father and daughter playing at the Punahou Carnival
Good Morning God! Yesterday I took 159 photos — mostly of the Punahou Carnival although some were of a 5k women’s race at the UH track.
I have photos of crowds in line for food and to ride on giant twirling machines. Photos of tons of bottles of soda and water. Even a photo of a smiling ice cream server. But what caught my eye and lodged in my memory was this father daughter duo playing with this giant blue ball.
There didn’t seem to be a “game.” No score keeping — no real effort displayed — just the joy of tossing a big blue ball back and forth.
Later, at the 5k race around the track at UH I saw real effort and purpose — women straining to go faster and faster. Much to my surprise they even used rabbits to help the winner go even faster. . . rabbits being people who go fast for the first half and then – exhausted – drop out. I said to Kit that I would have LOVED to have been in SHORT (100 yard) races in college or high school. Title IX came too late for me. I was FAST.
woman racing in a 5k at UH track
But, You know, God — as I look at these two photos — it comes to me that we women have lost something in gaining the male world of sports. Dr. Shelia Jackson points out that one thing that was lost was control of women’s athletics. Once more money came in — so did the men — and the NCAA took over. Women coaches, she said, had been more concerned with the whole athlete — with her academic and personal growth.
So, here we are, God — able to compete — but missing that joyful ball tossing experience — missing the simple joy of moving and connecting. (Could there be a connection to the obesity epidemic?) Our culture has been impoverished — the female component diminished , even for women. Now . . . how shall we respond? Not by “repealing” Title IX! But how can we (women) reclaim what we have lost?
Ideas, God?
Story teller,
A Moment with God 
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