Tonight we celebrated our basketball teams. I love the Red and White Scrimmage. I love seeing old friends, eating HUGE cinnamon rolls, slurping up chili topped with cheese and Fritos and sipping on sweet tea. I love looking at all those bake sale yummys...and buying a few. Some were snapped up before I got a chance to grab them. But most of all....I love our gym.
Now wait a minute! I know that several of you who read this will groan and shake their heads in disbelief. " Jane", you will say, "are you out of your everlovin' mind? How can you say this?"
I know. I know. This gym was not exactly brand new when I arrived here to teach in 1977. But it was better than the gym I left in Winona! But that is a story for another day..or maybe not.
Anyway. Here are my reasons for loving the GHS gym.
It is a place where we all can gather and celebrate our young people. I look around and see faces I have known for 42 wonderful years. They were ball players then. Running up and down that court. Making baskets. Guarding the forwards. Racking up the points. Fouling out. Coaches red in the face. Encouraging. Yelling. Full of vim and vigor and life.
Today I see their kids...and grandkids doing the same thing. Jumping. Tearing down the floor. Making that unbelievable three-pointer. Grabbing a rebound and passing it back for another try at the basket.
My daughter played here. I wasn't a calm and cool parent. Everyone knows that I can yell with the best of them. And sometimes I even yodel.
Our gym is not senior citizen friendly. There is no place to park a wheelchair or walker. And if you have sore knees and backs, those bleachers from heck are just that. But....I manage to step-step up to the top row where I can lean against the wall...and step-step down at the end of the night. It is painful. But worth it.!
Worth it! How in the world can it be worth it?
Because I can sit there and smile and laugh and hug and talk with people who are so near and dear to me. I can chuckle at the babies. Meet new family members. Catch up with what is going on in our small town. And watch some amazing young people do things down there on that ball court that I would LOVE to do right now.
I know that we need some changes in the gym. I know that our community has difficulty raising the levy for school improvements. And passing bonds is equally hard. Our school board, citizens' committees, administrators have all done the best they can with what they have to work with.
But golly folks, let's smile once in a while and be grateful for what we have. Hard work and years of careful management have kept things in pretty good shape.
So it boils down to this. I know that sports are not the be all and end all of life. But they do one thing for a community such as ours. It brings us together to celebrate something we can all agree on. Our life here in a part of the world where being a good neighbor means so much. Seeing our kids grow strong and motivated to do better. And reaping the rewards of a that good life.
And this is why I love this gym.
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