Next week all of the kids will have soccer camp and I'm a little nervous for Emma. I've said it a few times on here before, but Emma really
had a difficult time with her first year of soccer. She is so shy that she
either would not go out on to the field during a game, or she’d stand in one
spot on the field – frozen like a statue. I've debated back and forth with what
to do – to continue to gently encourage her, or to just give in and not push
it. I finally decided that she needed to give it a go through the spring season
because I don’t want my children to just give up the first time something feels
difficult or scary.
I was becoming so desperate to help her overcome her
insecurities that I had tried all sorts of things… yet nothing seemed to be
working. On our way to one of her last games I gave it one more shot. I was
tired - it had been an exhausting day and I did’t have dinner planned, so I
told Emma if she could be a brave girl and run out on that field with her
teammates we could go out to dinner for Happy Meals at McDonald’s, where I knew
I had the option of getting myself a McCafe Smoothie and a freshly made salad as well.
She thought and thought about it, and then surprised me out
on the field. She not only ran – she got into the game and actually kicked the
ball once! It was the first time she had ever kicked the soccer ball during a
game.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief when she told me after the
game that she had so much she had forgot that we were going to go to
McDonald’s!
We pulled up and went inside to sit down and eat – something
we rarely do anymore due to our busy schedule.
As Emma opened up her apple slices and chicken nuggets she appeared sad
then looked down and said softly,
“Mom, I kicked the ball the wrong way.”
I knew she had, but I wasn't going to bring the subject up.
I paused, and thought for a moment.
“Emma, do you
remember that one time when we went through the drive thru here and we drove
all the way home before realizing that they had forgotten to put apple slices
in your Happy Meals?”
“Ya, and you called them back and the guy hung up on you!”
Anika chimed in.
“Yes he did. But then I called the corporate office to let
them know and they were so apologetic, sincerely sorry and wanted to fix the
situation. They not only sent us a gift card, but coupons for free desserts and
then called me back not once but two times making sure that the next experience
went well.”
“What exactly is your point Mom?” Anika said.
“My point is that everyone messes up sometimes. We all make
mistakes – but that doesn't matter. No one is perfect. What does matter is what
you do afterwards. When McDonald’s found
out about what had happened, they wanted to make things right to keep a
customer happy. They didn't just give up and say, ‘oh well, we screwed up’ and
let us down.“
I told Emma that just because she accidentally kicked the
ball the wrong way didn't mean she couldn't do a good job at soccer. I told her
to just keep trying to help her team and prove to herself that she can be brave
and do it.
She just had one more thing to say after our little chat.
“Mommy, if I kick the soccer ball the right way next time,
can we go to get Happy Meals again?”
How can I say no to that? J
I wonder if she'll remember this little moment we had a from a couple of months ago at soccer camp.
~Melissa
“Disclosure:
Compensation was provided by McDonald’s via Mode Media. The opinions expressed
herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or
positions of McDonald’s.”
