It may only happen once per event, but if you watch closely, you can usually catch your special someone taking a ‘glance at the grandstands’.
Who do you perform for? Hopefully for yourself and the man upstairs. But don’t you always have a sense of who’s watching and who is noticing when you do something good? Good deeds don’t need to be noticed so much, as the rewards in your heart for doing them should be sufficient. But if you are “performing” you likely have an audience that you would like to make proud. Whether that audience is your boss, your coach, your family members, your teacher, your co-worker or next door neighbor, isn’t it wonderful when you take a ‘glance at the grandstands’ and see them there cheering you on? It’s even more rewarding when they come back to support you when your last performance maybe wasn’t your best.
When was the last time you thanked your audience for being in the grandstands? Have you taught your children to not take this for granted and that they too, no matter what their age, can show appreciation for those that took time from their busy lives to be there for them?
Of course we can’t all be everywhere we wish we could be. It may be our work schedules, health issues, geographical distances or other outside circumstances that keep us from being physically present. But a phone call, text, social media post or imagine this – an actual note in the mailbox, is another great way to say, “Good Job!” and “I’m proud of you”.
My own children grew up 200+ miles away from their relatives. Sometimes people in my life don’t always understand why I don’t want to miss any of my sons’ activities. Part of this stems back to the 10 years I was a single mom. I couldn’t handle the thought of my child taking a glance at the grandstands and not find someone that was there, just for them and I still feel that way with my youngest today. I’m thankful my husband can attend these events with me on most occasions. But when the rest of your family lives so far away, it can get lonely in the grandstands. I know when there are more of us gathered, the cheers get louder, the laughter is more present and the hugs from the athlete/musician/performer are even more heartfelt & happy! (And it’s an added bonus when we need a larger table for the post-event ice cream stop!)
If you are one of those glancing at the grandstands, I hope you find who you are looking for. Whether your cheering section be made up of 1 or 20, be grateful and let them know how much you appreciate them being there for you.
If you are one of those present in the grandstands for others, (Hi Pastor Nelson!) I say THANK YOU! If you don’t have a young neighbor or relative of your own to go cheer for, please consider joining a mentoring program such as TeamMates. And if you live in Holt County Nebraska, contact me! As a TeamMates Program Coordinator, I’ll connect you with a student that would truly love to see your face the next time they glance at the grandstands!
Rise & Shine!
Connie Lea
#TeamMates #CliftonStrengths #Belief #Connectedness #Deliberative #Developer #Empathy #Includer #Individualization #Maximizer #Positivity #Relator #Responsibility