I am part of a team. I’ve been on many teams before, but not like this one.
When I was a child I played soccer, and I loved to play soccer. Each year, we would find out whose team we were on and what color our team was, then get to choose a team name. Over the years, I played on teams like the Purple People Eaters, the Black Magic, the Green Giants, and my favorite, the Maroon Baboons. Over my nine-year soccer career, I loved being part of the team. The practices thrilled me and the games were a highlight of my fall season.
I was NO good at soccer, but I tried. I was part of the team and together I added something positive. The only goal I scored in my career was for the other team when one Saturday I got turned around and forgot where our goal was. I was still part of the team.
In college, I was part of a traveling team that sang, did theater, and visited eight church camps to help with the weeks of camp. I cannot sing, but I was part of the team.
I joined a team right out of college and struggled on that team for 10 years. We added two other team members and the team fell apart. I was not a good team player. The team eventually broke up and I found myself with a smaller team.
I had always heard there is no “I” in TEAM.
However, I found myself alone, with two little boys to raise and it sure felt like there was an I in the team, and I was it.
Single moms, I see you and I have been where you are. You are the coach of the team, the referee and the equipment manager, and well, you are what keeps the team together. You are so important and you are doing a great job and you are not alone. Find those additions to your team that can help you and that you can depend on to support you and love you. Your team may look unconventional, but as long as the team works together and supports one another, it is a team worth being on.
I am part of a team now, that is unlike any other team I have been on.
When I married my husband, he was divorced, had two children, and was wounded, and he got me, a divorced mother of two that had a lot of baggage.
Over the last 12 years, we have navigated a lot of stormy waters, and our team has gotten so much stronger. Where one of the members lacks, the other member picks up the slack.
While we vacationed with my Dad, he told me that he loved to watch my husband and me work together as a team. He noticed that we don’t even have to talk about who is doing what, we just do it and pick up where the other left off. When he said that, I realized that this is the team I want to be on for the rest of my life.
Don’t misunderstand me, this team is NOT perfect, far from it. We still have challenges, but we are committed to working through the issues to be a stronger team.
Teamwork is crucial in every team. For a time, you may be the coach, and then maybe you need to step down from that role and be the equipment manager; regardless of your role, YOU are a vital part of the team.
Marriage takes teamwork, working together to accomplish the same goal. Loving each other, working together, parenting together, loving together, and forgiving together are all things that go into the teamwork of marriage.
I’m team Brackemyre forever!