As I watched my daughter play the last Volleyball game for the school season, I couldn’t help but be extremely proud of her growth as a player. I was also extremely proud of a player on the opposing team who too had refined her volleyball skills. As I was leaving the gym I saw the mother of the opposing player, we hugged and exchanged compliments about the girls. Then she asked me if I remembered what I told her several years ago when our girls were the two new players on the same club Volleyball team where they barely played.  Like most people I can barely remember what I said a few days ago. With tears in her eyes, she said you told me the cream will always rise to the top.  I immediately remembered the Colorado tournament where we had spent A LOT of money only to see our girls standing on the sideline, cheering the team on while fighting back their own tears. Both girls were starters on their prior club teams and weren’t accustomed to not playing.  As parents, we hurt when our children hurt, but I knew back then that that was a teachable moment my daughter needed in order to understand that other people’s opinions do not define her, not even her coach.  The mother went on to explain how she and her daughter held on to those words whenever things got tough.

As I left the gym I reminisced on when me, my siblings and cousins would sit on my grandparents back porch rocking mason jars back-n-forth filled with fresh cow milk waiting for it to turn to butter.  After a lot of patience and some sore arms, we would start to see the butter at the top of the jar.  Big mama would tell us “the cream will always rise to the top”.  Yes Big mama, it still does!