Losing stinks. No matter how you try to extract anything positive out of defeat, the plain truth is that losing does not feel as good as winning. This weekend I sat in the stands at two of my son’s football games, and both times when the clock ran out we had fewer points on the board than our opponents. Only hours before I had eagerly donned my spirit-wear (Knights last night then Demon Deacons today), and excitedly took my seat in the stadium with all the other families and fans. I cheered throughout the game. But as the gap widened between the other teams’ points and ours, the inescapable loss sunk in. Final score: the opposing team “a lot” and our team “not enough.” Ugh.

To be the athlete on the field and suffer the loss, it is harder to see the bright spots of the game. As the mother of the athlete, my perspective off of the field allows me to see things that make me happy and proud even though we lost. Last night my son had several players of the opposing team come up to him after the game and say, “Hey big guy, good game.” Then today after losing to a highly ranked Division 1 team, my older son did not let the disappointment keep him from coming out of the locker room and taking pictures with his visiting aunt. That resiliency is as important as a win, especially in life. “We will bounce back,” he said as I hugged him goodbye this evening.

Next week will be more football games, more opportunities to fight for a win, to bounce back from tough losses this weekend. While the puppies have little to do with these two football games and the losses we suffered, they are the sweet loving four legged family members who are there to give kisses and snuggles to cheer us up. Losing isn’t fun. At least Summer and Koda take some of the pain away. There’s always next week…