We had a good week. To quote T.Puzzle he “didn’t be bad to his friends” at school (always a bonus) and Full Speed has rightfully earned the nickname “Crazy Legs” on his flag football team. This is Full Speed’s first season of flag football and he has taken to it like a fish to water. I marvel how this determined little athlete is actually genetically related to me. He must have all of Mad Dog’s sport-related genes. Not surprisingly, I tend to become highly anxious watching Full Speed play. Naturally, T.Puzzle senses this anxiety and feeds off of it masterfully. We end up bickering like an old, married couple. I have since learned to place him far away from me during games (I tried separate fields but that somehow felt wrong) and we all are happier for it.
My life from here on out will be heavily sports-centric. I must accept this as my fate or I will crumble under the pressure. Fortunately for me, I’m Full Speed’s and T.Puzzle’s number one fan. Look out 3 on 3 soccer, we are coming for you soon!
Here is a Mother’s Day letter written by Full Speed. It is probably one of the best letters ever and I’m not just saying that because I’m his Mom (oh, yes I am!).
I would like to thank all of you for continuing to read my adventures in motherhood. I started this blog to document the ups and downs of raising my two, spirited boys. Over time, it has become a great way to help me cope with the craziness of my life. Now, I continue to write it simply because I love to write and because I hope it brings humor and light to those who read it. So, basically I’m saying, I hope it helps you with problems you’ve never heard about.
On this Mother’s Day, regardless if you have children or not, I hope you have people in your own life who celebrate how amazing you are today and every day.
I L-O-V-E this kid!I have officially signed up T.Puzzle for kindergarten. I am handling this sign-up a lot better than I did Full Speed’s. I think it’s because I know what to expect and knowing Full Speed loved his kindergarten experience, I’m very hopeful T.Puzzle will love his, too. Or, maybe I’m more than ready to hand him over to his kindergarten teacher. It seems as of late, T.Puzzle is convinced I really don’t know how to read and questions me emphatically if I correct him. I have to spell the word out loud while he hides the text. He peers at the word furtively beneath his cupped hands to make sure I can’t cheat. Then, I have to prove phonetically why I think it is the word it is instead of the one he thinks it is. Oh, I’m ready for this guy to go to kindergarten, alright. I just hope his future teacher is excellent at spelling.
The boys’ soccer season officially ended over the weekend. I never quite recovered my courage to snap a lot of photos during a game. After experiencing brutal losses in both their season openers, fear won over even though both teams pulled out respectable .500 seasons in the end. All I could imagine is that I would be clicking away in rapid succession as we were crushed by the opposition. Nope. Could not do it.
I did manage to at least get a photo or two of the boys in their uniforms. For Moms that just doesn’t get old. Every kid is cute in a uniform.
Exhibit A for cuteness
I learned two very valuable lessons over the course of the season. The first being no matter how much I wish it, dream it, or imagine it, my boys will never calmly get ready for any sports-related activity. They just won’t. End of story.
See what I mean?
I also learned that letting go of your kids happens a lot sooner than you think and you never can be ready for when it happens. As I watched the boys practice soccer with Mad Dog yesterday in our cul-de-sac (because apparently 6 consecutive days of soccer is not enough) it struck me, my boys are officially Daddy’s boys. Sure, I had a great run of about seven years and T.Puzzle has held out longer as a Mommy’s boy, but for the most part it’s over. The boys are now entering official man territory and while Moms are welcome there, they aren’t the top priority any longer. Winning, independence and building soccer skills are now their main goals (soccer pun intended).
It was fun while it lasted being the center of their universe. Okay, if you’ve read this blog before, maybe fun is the wrong word. It actually was kind of overwhelming and nightmarish at times. Anyway, I will cherish the formative years I had as their number one focus and thank my lucky stars they have someone as awesome as Mad Dog to look up to in the future.
So, in summation, Full Speed and T.Puzzle learned a little more about life from the lessons on the soccer field (as did Mom) and they grew up before my very eyes.
While we struggled at the onset of the boys’ soccer season, we have reached a nice level of flow and acceptance. Full Speed’s team has jelled and while they may not win every game, they try hard and work well together. As for T.Puzzle, we have come to realize U-6 soccer is more a test in parental patience than it is anything else. It’s good there are only two games left in this roller coaster season. When we lose, we lose in such a spectacular fashion that it is sometimes difficult to regroup and move forward to the next game. Fortunately, the kids at this level are so firmly planted in the present moment, they attack each new game with the confidence of an undefeated squad.
It has been interesting to watch T.Puzzle evolve over this U-6 season. He started off much like last year. His main concern was when the next water break would be called. Then he slowly began to be invested in the outcome of the game. First, he actually focused on where the ball was and what the score was for an entire game (this is impressive for a five-year old). The next game, he took his defense seriously and to the extreme. He began to use karate moves on the opposition (he has since been coached on keeping his hands to himself). Now, he gets angry when he has to sit out a period. He sits with crossed arms, kicks the bench and shoots daggers at Mad Dog (he has since been coached to adjust his attitude).
Looks like he is headed down the Mad Dog/Full Speed-win-at-all-costs road.
Seems I will be quietly waiting for water breaks alone from now on.
We had a good week. To quote T.Puzzle he “didn’t be bad to his friends” at school (always a bonus) and Full Speed has rightfully earned the nickname “Crazy Legs” on his flag football team. This is Full Speed’s first season of flag football and he has taken to it like a fish to water. I marvel how this determined little athlete is actually genetically related to me. He must have all of Mad Dog’s sport-related genes. Not surprisingly, I tend to become highly anxious watching Full Speed play. Naturally, T.Puzzle senses this anxiety and feeds off of it masterfully. We end up bickering like an old, married couple. I have since learned to place him far away from me during games (I tried separate fields but that somehow felt wrong) and we all are happier for it.
