Pee Wee Wrestling

Well, it's that time of year again, when the girls get to summon their wits and wrestle with the big boys. Well, not really. They don't have to wrestle boys. Apparently they let girls and boys wrestle in the past and the girls were winning (and the crowds were cheering) and it must have ruined some boys self-esteem! I don't mind keeping it separated, boys can be inappropriate. Not all of them, but it only takes one. So anyway, Rylee stepped up and joined the world of wrestling this year. She won her first match and lost her second which makes for second place in her weight class. Brooklyn had a more difficult time this year. There were 4 girls in her weight class and she was at least 15 lbs smaller than the next one up. That doesn't stop her though. Her first match was really hard. Sweat poring, out of breath, summoning every ounce of strength...and she won. This was great news, until her bestest friend also won her match and it was time to pare the 2 against each other. Bailey comes from a long line of wrestlers (well I don't really know that, but her dad was quite the wrestling star in his day) and while Brookie put up a good fight, she was pinned. She was very excited and proud of Bailey and no friendships were hurt in the process. Talk about two good kids. Well, that should make for a second place for Brooklyn and she was very proud of 2nd. She worked hard and did a great job. But then the first girls he wrestled dropped out. Don't know if she was physically hurt or had a bit of a bruised ego, but whatever happened, she was not going to wrestle for 3rd and 4th place. The other girl in their weight class still needed one more match and so coach asked Brookie if she would do it. Of course she agreed, she's a people pleaser and doesn't want to disappoint, but the poor kid was pooped and was pinned pretty quick. She was very disappointed. She tried really hard not to cry, but sometimes those darn tears just do what they want. She was proud of Cedar (the girl who beat her) but she was so disappointed. If the other girl hadn't dropped out, Brookie had won 2nd place fair and square, but because of the turn of events, she went home with 3rd. She was a good sport and congratulated Ceder on a job well done and walked out of the gym with her head held high.

Seeing your kids face disappointments like that is heart wrenching. I didn't want her to cry because I didn't want people to think she was being a poor sport. I knew she wasn't, she was just feeling let down because she had earned that 2nd place originally. At the same time my heart was aching with hurt for my child, it was also swelling with pride as she congratulated Cedar and did her best to be a good sport. I was also so proud of Bailey, Brookies friend. She was so upset for Brooklyn and tried to give her 1st place ribbon to her. Brooklyn said no, of course, but it was another moment to be proud. Not only is Brooklyn shaping up to be a wonderful young woman, but she also knows how to choose friends with the same kind of values. I have to thank Anna and Wade for raising such wonderful kids. They have taught their girls to be good people and good friends. Brookie needed that.

Anyway, all is well now. I think I watched my child grow before my eyes. What a painful and awesome experience. I'm fearfully looking forward to the many life lessons to come.

Most of the pictures are of Brooklyn and Bailey. They were so funny. How often do you see wrestlers grinning and laughing as they face off. Cute stuff.