i was going through my post list and found this....not sure why i never posted it. maybe i had more thoughts and forgot to jot them down. maybe i thought i pressed "post" and really didn't. who knows. but i will say this, as i am entering another soccer season, this time fall, i have the same feelings. it hasn't gotten bone chilling cold yet, but i know it will come. so for all of my soccer families out there...this is for you. bundle up!
it is 10:46pm on a tuesday evening. i have been chilled to the core. i climbed in bed the moment i got home at 7:30pm, hoping to find some warmth. as you know i sleep most nights alone, so i don't have the comfort of a warm manly body next to me. in an attempt to warm quickly i put on my fleece pants and a long sleeve shirt, no socks i just can't my feet need to breath. i have fleece sheets, a down comforter and an afghan on my bed. i hunkered under the covers for a long time with a flashlight and my book. i even drank some tea, hoping to warm myself from the inside out. none of this has worked. i am cold!
how did i get this cold? well that is an easy question to answer. i can answer it in 2 words...spring soccer. oh joyous day, the season has begun. i have been preparing for soccer season to start. dragging out the bag of cleats and shin guards, somehow we have misplaced ash's shin guards. finding every matched and mismatched pair of soccer socks in the house. grabbing the two folding chairs, all workable and even one not so workable umbrella, the "soccer" blankets, packing a bag of extra dry clothes for everyone, all the rain boots in a bag plus extra plastic shopping bags to put them in once practice or a game is over, and every other cold weather item i can think of short of our snow suits and boots. there is a lot that goes into gathering, prepping and arranging all the gear that is needed for soccer season. the back of my car looks like i am ready to make a donation to the goodwill.
this spring season with both kids playing i get to spend monday through thursday at the soccer fields. the parking is a nightmare. the main lot is riddled with potholes big enough to swallow a small child, there are more cars than spaces available, the overflow lot is a field with a gravel potholed trail through it. in this lot cars do not park in any sort of neat order, the spaces in between the cars vary, some pull too far forward others barely off the trail, all seem to sink in the soggy grass. the league should offer free alignments and carwash passes at the end of the season.
the fields themselves are squishy, muddy, wet, and always windy. i am not sure why, but regardless of the weather it is always freezing here. for some reason the temperature seems to drop 10 degrees from the parking lot to the actual fields. one should always bring an umbrella because if it isn't raining your umbrella makes a great windshield.
the fields are truly a miserable place to be as a spectator, but for the players it is the coolest. a place for comraderie and triumph. a chance to get completely filthy and your parents don't care because that just means that you were giving your best effort. a chance to creatively run into other players and not get in trouble. a chance to be a part of something that is bigger than just you. soccer is cool!
i can't think of any other place where i can see the sheer joy on my kid's faces. they love the sport whether they are winning or losing, whether they make a goal or not. for that reason alone, the joy that i see on my kid's faces, i love soccer too. despite being frozen to the core and sopping wet, my heart is warm and overflowing with love for my kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment