The fourth reason I am not crying during Grace's senior year is that she is not playing tonight because of that blasted sprained ankle. I'm not crying because there are only 3 home games left and she's a powerful senior and team captain. I'm not crying that all of us have waited breathlessly all summer for this season to begin--both dreading and awaiting this beginning of the end of her brilliant high school volleyball career.
I'm not crying that she made this decision on her own, perhaps learning from my mistakes as I both hoped and dreaded she would ("tape it up, I'm playing" was the anthem of my high school athletic career). I'm not crying about how courageous and mature this decision was, or because I firmly believe she made the right call, despite how much it hurts.
I'm not crying that her team misses her desperately and will struggle to win a very winnable game without her. The whole chemistry of the team is off. She's a quiet leader and athletic warrior and she's benched due to a stupid injury.
Of course this is the right decision. Of course, as her coach told me yesterday, they need her for the long haul and in the grand scheme this particular game is not critical to their upcoming quest for another state championship. Missing one game isn't the end of the world and her body needs time to heal.
I'm not crying, you're crying.
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