1st 3-Pointer in the Record Books

Summers in Dubai can be difficult from the perspective of outdoor experiences. As the heat arrived we found our outdoors experiences dwindling. Soccer play around and basketball shoot arounds got less frequent and finally took a break. By late July we were nearly fully indoors trying to find things to do (ping pong is our newest pass time on the dinning room table). The heat arrived for good, followed by the humidity. By mid August we had experience enough to be able to recognize the changes in temperature. In a strange twist we can now feel the different between 41 degrees and 39 degrees. And, as we become more accustomed to it al, suddenly 37 seems quite cool!  To the point that yesteday's dip "into the lower thirties" (according to the radio station) was a call to play some basketball!  Amalia, Irini and daddy headed out just as the sun was setting and did some playing around for the first time in a while. It was fun!  The girls worked on their footwork, their give-and-gos, their cross over dribbles to the right and to the left and, of course, their shooting. By the time 40 minutes had gone by what originally appeared to be a 'pleasant' temperature had turned into 'quite warm'. With that we opted for a few final shots before heading out, at which point Irini announced "I'm not leaving until I make a three pointer". Given that she had never made one before daddy thought that this might actually take a while. The girls shot (Amalia from the foul line and elbow) and it was just three shots in that Irini's 3-pointer hit off the rim and in. Excitement ensued, with Irini literally jumping around, arms flailing, yelling "Boom". It was a moment of personal accomplishment, and well celebrated. 

When we got back Irini rushed to mommy to talk about her new success. Then, on the way up the steps and toward the showers she said to daddy "I had a lot of fun today". Daddy's response: "Would it have been fun if you didn't make a 3-pointer?". The answer, a resounding "yes"!  It's important that the sense of accomplishment is not always determined by the making of baskets but rather by the effort and growth. Thankfully, in this case we got all three. Way to go Irini! We love you sooooo much!