Throw In the Towel?

"I JUST CAN'T MAKE IT TODAY!!"

A week ago Friday, I was driving my 5 year old to ballet and I heard sniffles coming from the back seat.  It's nothing new.  She often has a hard time at the start of a new session and this was her first class back after the holiday.  The long break does not work in her favor as she has to rebuild her confidence all over again.  I decided it would be best not to say anything about the situation and when we pulled in I pretended like all was good.  To everyone else, it was very clear that all was not good.  As we were putting on the ballet shoes, tears started to trickle down her cheeks.  Ok, here we go, I thought to myself.  Keep going, Rebecca.  Just keep going.  So, I walked her over to the door and felt the resistance as we started to head in to class.  At this point all the girls are in a circle and class has started.  Now there is no doubt that we're having a problem. I took a deep breath.  I offered lots of encouragement and I might have even thrown a bribe in there (I know, shocker).  No dice.  After about 10 minutes she looked at me, dead serious, and said, "mom, I just don't think I can make it today."  Umm.  What?  At this point, I was frustrated, annoyed, disappointed, etc. while at the same time, I totally understood the way she felt.  There have been so many days when I have said or thought the same thing before embarking on my task at hand.  In the past, I remember saying it to my coach when my need for sleep outweighed my need for mileage.  More recently, I've said it to myself before a hard workout when I was staring down the track and fighting off a cold.  Really, there have been countless opportunities for me to say this very thing.  Sometimes I forge ahead and sometimes I don't.  So, back to ballet, I decided to push her along and I threw one out there that I thought she might relate to.  I told her about the time when I was her age and had been playing soccer and the coach put me in as goalie because, well, because no one else wanted to do it.  I told her I felt the exact same way and that I decided to be brave and give it my best shot.  I told her how proud my mom was of me at the time and how I felt so good about myself for the rest of the day.  I didn't tell her how I got stung by a bee and went home early from the game.  But, really, no need for details.  She was listening, nodding a little, shuffling her feet.  I was hopeful.  I said, "what do you think, kiddo, can we give it a try?"  She looked at me straight on again and said, "mom, I just don't think I can make it in there today."  And that was it.  Nothing was changing her mind.  Once in a while we just have to throw in the towel.  We're only human (and she's only 5).  I had to give her credit for recognizing what she was capable of that day and being honest about it.  Sometimes that's better than fighting through it when your mentally not in the game.  Not always.  But sometimes.  Ding.  Aaaand, back to our corners.  Round 104.

Listen to these:
Cradle - The Joy Formidable    and
Cradle - The Joy Formidable (Fang Island Remix)  
Note: I recently discovered the remix and I really like both versions.   You?

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