By Richard B. Dubin
As I sit here writing this Publisher Memo, I am reflecting heavily on the past 6 months. This has been a whirlwind and it has forced me to take a step back and evaluate a lot about my life.
Yes, things change, and we have to adapt to those changes. But who knew there would be so many and they would come so fast?
I am an only child. I lost my my dad when I was 9 and my relationship with my Mom has been somewhat strained for more than time than I care to admit. Last March, I lost my Uncle, my Mom’s only brother. He had been like a father to me and a bastion of support for my Mom. Since there are no spouses or significant others, it was all on me. So, I flew from my home in Albany down to Florida to be there for my Mom, I showed up!
Mom had been dependent on my Uncle so she took his loss hard, but I thought she would be OK. My next visit, in late May, was supposed to be for the biopsy of a spot the doctors found on her lung on her annual checkup. But, when I went to pick her up for dinner the day before the procedure, I found her on the floor. She had fallen and broken her shoulder and pelvis. We spent a week in the hospital and then she was in rehab for 36 days. My next trip was to take her out of rehab and home. This went as slow as molasses. Although the facility was highly recommended, the care she received was sub-par and she came home with multiple bed sores and needed in-home nursing which didn’t come for a week. Needless to say, this was beyond stressful.
Then we received the biopsy results, and it was confirmed that she had lung cancer. My next trip down was to take her into the hospital for minimally invasive lung cancer surgery, which was supposed to be a short stay. Turned out to be over a week. The good news is they were able to successfully remove all the cancer. The road to recovery has been a long one and my Mom has shown incredible resiliency over the past 6 months. We’ve gotten to know each other on a deeper level, and we were able to laugh through some pretty dark moments and came out in a better place.
But I was only able to be there for her because so, so many people were there for me. Never had I counted on all those people who support me everyday so much. Family, friends, business colleagues—all those people who encourage me everyday to bring my best game to whatever I’m doing—all those people helped fill my tank when it was running low…and I had to let them. I had to ask for the support I needed because I couldn’t have supported my Mom without their help.
So, what does this all mean to youth sports? As the parent of a student athlete, there will be times when you need to push through a challenging time and rise above so you can be there for your student. There will be times when you will need the help of others to get through, don’t hesitate to ask for help. There will be times when you need to stay positive in the face of adversity. There will be times when you need to take it easy. Be kind to yourself and others. Stay positive and open minded as you go through life and remain vigilant in taking care of yourself and your student. No one knows what anyone else is going through at any given time and it’s super important to be loving, supportive, and understanding. Life happens to all of us. It’s not what happens to us that matters. What matters is how we respond.