Basketball

Today we had a morning full of basketball games. We talked to Indi last night about not being able to play basketball because of her leg and she was very upset. She even cried herself to sleep. Thayne and I talked about what we could do and he said he was going to talk to the coach and see if he could help Indi play one quarter so she feels like she participated. Well, the next morning Thayne spoke with the coach and he was so supportive of Thayne helping Indi play at least one quarter. At the beginning of the each game the announcer introduces each team, player by player, and the players run out to the middle of the court. When he introduced Indi, she got out of her chair and walked/shuffled out to the middle of the court as fast as she could with a HUGE smile on her face. You could hear a unanimous "Ahhhhhhh" from everyone in the bleachers. They even clapped extra hard for her. It was so cool!! When it was her turn to play and she went out on the court, I heard lots of parents around me say things like, "That is so great that they're going to let that little girl play!", "I hope she doesn't fall!", "What a cute brave little girl!" and my favorite "What if she breaks her other leg?". I don't think they knew that I was her mom! At one point, during the quarter, the coach had one of the kids pass the ball to Indi so she could take it down the court. This caused an out pour of support from the bleachers. Several people got up, clapped and cheered her on, while others just clapped loud. I was so touched that they would do such a thing for a little 3 year old. She didn't make a basket but she was grinning the whole time. I was so proud of her and very thankful for the support from the parents around me! What great examples they were to me. I'm also grateful to Thayne for being willing to make his daughter happy and run her up and down the court! What a great dad he is!

(This is how the quarter started when Indi was playing. She walked as fast as she could from one basket and then back to the other basket. Thayne held her hand so she wouldn't fall!)

(Indi was getting tired but still wanted to be out on the court so Thayne was would pick her up and take her from one basket to the other. When they got to the basket, Thayne would put her down right in front. Indi would automatically put her arms up to block any shot and then she was not try very hard to go after the ball when it was shot!)


Ok, now let me tell you about Josie. She has no idea what's going on around her! The most important thing is that everyone is watching her! She ran up and down the court like she was in some kind of pageant, waving and smiling! Two different times she was running and watching people in the bleachers that she tripped and fell, but she just jumped right back up and started her prance to the basket. Once she got to the basket she put her hands up but then turned her head over to where the audience was. The ball hit her in the head, stomach and rolled over her feet but she never broke her stance! Thayne and I were laughing so hard. At one point, several kids were on the ground wrestling over the ball so she decided to plop herself on the ground as well but wasn't going after the ball. I think she just thought, "Oh, everyone else is on the ground I better get down there too!". So, basically, the basketball games are a chance for her to have as many eyes on her as possible and nothing to do with why she's actually there. It's all about how she looks and how much attention she's getting. Is this a bad sign for the future? I'll try and get pictures of her little "show" next week!

(Here they are waiting for their turn to play!)



(Waiting patiently!)