It's not really the way you want to end the season, but as a wise coach once told me, only one team ends their season with a win. And I had mentally prepared myself that it was going to be painful. Our kids worked hard and did their best, but they were simply outmatched and everyone in the gym knew it.
Everyone, except the Diva. The Diva was fired up. This was her last game of her adapted hockey career, and she was hungry. She banged her stick on the floor when she was in. She went after the puck despite her significant size disadvantage. She even stole the puck a few times - albeit from her teammate when he was bringing the puck down the court, but still.
During the second period, we put in two goals of our own, and NP took out their ringers, so things evened out a bit. I was very impressed with NP's coaches - they were respectful in their victory, and during the third period they told their big guy (the one making goals as a defensive player) that his job was to assist a lesser-skilled teammate in making a goal. The kid could knock over a popcan with his shot, so for the last five minutes or so he sent her shot after shot after shot. The puck hit her shoes, hit her stick, and although she didn't get it in the goal, everyone enjoyed watching him tirelessly try to give her that opportunity. (Honestly, it didn't matter where he was on the court, he would shoot that puck within inches of her stick. Amazing.)
Our coach put the seniors in for the last period, and I said to Husband, "Dear Lord, please let her make a goal." But there wasn't much hope in the request. And as the minutes ticked off to the end of her hockey seasons, I was more interested in watching to see if NP kid would get his assist.
With a minute left, the puck made its way to the other end of the court. All I remember was that Daughter was in front of the goal, and the puck seemed to fly in front of her, and I saw her stick move and the puck went in the goal. And I asked the world in general, "Did Diva make that goal?"
I saw her fist go up, and her teammates start to applaud, and I realized the impossible had come true: Daughter made a goal against the #1 ranked team in the South. In perfect dramatic fashion, she culminated two years of adapted hockey by making her first goal in the last minute of the last game of her career. I was crying, and apparently other people were too, including parents from the other side who saw how ecstatic the Diva was with her accomplishment. In the most unlikely of situations, God lined up the circumstances and reminded me that All Things are Possible. When the horn blew, you would never had known we just lost 19-3 - the team hugged the Diva, fans from both sides congratulated her, and through it all she kept saying, "I won!"
On the way home, I thought about the Diva and the miracle that she is. She is always surprising me. It isn't that I have low expectations of the Diva (I'm a Tiger mom, remember?) - it's that I've watched her for two years, and during that time she has only attempted a handful of goals. Usually it's stolen long before she gets close enough to take a shot, and whenever she does shoot, it is light enough that the goalie easily makes a save. She was at the exact right place at the precise right time to be blessed with a fairy-tale ending.
So go forth, and keep hoping. Miracles happen when we least expect them - maybe tomorrow your autistic child will initiate a hug, or your nonverbal child will speak, or your typical teenager will say thank you. It's these little Big things that get us through the down days, so rejoice with me!
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| You can see the Diva's pink shorts as her team hugs her after the buzzer. |
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| Each diva in this picture made a goal tonight! |
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| The happy Diva. |
Hmmm Our Varsity team, Dakota United Hawks played WBL in Apple Valley tonight. Angela plays on JV though so she was done last week. Those Varsity guys are tough!! Congratulations to The Diva and her goal!!! So glad she had her moment!!!!
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