I had a bit of an epiphany this morning… It occurred to me that parenting is not unlike my now distant and admittedly short-lived career as a soccer parent. At the beehive-level I coached. At that level, I was permitted on the field of play where I ran up and down the field with the little players shouting instructions and generally inserting myself into the game.
At the next level, I had to take my coaching to the sidelines where I still ran up and down the field and shouted instructions as I went, but was no longer permitted onto the field of play. That was now the sole domain of the players and the referees. My coaching had to be done from a greater distance and I had to rely more on the players growing skills and experience.
Then, almost overnight, the players skill levels grew to where they required the attention of more advanced coaching beyond my skill set… So I quietly took my place behind the coaches… in my bag chair… with my umbrella and watched from the crowd.
Why Eye Write 