For six weeks, I’ve been Bryn’s volleyball coach. But it was only six days ago I found out that her mother lost her fight with cancer.
I can’t believe the bouncy little girl, with scarlet colored hair and an infectious smile is going through this. Bryn comes cart-wheeling into practice and never shows any signs of weakness. But today, she stands in front of me with tears. What do I say to a girl who just lost her mother? Nothing. I just listen.
“Girls at school make a big deal out of the littlest things. When they get stuck with a bad partner, someone looks better than them, or even if their makeup isn’t perfect, it becomes the worst day ever. They have no idea what those words even mean.”
So many times I have acted as juvenile as those girls at school and taken things for granted. Now because of this child – who is maturing beyond her years – I see how trivial these issues are.
How will I do on my calculus test? Why does my coach have to be so difficult? Where can I find a good job and with what time? These things are miniscule in comparison to losing a mother. In time, all of the things I’ve stressed about will have either been solved or will no longer matter, but the loss of a mother is forever. I can’t imagine being her. I may be her coach, but in this case she’s the one teaching me.
Bryn has been so strong for everyone else. Not until this moment has she shed a tear in front of me. But now it’s my time to be strong for her. I give her a hug. Bryn doesn’t need me to tell her the best Christian advice, how sorry I am, or even how proud of her I am. She’s heard it before. She needs someone that listens, someone to confide in, and someone to look up to. So that’s what I’ve become for her.
“When I’m bored, I like to hang-glide on a Dorito,” Bryn says to me later that day. The lines from the popular YouTube video make her laugh. At that moment, it’s what I want most. So I reciprocate with a comment from the same video: “Guess why I smile…because it’s worth it.” Bryn smiles and I feel accomplished.
For the two hours Bryn comes to practice, she works hard and I provide an escape. We talk frequently outside of practice, and she appears happy when I comment on her Facebook page or send her a funny text. Bryn has a huge impact on me and the way I now perceive life. When I stress she comes to mind and it has a calming effect on me. What goes unnoticed in this situation is not only the positive impact that I have on other people’s lives when they are in a time of need, but also the impact helping someone else can have on me in the process.