Last year Will's club soccer team qualified for the National Cup Finals, held every summer in Denver, Colorado. We knew as soon as the boys received their bid that we would go - one final club soccer hurrah for Will as a player and for the rest of us as fans, alongside the opportunity for one final family road trip before Will headed off to college.
While the boys didn't have the tournament they'd hoped for, none of us regretted making the trip. Will played well and the three of us loved cheering for him from the sidelines, plus we had many memorable hours on the road, enjoyed time with our soccer friends while in Denver, played a couple of beautiful disc golf courses outside of Denver, and spent an afternoon hiking at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs on our way home. A part of me wished we could have stayed in Denver longer - our trip was relatively short and the time we spent there was jam packed - but another part of me felt ready to go...Will's departure was quickly approaching and I needed to get home to begin the process of preparing for his move to Iowa.
My apologies these aren't in any kind of order. Somehow their dates were erased so "post in chronological order" wasn't an option...
Watching Will walk off the field at the end of his final high school soccer season nearly broke my heart. Despite the fact that they made it to the Elite Eight - farther than any team in school history - it felt like the season ended too soon...we just weren't ready.
Watching Will walk off the field at the end of his club soccer season felt different. My heart was breaking, yes. But I felt closure I hadn't felt a couple of months earlier. He was ready. I was ready. And so we said goodbye.
