09/13/2024
Parents... this is why buttons are included with most of my sports packages. Show them you care. 💙💜💚❤️ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/AXTf1wbuEVaoCmJ6/?mibextid=xfxF2i
They always wore the buttons. You know the ones. They’ve been around for years. Well, at least since 1994 when I started playing school sports.
I thought they were silly.
That’s what I would have told you if you asked me then.
“Oh my gosh, my hair looks so bad in that picture. Mom, why are you wearing that button on your coat?”
But she did, without fail.
Dad did too.
I can see him now standing in the hallway by the concession stand, eating popcorn, chatting with friends—my mug shot on a round button pinned to his heavy coat.
And secretly? I loved it.
They were proud of me.
Whether I sat the bench or scored the winning basket or fouled out of the game, they showed up, with their buttons on display.
(Narrator: She never scored the winning basket. One time, she did accidentally shoot a basket for the opposing team—thankfully, she missed.)
And that’s the thing. I wasn’t the star, not even close. I usually sat the bench.
But Mom and Dad showed up.
They cheered.
They wore those buttons with pride.
And now it’s my turn.
My girl is playing basketball again.
I wear the button when she scores a bucket.
I wear the button when she sits the bench.
And if she ever shoots a basket for the opposing team, I’ll wear it with pride.
My daughter laughs about it. “Oh my gosh, Mom—why are you so excited for these buttons?”
But one day, she’ll understand.
We show up. We cheer. We wear the buttons because we are proud. We wear the buttons because we know, one day soon, there will be no more games to watch, no more benches to sit, no more buttons to wear.
And we’ll miss it… so much.
We wear the buttons—it’s just what parents do.❤
Leslie Means
