September 28, 2016
www.trilakestribune.com
The Tribune 13A
Important
Photo courtesy of Julie Tims
Continued from Page 1
death in an apparent suicide. Trying to rationalize that was impossible. Tupper’s admonition about “important things” is a great reminder for us all about keeping perspective in life. Don’t get me wrong. I love sports. Sports are valuable as a tool to teach important lessons about teamwork, following rules, pushing yourself beyond what you thought possible to achieve a goal, overcoming adversity, winning with class and losing with dignity. Great life lessons can be taught through sports. That was never more evident than a couple of weeks ago when a Michigan high school football team suit-
Help Us Celebrate National Co-op Month
I
MY CO-OP
2016 MVEA Member Appreciation Days
Join Mountain View Electric Association, Inc. as we fire up the grill to cook you lunch! While you are enjoying your meal, make sure to pick-up your special MVEA Member Appreciation Days gift while experiencing the electric cooperative difference of being a member, not just a customer.
October 11, 2016 Limon Headquarters 1655 5th Street Limon, CO 80828
October 13, 2016
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Falcon Operations Center 11140 E. Woodmen Rd Falcon, CO 80831
Free Lunch!
Tel: (800) 388-9881
Stay Connected: Like. Follow. Share.
ed up its water boy, Robby Heil, and put him into the starting lineup. Heil took a handoff and ran 50 yards for the game’s first score. As players from both teams gathered in the end zone to celebrate Heil’s touchdown, his mother, who is ailing from cancer, was in tears. Heil’s touchdown run was by far the most important moment of that game. It showed the spirit of goodness that is within all of us. Those players and coaches exemplified what the true priorities in life are, even during the heated moments of competition. Heil’s story reminded me of Yariv Bennaim, an autistic Palmer Ridge boys’ basketball manager who got into a game last season and scored a layup in the closing moments against Sand Creek. Palmer Ridge lost the game, but Bennaim was all anybody was talking about afterwards. He was king of the court. Most athletes who participate in high school sports will never play at the next level. In fact, most will never play an organized game again in any capacity. The lessons learned on the field – good and bad – will likely have a lasting impact on those young men and women for the rest of their lives. But at the end of the day, what’s really most important in your life? Is it really whether your team was on the winning end of a lopsided football score. Did it really matter if you scored the game-winning goal in a field hockey game or had the assist that led to the pivotal goal in a soccer match? Do we focus so much on the “winners” that we lose track of all the other kids struggling to find their way in life? Try to spend a little more time talking to them about what’s happening in their daily lives, instead of how much harder they need to work on improving their time in the 40-yard dash or how much higher their batting average would be if they spent more time in the batting cage.
Youth suicide experts strongly urge us to have uncomfortable conversations with our children. Don’t be afraid to probe and see how they are really feeling. Are they depressed? Are they contemplating suicide? Get to know their friends. Find out what kind of music they’re listening to, what types of television shows they watch, what video games they play and how they spend their time on social media. Hopefully, every parent is spending time with their kids and talking about important things and staying connected. You need to be engaged. One of the coolest things I’ve learned in recent weeks is how Woodland Park football coach Joe Roskam and his son, Dominic – a junior running back – retreat most evenings to the upstairs office in their home to watch game film. They are together for only about 30 minutes, but the impact that time has on each other’s lives is immeasurable. Experts say kids need to feel connected to a larger group, like a team or a club, or a church. Most importantly, they need know they are valued, that their life has meaning. And that they are loved. Instead, too many kids set up kingdoms in their bedroom, or their basement, and it becomes their sanctuary. The experts strongly warn against it. They lock themselves up and they might as well be 100 miles away, if we are not engaged in their lives. Maybe the best advice from the experts is to remember how you celebrated the birth of your child. Try to remember that joy as the years pass and we settle into our routines of daily life. Take time to remind your child, and yourself, that they were a gift to be treasured. Don’t get distracted by all the inconsequential, petty annoyances that may occur. Remember that winning in life is a happy, healthy, productive child. Try not to focus on the minutia of life. Take the advice of Coach Tupper and keep the important things important.