Well, I can honestly say that I've never posted anything on this blog, but I felt impressed to do so today. With a house full of boys, competition can be an ugly thing. "I beat you!".... "no you didn't"... "you cheated!" (I could go on, but you get the idea).
We signed up each of the boys to play basketball over the next couple months, and Baker and Creighton are on the same team. This was a necessity, to avoid having 4 different games in 4 different locations. What I witnessed this past Saturday had nothing to do with the ugly side of competition, but had everything to do with selflessness and caring. Baker and Creighton's team name is the 'Strippling Warriors' and is made up of all LDS kids. The same group of YM play soccer and basketball together each time they are available... all are wonderful examples to our boys.
So, as the game progresses, our team is leading by 20 points or so. Baker and all of the other members of the team have scored, but I know that Creighton hasn't. Creighton has attempted a few shots, but none went in. Baker and Creighton are playing together when they both have a fastbreak and Baker has the ball going in for a layup. He stops, passes it back to Creighton to take the open shot... he missed it. The other team gets the ball and we are back on defense. Once again, a fastbreak with Baker and Creighton going to score (one defender)... Baker passes the ball to Creighton, and he misses. Baker gets the rebound, passes to Creighton... he misses.... and the same sequence is repeated 3 or 4 times. Finally, Creighton makes the basket and he's thrilled and Baker's excited for him. Since Saturday, I've heard from several individuals who were at that game, who were very impressed with the brotherly love that Baker displayed. It was a moment I won't forget... and to some reading this, it may not seem like much. I suppose you would need to understand that Creighton has many talents and abilities, but he seems to struggle with things that Baker excels at. For Baker to look out for his younger brother and to give him confidence in an environment where individuals have the tendency to be selfish, was something special. Just as a strippling warrior, his mother has taught him well!
We signed up each of the boys to play basketball over the next couple months, and Baker and Creighton are on the same team. This was a necessity, to avoid having 4 different games in 4 different locations. What I witnessed this past Saturday had nothing to do with the ugly side of competition, but had everything to do with selflessness and caring. Baker and Creighton's team name is the 'Strippling Warriors' and is made up of all LDS kids. The same group of YM play soccer and basketball together each time they are available... all are wonderful examples to our boys.
So, as the game progresses, our team is leading by 20 points or so. Baker and all of the other members of the team have scored, but I know that Creighton hasn't. Creighton has attempted a few shots, but none went in. Baker and Creighton are playing together when they both have a fastbreak and Baker has the ball going in for a layup. He stops, passes it back to Creighton to take the open shot... he missed it. The other team gets the ball and we are back on defense. Once again, a fastbreak with Baker and Creighton going to score (one defender)... Baker passes the ball to Creighton, and he misses. Baker gets the rebound, passes to Creighton... he misses.... and the same sequence is repeated 3 or 4 times. Finally, Creighton makes the basket and he's thrilled and Baker's excited for him. Since Saturday, I've heard from several individuals who were at that game, who were very impressed with the brotherly love that Baker displayed. It was a moment I won't forget... and to some reading this, it may not seem like much. I suppose you would need to understand that Creighton has many talents and abilities, but he seems to struggle with things that Baker excels at. For Baker to look out for his younger brother and to give him confidence in an environment where individuals have the tendency to be selfish, was something special. Just as a strippling warrior, his mother has taught him well!
