Softball Life

So the one thing I have been stewing over recently is tournaments.  Sports tournaments.  They inevitably take place on weekends, with the final day being on a Sunday.  To the rest of the world, it's not something that requires a second thought.  But as a Latter-Day Saint who doesn't play sports on Sunday, it can be a little tricky.  As a coach, Jacob has been battling the Sunday tournament beast for a while,  but two weekends ago was the first time that I had to confront it for myself.  Cindy's softball team had entered a tournament.  I had told the coach weeks before that Cindy would not be playing on Sunday.  I did not say why, just a simple text that told him she would not be able to play that day.  There was no discussion of it and to be honest, I was thinking we might not win enough on Saturday to advance to Sunday play and the whole conflict would be a mute point anyway.  Well, wouldn't you know that the team won BOTH games that Saturday and in pretty dominating fashion.  Cindy had made some very key contributions and everyone seemed incredibly optimistic about our chances for success.  And then coach announced to everyone that Cindy would not be there for the games Sunday.  All eyes were on me as I made an "I'm so sorry!" face to everyone and I could feel my cheeks getting red and my face beginning to boil.  The assistant coach even said, "What can we do to bribe you to be here?"  I was flattered and simultaneously horrified at the attention and then one of the girls said, "Why can't you come? Where are you going to be?"  I literally was speechless.  Words would not come out of my mouth.  Now, I have heard stories all my life about making these exact decisions and every time I thought, "What's the big deal? Say no, life goes on, be obedient. End of story."  But in that moment when everyone was looking at me expecting some really important answer, it was excruciating.  I wanted to run away and die.  Coach basically came to my rescue and said, "They have other commitments," for which I was so grateful.  I never did tell anyone the exact reason we weren't playing. Cindy begged me to play on Sunday on Saturday night, but once we decided that observing the Sabbath was what we were supposed to do, she didn't seem to mind anymore.  Sunday, I got a text from the coach that our team lost by 1 point, and we were eliminated.  Pack your bags, because we are going on a guilt trip!  I felt so awful.  On the one hand, I was really happy that I stuck to my guns and taught my kids to be obedient to the commandments, even when it's hard and unpopular.  On the other hand, I couldn't stop thinking what would have happened if Cindy had been there.  (And on the third hand I was thinking that probably no one really gave it a second thought or even cared at all probably, and I am just way too self-conscious.)  Now, I am not about to start letting Cindy play softball on Sundays.  Peer pressure can be intense, but I still made a commitment long ago that I would do my best to keep the fourth commandment.  I guess I have just come to realize that sometimes the real life version of the stories in The Friend can be harder than we think.

The best softball team ever.

GO THUNDER!