Volleyball Saturday

Heather makes a cute line judge, don't ya think?  I recently wrote and deleted a post about Heather's feelings toward volleyball, specifically how she was being treated by a couple of the girls.  I deleted the post because it didn't fit my blogging criteria (either journaling of activities or musings that I'd like to share with future generations).  It was kind of a brain/heart dump about the experience from a mother's heart.  If the problem could just go away with a delete button, that would be something wouldn't it?

While gathering supplies this week for Teacher Appreciation and Jenna's snack assignment for soccer, I decided to put some treats together for the volleyball team.  We usually don't bring food because a lot of the venues don't allow it, but since we were slated to be at CSUF I knew we'd be good bringing something in.

I wrapped a candy bar, cookies and a granola bar in a cellophane bag with a ribbon.  I told Heather that just because people are unkind, it doesn't mean we can't be who we are.  We're nice people, and we would normally bring a treat at some point for our team.  So we did.  Heather was on board, and she smiled and handed the bags out just after everyone arrived.  I told Heather that handing the bags out early might create a positive mood on the team overall. A few girls said thank you, but we'll never really know if it affected any change in the other girls.

When I arrived into the second match, I did see a different team playing.  Two of the problem girls were not at the tournament which may have helped.  But I think the biggest improvement in attitude was in Heather.   She was playing really well, cheering her team mates on, and keeping everyone pumped.  She was happy.

The biggest lesson learned today was that being true to who we are and showing kindness will always generate good feelings within our own hearts and help us the most.  This is why the Savior admonished us to lose ourselves in service when we're down, right?  We asked her later if she had fun playing today.  She told us that yes, she did.