Kaylee's Comeback

“Kaylee, come down here, it’s time for volleyball practice!” my mom calls. I wish I didn’t have to go, but as my mom would say “You signed up for it, so it’s too late to quit now.” Sometimes I feel like 2 travel sports is too many, and don’t get me wrong, I love all of the sports I play. It‘s just sometimes, I feel like maybe it’s too much, and I get really tired after everything. I have no days off from sports, and I rarely get to hang out with my friends, because I’m already too busy. I just wish I could hang out with my best friends, Kyra and Rory after school. The first time they invited me over, I said, “I have softball practice, maybe next time.” The second time they called me I said, “I have volleyball practice, maybe next time.”  Eventually they just stopped calling me. “Kaylee, are you ready? We’re walking out in 5!” my mom yelled again. “Okay mom, I’m just getting my shoes on!” I yelled back. As I walked out of my room, I thought, “I wish I was hanging out with my friends right now instead of going to practice.”

As I walked into school, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that Kyra and Rory might have hung out this weekend, and that it’s okay because they're friends too! And I couldn’t have hung out anyways. When I finally walked through the doors, I saw Kyra hanging out with Rory next to her locker. “Hey guys!” I said. “Hi!” they said at the same time. Then, they burst out laughing and hugged each other. I guess I missed something. “How was your weekend?” I asked “Good!” they both said at the same time. Again.  Then they laughed and hugged each other. Again. I guess I missed a lot. “How was yours?” Rory asked. “Good, I had volleyball practice, and a softball game.” I replied. “Briing, Briing” the bell rang as we got up and started walking to class. Rory and Kyra had English first period, and I had PE. “Bye guys!” I said as we walked separate directions. They have almost all of the same classes together. 

Right after school, I had volleyball practice, so I didn’t really get a chance to say goodbye to my friends. We only have 2 classes together, so we don’t see each other that much, except for lunch. I really wish that we had more classes together, but I guess that the principal didn’t think so. As I ran out of my car to grab my volleyball bag and change fast, I saw Kyra going over to Rory’s house. I know it shouldn’t hurt so much to see them hanging out without me, but it does. They could’ve at least called to see if I was free. I guess it’s fine. Not really. I have told my mom that I don’t want to keep playing all of these sports, but she played three sports in high school, so she really has her heart set on me being a multi-sport athlete too. Maybe I should try again and tell her that I really don’t want to play two travel sports. I really hope she says yes. She always says no though, because she was an athlete, so of course she wants me to be one too. It’s honestly a miracle she allowed me to not play basketball. 

When someone asks which sport I like better, I say, “I love playing volleyball, it's like my favorite thing to do. The feeling of the ball hitting my hand, the sound of the crowd cheering... it's just the best! But I have to say, softball is a close second, I have to say. There's something about the crack of the bat and the smell of the freshly cut grass, that just gets me pumped up!” I love both of my sports and they are really fun, but I never get time off and that is pretty annoying. I really wish that I could not do softball, or maybe try rec softball. I'm going to talk to my mom about it tonight!

When I got home from school, I said hello to my cat, Macy, and ran upstairs to my mom’s room. As I knocked on her door I started to get a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. Nerves maybe? I guess so. When she finally opened the door my mom said, “Hey Kaylee! What’s up?” I stuttered for a moment and then looked her in the eyes and said, “Mom, I have told you multiple times that I don't want to play softball anymore.” She didn’t say anything, though her mouth said it all. It curved downward into a disapproving frown. 

Even though I was scared, I kept talking. “So, I came up with a compromise.” Her eyebrows raised, but the frown stayed. “I can play rec. I will still play softball but I will also get some free time to hang out with my friends and maybe have some me time. Rec only practices once a week and there is a game every Saturday, and the travel team I’m playing on now practices 3 times a week plus a tournament every other weekend.” She stays silent for a moment and then speaks up. “NO!” she yells and then turns around and slams the door in my face. 

The next morning I wake up sad and defeated. When I walk into my school, I see Kyra and Rory hanging out by Kyra’s locker yet again. “Hey guys!” I yell. They turn around and say “Hi!” Then, the bell rings, and yay, today is Wednesday so we have science together. As we walk down the stairs someone rushes by me and I trip on the stairs. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” I scream. The last thing I hear before I fall is, “Kaylee!” Then there’s a thump and everything goes black. 

When I wake up I am surrounded by people. Friends, family, doctors, and a lot of other people. “Kaylee! You’re up!” “Hi.” I mumble weakly. “What happened?” I mumbled again. “You fell on the stairs and it looks like luckily you only fractured your ankle, so you will only be out for 4 weeks.” a doctor says. “I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt more, that could’ve been really bad.” someone adds. “Yeah,” I say, realizing that that could’ve been the end of my sports career, and that I could’ve been hurt really badly. As I stumble to get out of bed, with the help of my mom, I think to myself, “That could’ve been a lot worse.” 

4 Months Later…

After that injury, I realized that life is all about balance. I sat down and had a long talk with my mom, and we agreed that sometimes I can miss a practice to hang out with my friends, and sometimes I will have to go to practice instead of hanging out with my friends. Rory and Kyra totally understand that I can’t hang out all the time, and they promised that they will call and ask to hang out with me more often now. I realize now that playing sports does bring me joy, and the time I feel happiest is when I’m on the court, or the diamond, but I also have learned that hanging out and laughing with my friends brings me joy too! I hang out with friends more than once a week now, and I still play sports, because I have realized that I just have to balance my time and energy so I can have fun on the court and off the court too. Sometimes I look back at fracturing my ankle, and think, that might have been the best accident that ever happened to me.