My Take On My Daughter Alex Fighting In Rough n' Rowdy 18!
I’ve heard how much Stoolies love reading blogs of Barstool plugging Barstool, so before some of you continue reading and the rest of you scroll down to the comments, buy R&R here Buy RnR. OK I’m done.
It can be hard watching someone you love do something that you would never dream of doing – especially when that something involves some level of danger. For those of you with children, you know that feeling amplifies as you have a responsibility to protect and raise said loved ones. Life comes at you fast. One minute you're in your golden years, and the next, your daughter asks you to downgrade from OKC to NYC to work for the first time in 30+ years for some company you know nothing about. And since that's apparently not enough, she then says she wants to get in a televised ring in the middle of West Virginia against someone she won't meet until the weigh-ins the night before the fight. Like, what the hell?
But what's cool about parenting and life, in general, is you learn that the things that scare you often lead to lessons learned and an overall mix that begins to define the little heathen that used to color all over the walls, even if some of those lessons end in bloody noses.
So while I will die on the hill that mother knows best, and I would rather die on a hill than get into a fight with someone who probably shot their breakfast earlier that morning, I can't say that I don't have the highest level of respect for someone who would do the opposite. If it were any other person on earth, I'd find this to be quite entertaining. But sometimes you just can't have nice things, and even though you want to give your kids training for a boxing match or some extra practice, you have to let them be themselves. It helps when there's a long history of "what in the world are you doing" moments that all somehow ended up in their favor. It also helps when they're 29 and won't listen to you anyways. So instead of stressing about whether or not I could have stopped this, I only have to worry about her hitting harder (and faster) than she gets hit. I keep telling myself that hitting volleyballs at people's faces is the same as hitting people's faces and that she'll be fine, but I don't know if one translates to the other. What I do know is that anonymous commenters can say all kinds of nonsense behind a screen, but most of you couldn't take a punch from either of the two women stepping into the ring tomorrow, and you sure as hell wouldn't volunteer to do it on live television for your company.
Facing fears should be encouraged. Parents must be conscious during the teen years as there's a fine line between encouraging growth and dealing with a rebellious freshman who wants chaos more than life lessons. But even with something as ridiculous as a backwoods boxing match, Alex knows who she is and doesn't stray from that regardless of the stage. That's a rare quality these days.
You guys will also say - is she your only child because the way you compliment her seems like an only child? No, I have a son who I would say the same thing about because I believe it to be accurate, and I am not taking credit for it. I think their dad instilled this part of them in their life. I wish I had these life qualities and I know they are hard to come by!
Whatever the outcome of RnR 18 will be, she will be a winner with class! Let's Go!
So Alex Bennett, be you! And same to you, Michael!
You can see Alex's dads point of view here: