Calebite

Colin's tryout for rep soccer is this Saturday.  He's super excited, I'm super excited, but we've also been trying to temper ourselves with the reality that it is a tryout.  Now, tryouts and auditions were nerve-wracking enough when I was a kid and doing them myself.  But it is a whole other level when it is your child.  The nerves are tied to my own experience and now also to having to watch from the sidelines, unable to really do anything at all.

So as we spoke yesterday about how it will be fun to be part of the team, but that we just don't know if he'll make it, I made a point of saying that he should maybe take this week and practice some drills in the backyard after school: passing, dribbling, shooting on the net, accuracy, teamwork.  Colin nodded with enthusiasm and commitment.

But it was Caleb's reaction that really got me.  Caleb jumped right in and said that he would work with Colin to get him ready for the tryout.  He said he could put out obstacles for Colin to dribble the ball around, and then he could stand in net and help Colin with shooting accuracy, and then pass the ball back and forth.  He was so excited.

Then, this morning, I heard quiet shuffling in the boys' room at 6:30am.  Caleb emerged soon after, fully dressed in soccer gear.  He tiptoed into my room to find a comb, because he wanted to be fully ready for school.  Then he went downstairs and got himself breakfast.  By 7am, even before Colin, Caleb was ready.  He headed out the back door and set up the field.  Colin followed soon after, and Caleb coached his older brother for over an hour, right up until they had to run for the bus.

Caleb is too young by at least one year for rep soccer, but his passion and excitement is not one iota less.  Brothers.  Best friends.  Teammates.  Parenting doesn't get better than this.