The End of an Era

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 Yesterday was Punky’s final soccer game, maybe ever.

For four seasons, her father has coached her team. They’ve never lost a game. No thanks to Punky.

She’d rather be dancing. Or looking for leaves and rocks. Or socializing with the girls on the field. And she did all of those things during the games, from her first at three years old, to her last one, at five.

We’ve had a hard time quitting this team because the parents have gotten to know each other, the girls all get along well, and it’s everyone’s first soccer experience. These last two seasons, it was clear that we were staying on only because my husband was coaching, not because Punky was interested in it. And this past season, it has been sheer torture gearing up for games and practices every Saturday and Sunday. This in addition to Punky’s zoo classes and nature classes and ballet classes and acting classes, all of which she participates in, 100%. To have to spend every weekend planning around a time consuming activity she didn’t even really seem to enjoy seemed like such a waste.

Still, the final game was hard. I think we all had lumps in our throats. Change was in the air. We played a team that was tough, and almost beat us. Toward the end of the game, we got a penalty kick right in front of the goal. As the shot was set, Hubs turned and called our daughter from the sidelines. Dutifully, she ran onto the field to take the shot, as everyone cheered.

In four seasons, it was the first goal she had ever scored. I had promised her a toy at Toys R Us if she scored a goal, and we made good on that promise immediately after the game. I felt a little guilty about the bribery- at least until Hubs told me that at a high school game he coached later that day, the opposing coach had promised her own daughter 100 DOLLARS if she scored a goal.

I will miss the parents on our team. I will miss the girls. I will miss measuring Punky’s growth by her team pictures each year.