showing her spirit

My Laura is a quiet young lady... even in the midst of a group of friends, she is quite content to sit with her book... or just listen. She is definitely not into a lot of the things that most teens her age are into... dancing, boys, the telephone, even texting. She is just Laura... in her own little world, that, for her, is a perfect fit. Quiet contentment. I think there are people all over the world who seek just that, for their own, everyday life. Friday night I saw a side of my daughter that I loved more than I love her quiet nature- I saw her in the midst of great team spirit. She was tentative at first... having sparingly applied her black and green war paint... ready for her first high school football game... ready to march out on the field and show off the hard work the band had put in.
In the stands, she played her clarinet, clapped her hands and bobbed her head as the band cheered on the football team. She seemed to enjoy it. And then... half-time. They marched their hearts out, played for the fans... it was fantastic. Fantastic. Our eyes followed Laura around the field, knowing next week they'd be in their uniforms and hats, and it would be difficult to pick her out. Back in the stands, I continued to glance over at my daughter. Something had changed. The energy level? The enjoyment? Her spirit? She was smiling brightly, raising her clarinet just as high as everyone else was raising their instrument... she no longer bobbed her head to the music, she was actually dancing. She was shouting and cheering... caught up in all that was going on around her... right up to the last seconds of the game. I loved seeing her in those moments. I was cheering just as loudly on the outside, but my heart? My heart... it soared with quiet contentment.