It's Official!

Well, I don't have the mini-van, but I am now officially a "soccer mom"! Garrett joined a preschool soccer team this week. We were prepared for some pretty funny moments, and it has definitely proven true. At their first practice on Tuesday, the coach was trying to sort the kids into 2 teams. He was saying "You're 1, you're 2..." The kids got all indignant: "I am not 1! I'm 4!!" Then they spent part of the practice comparing cleats and soccer balls. At the end, they were supposed to vote on a name. They narrowed it down to the Tigers or the Stingers (the uniforms are yellow and black.) The poor, patient coach was trying to get them to vote, but they couldn't understand. One little girl kept insisting she wanted the Ponies. Finally, they settled on the "Tiger Stingers". Watch out world! Garrett is the only boy on the team, and he is a good head taller than any of them. But he was so excited!
Today was his first game. It was...interesting. You would think by now I would know not to have any sort of expectations about how things will go. Every time I envision a beautiful, "Hallmark" moment, it inevitably goes south. Take a few Christmases ago, for example. It was the first time all 4 cousins would be together for Christmas. I had visions of reading by the fire, all the kids tearing into their presents, and total bliss. The reality: 10 people with the stomach flu throwing up into garbage cans while trying to get the wrapping paper off the presents! Or when I returned home from my first "Mom's away" trip to San Francisco last year. I thought the kids would run through the airport yelling "Mommy's home!" and throw themselves into my arms. Well, Garrett did, but then promptly said, "Can we go to McDonald's? (and sulked the rest of the way home when told 'no'). So, I should know by now that I can't expect anything when it comes to the kids! The soccer game was no exception. I thought Garrett would be laughing and running up and down the field, chasing the ball. Well....not quite.
We ended up getting to the game a little late because the directions for getting to the field were, shall we say, "stupid"? It said the games were at Balloon Fiesta Park, but the road we were supposed to turn off on was a good mile before we got to the park. So, we missed the road without realizing we missed the road and drove around in circles for awhile with Garrett freaking out in the backseat. "Am I going to be late?" "Do you know where you're going?" "Why are we going this way AGAIN?" Needless to say, tempers were a little thin by the time we got there.
This particular soccer league does a few minutes of instruction before the game starts, and Garrett was totally into that. They practiced throwing the ball and he was all grins. Then the game started, and he just stood there. Literally, just stood...and watched. I think he expected someone to actually give the ball to him before he kicked it. He did get a couple of chances to kick the ball when it went out of bounds. (Which it did, repeatedly). But even then, he kicked it gently, not at all like the great hard kicks he practices in the backyard. Dave and I tried cheering from the sidelines "Go Garrett! Run after the ball!!" He just turned around and waved at us.
At some point, I think he understood that he didn't really know what to do, and it must have flustered him. He came off the field and sat down in Dave's arms and had little tears sparkling in his eyes. He claimed his knee hurt "really bad", but I think it was just a reason to get off the field. The funny think was, nobody knew how to play! The other kids were kicking the ball every which way, and one little girl kept picking it up every time someone told her to get the ball. So, it's not like he was the only one who was unsure. (Incidentally, he was also not the only one in tears.)
He didn't play any more of the game, but he got his little prize for showing up and trying his best. After getting his candy and kicking the ball around on an empty field a few times, I think he finally left feeling like soccer was sort of fun after all. We'll try again next Saturday and see what happens! My term as "soccer mom" may be short lived, but we'll enjoy it for now!
Here's some pictures of the game. The last picture is from my proudest mom moment yet. The other day, Garrett came into my room and said "Mom, I think I'd like to do some extra chores to earn a little money. Can I pick up the dog poop in the backyard?" After picking my teeth up off the floor, I said calmly "Of course you can", and off he went! Is this the first sign of budding responsibility? Or just a kid wanting to buy a new toy and wanting more money? Either way, I didn't have to pick up the yard, so who cares???

Soccer Mom