How Did the Team Do?
(The title is a joke between me and my Dad. My Dad loves me, and when I was in high school he thought I was the best basketball forward/actress/debater to exist, like, ever. (Your Dad probably thought that about you, didn't he? I hope he did.))
I drove Anna to school this morning since she had too much stuff to take on the bus. She has a speech tournament this afternoon and evening. On the way to high school Anna practiced her Humorous Interpretation introduction and I had her do it a couple of times and warned her to slow it down. I observed that I thought she meant "monotonous" rather than "monotone." I suppressed the question, "Did your coach hear your intro? Is that what passes for an intro these days?" and I felt a bit like one of those hysterical football dads who replay their high school football star days through their son's glory. Coaching a speech intro is sort of like throwing a football in the yard. And if I had more testosterone and a greater need to fulfill myself through my child's life then I would storm into the speech coach's office and demand to know why my kid was being allowed to go into competition with a lousy introduction. (I know my kid though and respect the coach a lot and I want to make it clear that I totally put this on my kid who does stuff at the last second and hasn't even practiced her intro for her coach.)
"Slow it down and you'll come home with a trophy," I said.
"Eh," she shrugged.
"Are you a winner? Cause I didn't raise you to be a loser! So get out there and break into finals or I'll break your leg!" I said.
"Mom, you're crazy," she said.
"Well, yeah. Have a great time! Call me when you need a ride home after the tournament."
She flashed a smile at me that is making me smile just thinking about it as I type this. She got her suit and visual aid out of the trunk and started toward the school - a beautiful and confident girl.
I win.
I drove Anna to school this morning since she had too much stuff to take on the bus. She has a speech tournament this afternoon and evening. On the way to high school Anna practiced her Humorous Interpretation introduction and I had her do it a couple of times and warned her to slow it down. I observed that I thought she meant "monotonous" rather than "monotone." I suppressed the question, "Did your coach hear your intro? Is that what passes for an intro these days?" and I felt a bit like one of those hysterical football dads who replay their high school football star days through their son's glory. Coaching a speech intro is sort of like throwing a football in the yard. And if I had more testosterone and a greater need to fulfill myself through my child's life then I would storm into the speech coach's office and demand to know why my kid was being allowed to go into competition with a lousy introduction. (I know my kid though and respect the coach a lot and I want to make it clear that I totally put this on my kid who does stuff at the last second and hasn't even practiced her intro for her coach.)
"Slow it down and you'll come home with a trophy," I said.
"Eh," she shrugged.
"Are you a winner? Cause I didn't raise you to be a loser! So get out there and break into finals or I'll break your leg!" I said.
"Mom, you're crazy," she said.
"Well, yeah. Have a great time! Call me when you need a ride home after the tournament."
She flashed a smile at me that is making me smile just thinking about it as I type this. She got her suit and visual aid out of the trunk and started toward the school - a beautiful and confident girl.
I win.
posted by Lea at 5:59 AM
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