A moment in time

How does it feel to be a Mama bursting with pride?  Well let me tell you.  Cue in the background story:  In high school I was a cheerleader for my two favorite sports.  Football and Hockey.  I loved watching both.  My Dad taught me at an early age how to be a New England Patriots fan.  I grew up in the era of Steve Grogan and Tony Eason.  I remember being 11 years old and making posters that said, "CRUSH Refrigerator Perry" and "Bury the Bears" for our Pats vs. Bears Superbowl party.  Football was part of me.  I learned to be quite passionate about the sport and I even remember my fellow cheerleaders looking to me to see whether a call at a high school game was good or not so they knew which cheer to start.  (Tracey, I have vivid memories of you turning to me and saying, "Was that good?"  LOL)  My love of hockey came when I first cheered for the sport.  Many of my guy friends were hockey players and like football, I was very enthusiastic about the game.  Luckily, we had a great high school team that went to the Championships often and won while I was in high school.  (Although I still swear it is because of that Hockey Breakfast at KFC that we made them those two years!)  It was a tight knit group.  We had respect for the players and they had respect for us.  We quickly became a family and our boys and my one girl (Shannon Sullivan) would always look out for us.  After a home game we would wait for the players down the hallway outside the locker room.  We'd proceed to give them hugs, and congratulations on a job well done after a win, or a hug and we'll get them next time after a loss.  (Which were few and far between)  We'd then ban together and figure out where we were going to go get a bite to eat.  This usually consisted of Friendlys in the next town over where we would celebrate a win or try to quickly forget about a loss. 


Cheerleading was a big part of who I was in High School.  I was raised a dancer and dance was always my first love.  My biggest passion.  Cheering for me, was an extension of dance.  I loved it and lived for it.  I took it seriously and always tried to make people realize that it was in fact a sport.  We worked hard.  Just as hard as any other sport.  I know some people don't have respect for it, to each his own.  For me, it was serious and I was proud of the job I did.  So you can imagine how I felt yesterday as I somehow found myself waiting at the end of the same hallway outside the locker room for my first born baby girl.  For a second, it actually took my breath away.  Possibly because of the fact that as I stood there and did the math in my head I realized it was nearly 20 years later.  Seriously?  But more because of the fact that as I stood there waiting, my heart was beaming with pride.  This time, for my daughter, who scored her very first goal as a Northern Rhode Island Viking.  Hannah Rose Murphy, #40, age 7. 


To witness that goal is something I will never forget as long as I live.  The expression on her face, priceless.  Her mouth wide open in shock.  In disbelief that she had just scored a goal.  Pure awesomeness at it's best!  I swear to you I will remember that moment always.  I had the opportunity to be with my family at the Patriots game yesterday.  I knew that my heart would not be happy at the Pats game knowing that this was also the same day Hannah would play her first game as a Mite.  These are the moments to cherish.  These kids grow up way too fast.  The moments pass by so quickly.  Motherhood is a gift.  A gift that I don't take lightly.  The Patriots will be there long after my kids are gown.  I am so grateful that I listened to my heart and chose to be at Hannah's game.  The moment she made that goal was validation that I had made the right decision.  That I chose to be a Mom and relish in that moment with my Hannah.  As I let a few proud tears drop from my eyes, I looked over at Billy and swear I saw some misty eyes on his face as well.  (I can say this because I know he doesn't read this)  What a moment to be a parent and feel pride.  To feel something bigger than yourself and have it all be for a little girl who started it all for us. 

So bring on the 6AM practices. Bring on the 4 practices a week. I will gladly be there. It may not seem like fun at the time when I am dragging two other babies to the rink at these ungodly hours, but I have now been reassured that the payoff is so well worth it. Congratulations NRI Vikings MITE C's on a job well done! Hannah, I am so proud of you baby girl.  You did it!  What a gift you are!  I look forward to cheering you on from the stands for many years to come! Go get em girl! xo