Friendly Competition

Today we celebrated my nephew's 11th birthday with our whole family bowling.  It's been a long time since we all bowled together and probably the first time I can think of that my siblings and I have all bowled at the same time.  Needless-to-say, since we all played sports growing up we're all "just a little" competitive...some more than others, I'm just sayin'!  Just a little smack talking, a lot of high fives, a ton of excited cheers and just a really good time had by all!  In the end, it was really just my siblings and my dad playing (competing) "for all the marbles."

That's what it's all about, right?  Friendly competition with your siblings?  Whether it's bowling, air hockey, Monopoly or simply whose blood pressure is lower it's wanting to know who's winning at that the moment.  At least I think that's how most big families operate in some sense...kids wanting to stand out, get attention, make their parents proud, be included, etc.  For my siblings and I, I know none of us wanted to "really" stand out...we're all initially (or deep down) more introverted although we're all talkative than we were when we were younger; and I know none of us participated in sports to make our parents proud because we always knew they'd be proud of us no matter what we did or didn't do.

But, when you play sports I think you inherently have some level of competitiveness to you.  Some are way over the top, others have a pretty healthy dose of it, and some just want to be part of a team or group.  Team sports do teach you a lot growing up and I would definitely encourage some sporting activity for your kiddos at some point in time in their development.  It could be as simple as just trying something new out, trying something that your kids are interested in or something they are really drawn to and could potentially make a collegiate or even professional career out of it.  Just let them explore and try new and different things out.  You never know where it will lead.

So, whether you're highly competitive or don't have a competitive bone in your body I hope you simply enjoy the time you spend with those you are competing with because that's where the true joy and beauty of the moment lies.  Game on!

May blessings fill your first full week of March!!