Sweet and Sour

Jeff has been playing basketball in the JEMS Church League with Lighthouse.  Often they run short of players as they play Sunday nights, sometimes at 10pm.  When that occurs, Jeff recruits his brothers to play.  Often that means Jared.  So this past Sunday, Gayle and I took him down to the gym for a 9pm game.

It was mixed emotions as we watched Jeff run up and down the court, sometimes driving to the basket, going for a loose ball, etc.  Gayle constantly worried about his back, questioning if he is walking OK,  whether he should be doing those moves, etc.   I on the other hand was bent over with my hands on my mouth biting my tongue.  We were soon relieved of our tension when Jeff sprained his ankle late in the first half.  It was more of a relief to see him laying on the ground with his foot propped up on a chair than watching him play.  We could then relax and concentrate on yelling at Jared who ended up spraining his ankle in the last seconds of the game.

Sweet: We actually got to see Jeff play basketball, something he loves to do. He has made wonderful progress from that day after his back surgery.

Sour: It is almost like anticipating a train wreck, worried that he might some how re injure his back. That worried feeling never leaves your stomach.

This mixture of emotions never ends as a parent.

This Monday marks Jeff and Tiff's first year wedding anniversary.  As usual, Jeff will not tell anyone what he has planned, not even Tiff.