Just rolled in from work, threw some more unending laundry in the washer and ironed a work shirt for in the morning.
With all my rituals out of the way I am once again free to type me little heart away.
I went to see Massey in her competition today in North Dakota. Maybe it was just Canton but it felt like I was on a major road trip with Atlanta traffic. My google directions were great...didn't make one wrong turn and I didn't even have a co pilot to read the exits off to me. Am I a multi tasker or what? Besides that, Massey was sending me texts every ten minutes to be updated on my where abouts.
She told me where they were staying at the high school and like the great sneak I am I parked by the buses in the "No Spectators" parking lot and walked right into the school to find them in their "Dorm room" for the weekend. They were pumped! An awesome first performance and these kids were on top of the world. I snapped this picture of them before I went to buy my ticket to join the other people that obeyed all the rules and parked correctly.
I stood in the video taping area so I could tape the performance. The thing about taping is that you are so concentrated on holding the camera steady and including the wide shot of the whole group that you actually don't "SEE" the performance.
The tarp was pulled out...ECHS took the floor.
Yes I did hear a couple of drops and saw some flags that weren't in EXACT sync...but I thought it was beautiful and pretty spectacular in some spots...with my skewed view.
Obviously LITTLE do I know about guard competitions.
When I wormed my way back down to their "Dorm" in the cafeteria the mood was at MOST very bleak. They all said "We sucked. " "It was horrible."
I told one of the girls it may not have been as good as their first performance but it certainly didn't suck and on top of that...sometimes you can't win them all.
It's a fierce competition in the world of Guard. Sometimes you "Stick It" and sometimes you don't.
I was unaware that Massey had started out with the wrong flag...she was no where to be found in the "Dorm" and after talking to some of the chaperones for about five minutes she appeared from the rest room with puffy and bleary eyes.
She was devastated...all her eye make up was gone and she fell into my arms sobbing.
At that precise moment... I was so glad that I had made that long trek for a five minute performance.
That is my job as a mother...to be there when my girl needs arms to collapse into .
After a long talk and wiping away many tears I assured her that if THIS was the worst thing that happened in her life she would be a lucky young woman.
I can guarantee that she will NEVER start a performance again without checking, rechecking and checking again that her flags are in correct order.
It is life...
It's mistakes made along the way and lessoned learned.
By the time I had to leave for work she seemed a lot better and more in control of those ALWAYS high emotions that come so easily to fourteen year old girls.
Her coach was extremely nice about her mistake...Kudos to him.
Webster's defines 'mistake' as "An error or fault resulting from defective judgement, deficient knowledge, or carelessness."
If I know my girl...and I think I do, she will learn from her mistake and never make this one again.
You live and you learn.
That is life...sometimes it's rough and tumble and some times it's smooth sailing.
It's how you handle the bad times and how much you appreciate the good times.
I'm just glad I was there when she had a rough and tumble day.
I'm including the video I shot...YOU be the judge!
Til next time...A "Glad I was there for my girl" COTTON
PS Be sure to click on the pic I took of the group...a great bunch of kids with a LOT of support from a great bunch of parents.
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