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Press Box Cindy Luis |
Tiffer’s time makes
mom reflectTHIS is one shot clock that has expired way too soon. One where the years have ticked off as quickly as seconds.
How did my 4-year-old point guard turn into a high school graduate?
Tonight, the reality will hit me over the head with all the warmth and gentleness of a postgame Gatorade celebration dowsing. His baccalaureate marks the beginning of his final week as an Iolani senior.
Where did the time go?
Wasn't it just a few months ago I was writing about being slightly overprotective? (What other description could there be for a mother buying her 4-year-old a jockstrap? A way-too-big jockstrap?)
It was back in February. February 1991.
The "Parents Message" written in Tiff's baby book was almost 5 years old then. The one about my hopes that he have a happy life with few regrets; that he be the best he could be; and that he go after his dreams and make them real.
I've been blessed with a courtside seat in his game of life. It's been a great view, watching him compete against adversity and win.
The years have been filled with ups and downs, lots of wins and a number of learning-experience losses. The trophies and medals are there, along with some invisible scars from the disappointments.
Some of which even belong to him.
It was so much easier back when Dominique Wilkins and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were living happily next to each other on his bedroom-wall posters. So much easier back when a blanket and a baseball glove were ideal teammates come bedtime.
I miss the days when the score wasn't kept during basketball games. When umpires didn't mind that the scorekeeping moms would trade recipes as long as they could keep track of the pitch count.
I miss my little boy. But I have enjoyed meeting the young man he has become.
It is not easy growing up today. It's a scary world, perhaps scarier than when we were growing up.
We had the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam. This generation has 9/11 and Iraq.
I am proud of him and his friends, and of how they have managed to take it all in stride while still retaining that special naivete that only Hawaii kids have. They are amazing young people who are about to trade a finish line in high school for a starting line in college.
Perhaps they didn't choose the paths we had envisioned they would take back in 1991. The important thing is that they chose the right one for themselves.
They are, as a friend said when seeing my son's graduation picture, "All growed up."
They have learned -- sometimes the hard way -- that there's a big difference between being a good athlete and being a good sportsman or sportswoman.
They have learned very well the difference between playing well and playing fair, as well as doing both with integrity.
And so to Tiff, Bre, Derrick, Ginger, Ainoa, Jeremy and the rest of the Class of 2004, here are a few words written back in a February that doesn't seem so long ago:
On whatever court you choose to play your life, make sure that when the clock runs out, you don't need to look at the scoreboard to find out who won.
Walk away knowing you did your best and being able to say, "Good game."
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Cindy Luis' column appears periodically.
E-mail Cindy at cluis@starbulletin.com