This weekend I got to watch my daughter compete at her volleyball provincial finals. I don’t think I’ve ever been more invested in a sporting event, which caught me by surprise. I am a sports person, having played hockey since I was six and baseball since I was nine. I thought I knew how it felt, I thought I knew how much of my emotion and energy could get wrapped up in a game, a tournament, a championship. I was wrong.
The nature of volleyball is very different from the sports I played, because every single play results in a point. For that reason, every touch of the ball feels important. And I’m sure this is one of the reasons my pulse still hasn’t returned to my normal resting heart rate, but also, it turns out being a parent watching your child try her hardest at something she is passionate about is way, way more compelling than being the one playing. Oh my god, to watch my child devote her whole self to that game. I never felt the vise grip on my heart during my own sports, but when my daughter was out there on the court I’m not sure I was even breathing.
My kids are fourteen and twelve years old, and I had gotten pretty comfortable with the parenting thing. I thought I’d experienced most of what it had to offer emotionally (except what will come when they move out…la la la, we’re not talking about that now…). This past weekend was a brand new, exhilarating, exhausting, heart-bursting, nerve-wracking experience. I can’t believe it happened. I can’t believe it was possible to be surprised by the depth of my emotion about something my child was doing. I am in shock.
Here’s to the ways life surprises us every damn day. Here’s to all the little athletes and actresses and painters and dancers out there discovering their passions, and here’s to their parents standing by their sides, holding back tears.
xo
Shannon
Upcoming Shows (Shannon and Jakeb)
June 13 - Water’s Edge House Concerts (Cobourg) - details TBA
June 14 - Bowie’s (Smiths Falls) - 8:30pm and 11:30pm
June 15 - House Concert (Ottawa) - details TBA
June 21 - Jethro’s (Peterborough) - 8-10pm
Donation Announcement
Our NatureNurture financials have all been tallied, and I’m happy to report that I will be donating $300 to the Northumberland Land Trust. I’m so pleased to be able to support them, even in small ways, and I want to thank those of you who attended for helping make this happen. Also another shoutout to Community Power Northumberland and ZON Engineering for their financial support.
And huge thanks to the powerhouse artists I shared the stage with, Katie Hoogendam, Whitney O’Hearn and Jakeb Daniel. It was an absolute honour.
Not quite sure what tears were held back!!.... Thrilled to be on this new adventure with you 💕