Kind In The Midst of Evil

Day 186

Soccer season. The time of the year when I get to watch my son play while having all sorts of unkind thoughts run through my mind. Really unkind thoughts. Ones I definitely can't say in a G rated blog. I have these thoughts every time I hear a parent criticizing their kids from the sidelines. “You let him by you!” “What are you doing out there?” Or yelling at the referee “What kind of call was that?” Mostly these parents have never played the sport and have no idea how hard it is once you're on the field.

Today I noticed the woman next to me shouting encouragement to all the players on our team and a couple of kids on the other team as well. At halftime I went over to her and told her how refreshing it was to hear such positive comments coming from the sidelines. She said that she was a second grade teacher in town, so she knew a lot of the kids the other team as well as on her son's team. She also said that she coaches her daughter's soccer team, and the kids like to tease her because she often cheers for the opposing team as well as her own.

For today at least, my theory about the evil sports parent was debunked, and my faith in kindness restored.