Being a good sport...

I was thumbing through a several month old magazine in my large, ever growing stack of back issues. I was kind of speed reading an article meant for parents on how to make your kids into good sports. There were several good suggestions and certainly this is one of those things most of us manage to pass with at least an average grade as we move into adulthood.  One of these, I can say I absolutely mastered and I know now exactly why.

"IN LIFE, LOSING IS MUCH MORE COMMON THAN WINNING"

It makes perfect sense, right?  To make it into adulthood, we have to weather a lot of disappointments.  We don't get the candy we want at the grocery store check-out.  We don't get to play with that new toy, now (and the ensuing tantrum certainly doesn't get us any closer to the toy box). We don't win the lead in the school play.  We will never, ever be good enough to stand in front of a sold out stadium and sing to our heart's content.  Chances are that Publisher's Clearing House prize patrol will not be standing at our door with a BIG CHECK.  There are a lot of little letdowns in the life's path to maturity.

Nephew Rog in 2008 sporting the colors!

My road to being an expert in tackling this attribute: I happened to be born into a family in Northern Illinois about an hour and a half from Chicago.   Our family was a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, despite having reasonably good substitutes on Chicago's South Side, up in Milwaukee or down in St. Louis.  It was just that we were North Siders.  So, plain and simple I got used to losing.  Almost every day in the summer from the time I was in grade school, my team would go up against a team that may not have been any better than the Cubs and we would lose.  Nearly every single day more often than not, I would have a chance to exercise my "good sport" muscle.

That practice didn't involve something that was a matter of my personal health or wealth.  After all, it was just a game--and not even one in which I played.  So, it was a painless way to be told NO. Believe me, the lesson was learned and retained.  GO CUBS!!

Now, the main question is how a girl without kids found her way to that article at all!  Perhaps it is because I can always use a refresher course on the basics.  You know, wrap that dental floss around your teeth as you floss--not just in between them!  Drink lots of water!  Say Please and Thank You!!
At craft shows I get asked questions a lot and I try to give good advice.  But, that doesn't always translate into my real life conversations with friends and family.  Ever got into one of those one-up discussions with someone?  Next time, I hope I can just let it go and cede victory...because I don't/won't win them all!

Mom and I at Wrigley in 2006 with Rod and Dad!