Who'd have though?

Once upon a time I though cheerleading was a silly, rediculous reason to act like a bimbo and date football players, much less a REAL sport. Okay, so maybe in reality I was actually just a little (or a lot) jealous that I didn't fit that mold. You know....... pretty, thin , popular! So for years I just pretended like I thought it was all a joke. Who'd have though that here, at 28 (well, almost 29) years old I would be coaching a CHEERLEADING team!!! After a disasterous attempt to force Madyson into a team sport (soccer was NOT her thing!) we enrolled her into Upward Basketball and Cheerleading when she was in 1st grade. Despite my previous feelings about cheerleaders it was so much fun to watch her grown and learn. And beyond that it was amazing to see how the love of God is taught to ALL kids through this organization and they are all made to feel equal and SPECIAL! She has been cheering for 4 years now and each year they have asked me if I was interested in being a coach. I had all the excuses in the world! I was raising small children, I am already very involved in MOPS and that took up most of my free time, and most of all I had NO idea what I was doing! But then we went to Evaluation night this year and they were in desperate need of coaches. My beautiful daughter looked at me with her big blue puppy dog eyes and said "Please Mommy! Will you be my coach?" (Yes - I absolutely LOVE the fact that my near 10-year-old still calls me Mommy!) How do you say NO to that??? I didn't! I called my dear friend Ruthe, who happened to be a cheerleader in high school, and convinced her to be my co-coach. I think she felt sorry for me and said yes. Well that was a couple of months ago and now we are over half way through our season. This endeavor has been so much more that I expected. This organization is amazing and the way they way they love these children is inspiring! I have had the opportunity to be a honorary cheerleader, even teaching a few of the easier cheers by myself!! I have also had the chance to witness to these beautiful young girls. Going into this I thought that I had something to teach them but I know that they have taught me far more that I have them! It is hard to step outside of that secure little box that we all live in, but when you do the rewards are GREAT!!! Go Upward!!!