My Babies Growing Up

A member of one of my old DI teams from years ago emailed and told me she was cleaning out her room. She had one of the puppets Asherel my daughter had made for DI a few years ago. Would I like it back? Of course! I walked over to her house immediately and retrieved the monkey puppet which we had named Chiquita. It had been one of my favorite creations of Asherel, and it had pained me to part with it, but Asherel had wanted her teammate to have it.

I put the monkey in my backpack. She didn't quite fit so her arms and head stuck out of the top. As I walked home, several cars honked at me. One driver rolled down his window and said, "Nice baby!"
"Thank you," I said.

It WAS my baby. All my DI teams are my 'babies'. I want the absolute best for them. I do DI because I love creativity and I love kids. I want them to do more than they think they can do, learn to work hard towards impossible goals, and grow into caring, considerate, responsible adults. DI can teach them that, if they are willing...and if I am willing, and if other DI coaches are willing.

I walked home with Chiquita bouncing in my back pack, and prayed for my current DI team. Two rooms in my home are completely covered with DI backdrops, tarps, paints, and supplies. Two days of my week are devoted to DI meetings, and have been for months. Will it all be worth it? Do the kids understand how much I long for their success?

I heard Chiquita chatter from the backpack, "One day they will. Hang in there. One day they will clean their room, and find a prop from DI, and they will think of you and wonder if perhaps you would like it as a memorabilia as they step onto the cusp of adulthood."

Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters



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