Footy faldelals.

If it's round & it rolls my house will watch it ~ golf, tennis, ping~pong, Gaelic football, cricket & most especially soccer . They will watch an oval ball too ~ not gridiron, but Aussie Rules (otherwise referred to as aerial ping~pong; if you've ever watched a game you know why), Ruby (Union) & League. With plenty of the right incentive ( like dark chocolate full of nuts) I can be induced to watch too, but not league, which is nearly as dull as gridiron. So I passed on last night's State of Thuggery ~ oops, State of Origin. I was not so wise at 4.30 this morning when Liddy tapped me on the shoulder for the UEFA cup final. (Soccer, ladies.)

I reluctantly crawled out of bed & dragged my doona downstairs with me to watch grown men put my youngest daughter to shame in the dramatics department. By the end of the game I was clutching my sides in laughter as the pitch was scattered with bodies like a battle zone, grown men clutching at their calves in agony or simulating dives in true Italian style. Medics scampered between players with their little black bags of magic fix~its & the blood flowed freely. It's a non~contact sport. Yeah, right it is!

I watched Manchester score first & Chelsea equalise before half time. I watched Paul Scholes get himself a bloody nose & carded in one stupid play. I watched into extra time when the whole thing threatened to degenerate into an on~pitch brawl & the ref handed out yellows & a red & if Liddy had come & got me to watch a replay I would have got up at 4.30 on some other freezing morning & done just that. What I will not do is watch penalty shootouts. I think it is an appalling way to settle on a winner & much more about luck than skill. I bailed without finding out who won. Liddy watched to the bitter end. Only a true fanatic can do that.

No, this is not about the things I do for my children, or not directly anyway. I have had Liddy in my ear like a flea all season. She lacks in the confidence department & having received knockback after knockback all season is starting to really doubt her ability. Dearest & I (who are not by any means biased) have been telling her three things. One, sport is as much about politics as it is about ability. Two, with that in mind players are chosen as much for their willingness to socialise down the pub as their on~pitch attributes. Thirdly, when you won't play the politics & won't abandon your morality & play as well as Liddy does you become a huge threat. It is not reasonable. It is not fair. It is not kind or just but that's the fact's of life & the sooner you accept that the better you are able to cope. Nope, Liddy's not been coping. Dearest & I have talked ourselves black & blue & got nowhere.

Last night God got her a beauty. (Thanks Alison! ) See, Liddy drove Ditz & I into choir & joined me up the back so she got to hear Alison's little pep talk because lots of the girls have been in competitions recently & almost none of them have gone through to the second round. Singing in public is all about huge amounts of self confidence. Without that self belief you just don't survive. How do you retain that in the face of knockbacks? Don't take it personally. Accept that some adjudicators will like you & some won't. That it's not about winning or losing but about how much you want something, how hard you are prepared to work for it, about fighting for what you want with character & determination. Liddy heard Alison all right. She turn a deep, deep red. I couldn't have orchestrated it more perfectly if I'd tried.

It's not easy growing up. It's never been easy. It's not easy to stay moral & virtuous in a world determined to go to hell just as fast as it can get there. It becomes even harder when you choose professions as worldly as soccer or singing. yet God's grace is merciful. Liddy soo needed to hear that message from someone other than mummy & daddy. And it's registered. Ditz on the other hand has the other problem completely. I'm sure there's a reason I got children so diametrically opposed but there are days I just feel overworked & under appreciated...oh, yeah, that's right. That's so I rely on His strength rather than my own!