Glad I Didn't Miss It

This week I ran into a bit of a controversial situation - in my own head. I had to choose whether to go to McKenna's District Volleyball Championship or to the Literature Conference at BYU-I. I had registered for the conference several weeks ago without connecting that the two events fell upon the same day. (I hate putting myself into these kinds of spots but will continue to do so until I start using a planner or some sort of organizational device.) I decided to attend the conference rationalizing that I had seen McKenna's team play several times. They are fun to watch and they usually win. But, they were tied for 1st place in the district with two other teams and as luck (or non-Cougar loving organizers) would have it, our girls were put into the most awful bracket in the championship. It would most likely take some "divine intervention" for them to make it to the final game. So, going to the conference seemed like the logical thing to do.

Trent kept me posted through text messages and I silently cheered and celebrated as our girls moved up through the brackets and then was sure that the right choice had been made when they moved into the loser's bracket. I eagerly waited for the text that said the girls were out and then I would be able to breathe a sigh of relief and all guilt, from missing the games, would be swept away. But, what was unthinkable was the text that said the girls were headed to the championship game. They had beaten Salmon, lost to Shelley, beaten Teton, beaten Shelley, and now would be facing the dreaded Diggers of Sugar for the championship.

As I sat down in my seat for the final session of the conference, my dear friend leaned over and said, "Do you really want to miss the game?" I had come with her and knew that my leaving was going to force her to leave too. One more nudge from her and we were out the door and on our way to the game. I'm so glad I listened to her and she was willing to leave with me. I would never have forgiven myself for missing it.

McKenna is normally a front row player and doesn't serve often but her back row mate had gotten injured and so McKenna was doing the serving too. She had served 19 points in a row to help beat Salmon and was on a roll. But, what was most impressive was how these girls came together and played as a team - something that didn't always happen in the regular season. They beat Sugar in the tie breaker, which just happened to be Sugar's first loss. On to another game. Our girls had played, at his point, 13 straight games without a bye or a rest. Sugar had played 7. Our girls were so exhausted. They fought for every single point. Thank goodness for adrenaline! But, 3 games later our girls were victorious.

I wish I could express the joy I felt for them and the joy they were showing. It wasn't just a win but it was a win over Sugar which always is more sweet. What I can express is the happiness I felt to be there as my daughter played her heart out, fought through the fatigue, and truly was a member of a victorious and beautiful championship team. I'm so glad I didn't miss it!