Confusing advice

So, on the topic of Jamie being brave, from the previous post, I thought I would also add that he has a lot to figure out with sports and advice from his parents. As with baseball, he spent the Fall playing on a soccer team that had to play a lot of older kids and it was rough at times but Jamie kept his head up and plugged away.

At halftime of one game he reported to me that one of the kids on the other team had been talking some trash. So I asked what he had done and he said he gave it right back to the kid. "Good," I said, feeling pleased at his spunk, "we don't start that stuff, but we also don't back down."

Later he reported this to Sarah, who asked what he had done. When he told her, she said,while of course understanding his reaction, "Well, that was wrong sweetie. Just because someone else has bad sportsmanship doesn't make it OK for us to have it."

Of course, we're both right to an extent, though Sarah more so, and Jamie seemed able to deal with that contradiction. Ultimately, I suspect he'll keep our advice in mind, but sort it out for himself.