Kids: Finding Their “Thing”

I grew up going from one thing to another. You know what I mean… I took ballet, piano, softball, flute, girl scouts… all for, oh, about a year each. That was it. None of them was my “thing”. I never found something I was passionate about and really had a desire to work for. While all my friends seemed to be involved with sports or scouting or music or dance, I flitted from one to another without setting my sights on any of it.

As a parent, I wanted my own kids to find their “thing”. We tried soccer, dance, gymnastics, sewing, and nothing really stuck. I was beginning to think that my kids were the only ones who would never find their niche… where they belong. It seemed they were a lot like me… and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. 

And then suddenly things changed.

When my oldest started getting ready for high school, she knew she wanted to be a part of a team… actually DO something instead of just taking this class and that. We thought Show Choir (her junior high passion) was going to be it. It wasn’t. After two years, she was done. Oh no, not again! And then she decided she wanted to take tennis lessons. For heaven’s sake… here we go again.

So, like any good parent, I signed her up for lessons through our Parks & Rec program. (Yes, we have a Parks & Rec). Since she was already 14 and had never picked up a racket, I didn’t have a lot of high hopes. She wanted to try out for the high school tennis team and that just seemed like such a stretch for someone who had never even seen a tennis match before.

But… things kind of conspired in her favor.

Turns out… she is GOOD. Really good. She has great, natural footwork and she can hit a ball. She has a great backhand and she loves the game! Who knew? One thing led to another and we ended up getting her private lessons… with the high school tennis coach, no less. And the coach was impressed. For a beginner, she was already way ahead of many kids who have been playing for years. She has natural talent.

So, the Summer of ’14 has become the Summer of Tennis. She needs to practice every day. EVERY DAY! Did I mention that we don’t have a tennis court in our backyard? We also only have 2 courts in our area that are usually packed with people just showing up to play. Ugh! This is going to get difficult. 

The funny thing is, I finally get it. I finally get why parents spend thousands of dollars and travel every weekend and spend their every waking minute thinking about their kids’ sports. It’s FUN! The joy that I get watching my kid play tennis is beyond description. I can sit in the hot sun for hours and never get tired of it. And now I’m playing again as well.

Yep… I took tennis lessons when I was her age, but again, because I didn’t really have anyone to play with (and the lack of a tennis court didn’t help) I gave it up. I probably just wasn’t passionate about it… but I wish I had stuck with it. Because now I’m out at the courts every day hitting balls and running around picking them up. 

The high school tennis camp starts in a few weeks and we’ll be inundated with tennis this and tennis that… and my kid finally found her niche. Took a while… but it was worth the wait. We’re going full on into this tennis thing… no looking back. I can’t wait for her to officially get on the team (at this point, it’s kind of a given considering who is coaching her) and schlepping to her matches.

Yes, it took a while to figure out her passion, but it did happen. And it’s okay to try a million different things, if for no other reason than to weed out what you don’t like to do. My other two kids… the jury is still out. But that’s okay. I know they will find that thing they love best… it just might take a little longer.