Soccer and Strange Rewards

Neither Bill or I see Nolan being a great athlete.  In addition to his physical challenges, his parents aren't graceful or athletic.  But we don't want Nolan to go through life saying, "I can't do that."  We want him to TRY.  We don't want him to miss out on fun things in life simply because he doubts his abilities.

So....we enrolled him in a 6-week soccer class for kids his age through the South Lyon Recreation Authority.  This organization is pretty cool.  I could have signed him to ride a horse, take self defense classes, learn to swim, or play soccer (among many other activities).  We chose soccer because Nolan's good buddy Will also signed up, and we figured he could help encourage Nolan.

Week 1 was hard.  Nolan initially didn't even want to leave my side.  He was hesitant, tearful, and he did NOT want to be there.  Will was adorable.  He did everything he could to cheer Nolan on.  Nolan eventually got out on the gym floor, but he still wasn't too sure about this soccer thing.  I was really wondering if I had made a big mistake.

Week 2.  Someone has kidnapped Nolan and swapped him out for a lookalike.  But this little boy ran into the gym full of giggles, energy, and excitement.  He even volunteered to help Coach Jo show the kids a new move.

It is so much fun to watch Nolan's confidence grow.  I told him he needed to do two things during soccer.  He needed to TRY and he needed to HAVE FUN.  During the first week, he was so afraid of messing up he forgot to have fun.  This week, he is starting to discover that he can have fun even if he isn't perfect.  the neat thing is, Nolan's actually pretty decent at soccer.  His coach is fantastic...patient, funny, and compassionate.  She is perfect for Nolan.

After soccer practice tonight, I took my mini David Beckham to the grocery store to get some buttermilk for Bill, who was in the midst of a baking project.  Bill initially asked me to stop by Wenches on my way home.  It took me a minute to realize he was talking about Busch's the store, not some club for wayward women.   Anyway, I figured if Nolan requested a treat, I would buy him one, since he did such a great job at soccer.

We walked in the store and Nolan was chattering away.  Suddenly, he stopped.  He saw IT.  The thing he wanted.  Was it donuts?  Chips?  Candy?  Cake?  Nope.  It was a jar of pickles.  That was all he wanted.  So I agreed pickles was the perfect thing to buy.  Then he was concerned that I only bought one jar.  He was afraid I'd eat too many of his pickles.