I am a sports mom. You know, the ones who run sports drinks to their kids on the field, taking pictures and video of every at-bat or pass reception. Never thought I would be since I didn't play sports. I danced in college - not the kind of late-night dancing where where you get showered with dollar bills, although if I had I might not still be paying my students loans. I was on a real university dance team, where we practiced, did aerobics to stay in shape, and performed in front of university students at tailgating area and basketball games. That's the extent of my athletic ability. I love watching sports (some of them) but I don't play them.
My children get their athletic ability from their dad. He played football, basketball, baseball, ran track, surfed - you name it, he probably tried it at least once. He could have been on a college football team but pledged a fraternity instead. He later played a little semi-professional football on a short lived team in our area. He still plays basketball regularly with a group of guys and helps coach baseball. They definitely get it from him.
So, it began years ago with our oldest son, who is now 18 and headed to college, and it is still going. Over the years of attending football, soccer, baseball, basketball, swim team, softball, and track events, I've learned a few things.
1. I love watching my kids play.
It doesn't matter if their team wins or loses; I love watching my children be a part of a team and work together with others. They have created some great friendships from it. They have had some great coaches. They have had some not-so-great coaches. But they still enjoy the game and I enjoy watching them have fun and be competitive at the same time.
2. The seasons of our year are football season, indoor track season, baseball/softball season. Repeat.
We go from one sport to the next, sometimes in a smooth, fluid motion with one sport ending and the next sport starting a little later. Other times it's in a crazy, hectic, overlapping fashion. At one point, my middle son was working out for football, going to baseball practice, then preparing for a track meet, all in the same day.
3. I have become quite efficient at packing snacks, drinks, blankets, heaters, first aid kits, and sunscreen into a bag I can carry myself.
My husband was (and is) sometimes one of the coaches so I had to get used to carrying my supplies by myself because he would be wrapped up in team equipment and game prep. I usually had to carry entertainment activities for our youngest when she was still little and being dragged to every field, game, event that her brothers had. She still gets dragged everywhere when she's not playing her own game or at a theatre function (that's a whole different blog post, coming soon) but now that she's a little older she can venture around the ball park and play with the other siblings who are forced to attend big brother's ball game. She still comes around for snacks...and brings friends.
4. My house will never be perfectly clean.
I'm okay with that. It sometimes smells like a locker room (who am I kidding, almost all the time) and I plug up my smell good wax melt owl and eventually the smell of a teenage boy's sweaty socks and sliding shorts fades slightly. Maybe it doesn't really go away, I just get used to it and don't notice until I come back from the next game or practice and realize that my house stinks. A deep, gross, sweaty, teenager stink. And the dirt. I sweep but then the kids come in with cleats and dirty pants leaving a trail of red baseball dirt or football field grass everywhere they go. I have two choices - follow the dirt or the smell. I constantly have dirty dishes because I am constantly feeding my growing athletes. They eat All. The. Time. Even my daughter. I can't keep my sink or dishwasher empty. I wash all the dishes, feel good for a moment, only to walk by the sink and see three plates and 5 cups in it. Where does it come from? I think it multiplies when I'm not looking. Laundry. It's never done. End of discussion.
5. I need a second job to pay for all the travel expenses...and the food.
It's expensive but I like to think that I'm paying a little now instead of a lot later for college. Hotel rooms, gas, food, equipment, it all adds up. We are on a very modest income so we do lots of yard sales, arts and crafts sales, extra side jobs to help give our children the equipment they need and to be able to get them the exposure they need to possibly get college scholarships. I don't have a lot of extra time since I'm almost always at a ball field but I do need a second job to help defray the costs. I do earn a little through art sales and book sales but it's not nearly enough. Just the food costs alone to feed these growing athletes is astounding. It seems they eat every hour and are constantly telling me there's nothing to eat, even when they just ate dinner.
6. Some of our happiest, funniest memories as a family are made in the vehicle traveling to/from a sporting event.
After a long day of games, kids can get delirious (parent's too) and they tend to say silly things. Sometimes it's early morning when we aren't quite awake and headed to a game or late at night when we are all just ill, sunburned, hungry, and tired of each other. We often quote movie lines, play "Guess that animal", and sing a wide range of music from classic rock to current top 40, and we usually get entertained by a sibling fight or two. It's a wonderful time to get to know your kids and let them get to know you. I try to remember some of the funny stuff and usually write it on the ticket stub or tournament pass and add it to the "Jar of Goodness" to revisit at the end of the year.
7. You can't be at every event.
We have three children. I can't always be at every event for each child. There are times when two of them have games on the same day, at the same time, in different cities. That's when my husband and I divide and conquer - sending text message play-by-plays of the other sporting event. It's hard but it's a necessary reality to face if the time and opportunity ever arises that one child will get to play in college. I won't be able to quit my job and travel to every game they play, although I have thought about it and have put together a pretty good plan that just might work.
I don't really know why this was resonating in my head today, and I'm sure there are many more things I've learned about myself and my family by being a Sports Mom but these are the lessons that were screaming at me from within myself today.
And, it feels good to be writing again.
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