorta quiet contentment, knowing full well who number 9 is. As a parent, I don’t know who was more excited about the goal, her or me. She prefers not too say too much about it but me on the other hand, well, you’d think she just scored the winning goal in the World Cup.

After that, it was off to help out some friends on the beginning of what we hope is a long and happy stay at their new abode. We couldn’t stay as long as I’d of liked since she was getting hungry and I think she wanted some alone time with her dad. We wound up the day by practicing a little softball, grilling out some barbecue chicken and settling in to watch Forrest Gump. All in all, a perfect ending to a perfect day.