Sorry for the long break in between posts. Summer was a whirlwind, getting the littles started at school, (my baby started Pre-K-pray for her teachers, ) getting C started in middle school and getting the bigs off to JUNIOR HIGH??? When did they grow up? They will be in high school next fall, WHAT?? (The ghostwriter was busy putting together a proposal for her last semester for her specialist degree...that took up a bit of time.)
Alrighty, where do I begin? Yes, here we go...the bigs: H played baseball at the start of summer, he liked it. He also met, my youngest sister's husband for the first time. He played and coached baseball, and he gave him a few pointers on which bat to use after his first game...the next game he was hitting them further, thanks to some advice from the uncle. (Thank you, uncle R. for that advice, he enjoyed the game more.) He is back at football, which of course is his first love. He has been playing since he was in at least five. You know, the games where they don't keep score...yeah right. The parents know what the score is, I definitely know what the score is and I am that mother that is screaming the loudest. (I know NOTHING about football.) I am however like Clair Huxtable from the Cosby show; "Don't you hit my BABY!", "That's my Baby, he just made a TOUCHDOWN!", and then later that evening I am sitting on the couch with my husband explaining the game to other people, based on the little knowledge I have in my brain after the husband explains it to me.
M, has gone back and forth with sports. She loves swimming, and is like a fish. But her choice to not be on the team anymore was her decision. But we do make it a point to tell our kiddos, if you start the season out on the team, you WILL finish it. (Especially, since mommy and daddy just gave up another kidney to pay for sport fees.) She would love to do dance, but thank goodness she settled on cross country instead. I once had the dream of being on the dance team in high school, well you will understand why that dream never came true if you continue to read on. M, is fast...just last weekend, she ran 2 miles in 16.8! I was on the track team in HS and I did short distance for a reason...it was OVER QUICKLY. Those long legs are working to her advantage, along with her father making the bigs go on the path with him regularly for extra conditioning. (In reality, this is the hubby's way of walking the dog and getting the bigs out of the house, without having to spend any money or put anyone in a car...he stay sane and his bank account stays happy.) M, is on the team and seems to be enjoying it. It is also reassuring for momma that she is around positive peers and she is making good choices. We have been working on this for awhile, we might have found something that works to keep her on track. (Horrible pun!)
Now, Ms. C....she is my little soccer star. This child is tall, and a little speedy one. This child can and will run and keep running until you tell her to just stop. She loves soccer. She has been playing for going on two years now, and she shines bright. This is a league team, so there is a LOT of traveling, but with five kids that is to be expected. We break the kiddos up and go to our designated game. Sometimes, family will attend a game we can't due to timing issues. We have to drop one big off and take the other to their game and we stay at that game, and so on. Good thing I have sisters, and the hubby has siblings, so there is always someone yelling in my place for my kiddos. They of course have to channel my spirit to do so, and I openly accept any one wanting to do so, since I find myself to be rather fun. C, is at that age where is still my little girl, but not really my little girl. She is quiet and keeps to herself. When she is on the field she opens up completely. She is a vision to watch. Zigging and zagging to score goals, its mesmerizing to watch. C told my youngest sister, that she wants to play soccer in college and then live on a horse ranch and be a photographer...I know the soccer part will happen, not sure if the horse ranch will, but who knows with my kids. They surprise me every single day.
If you have read this far, you might be wondering, the title of the post doesn't fit. These kiddos seem to have it together in the sports department. Let me give you some perspective, they DID NOT GET THIS FROM MY SIDE OF THE FAMILY IN ANY WAY!!!
1. Me and hurdles- HS tack meet: I was a sprinter. That means, I ran for really SHORT distances, super fast. I am short. Everything on me is short, arms, legs...Coach says one day, "you are doing hurdles today." WHAT??? Alright, I will take one for the team. Race starts, I get over the first hurdle, not problem. I am feeling really good about that. If you have ever seen the distance between hurdles, it's not that much. Having said that, the second hurdle comes up quickly and I take that one down. Third one comes up, I take that one down...are you starting to see a pattern?
2. Fast forward to this summer, the week before the bigs head back to school. I thought it would be a good idea to challenge C to a race in the backyard. I was a HS sprinter, she is a 10 year old soccer player, I got this. I had to show the kids that momma was a runner and still is. First mistake right there. Second mistake, doing it in flip flops! Why? I don't know what I was thinking, all I know is I hit the ground hard and my ankle hurt for a good week or so.
3. My twin sisters, there were in marching band in HS. Enough said. I don't need to go any further into detail with this one.
4. G-ma...over the summer we had a cookout. G-ma, myself and the youngest sister went to the store to get some new potatoes. G-ma really wanted them for dinner. We return, two men standing around a grill, kiddos in the house, all is well in the world. G-ma is telling H how to season the potatoes and she is on her way to the grill. H is behind her. G-ma likes to look nice when she goes out, so even though she just went to the grocery store, she was dressed up. She had on a long summer dress. Here in lies the problem-the dress. As she ascends the back steps towards the yard, she steps on the back of her dress and slides down four concrete steps. My husband and my BIL and H hear screaming and "OHHHHH LOOOORRRRDDDD!" BIL comes running in and says, "Your mom just fell." Husband is picking my mother up off the concrete as she is cursing in Turkish. She is hold onto my husband like the jaws of life, continuing to say, "OHHHH LOOORRRDDD!" (H till this day makes fun of his beloved G-ma with this.) Here is the best part. Just like a college student learns after the first time they go to a party, you never let your beer hit the ground, my mother too held this motto close to her heart. She kept the potatoes up in the air the whole time she was sliding down the stairs and as she ate concrete.
As you can tell from the examples above, my side of the family did not get the athletic gene. I am ok with that, I wasn't meant to be an athlete for my entire life. I was meant to raise children that appreciate sports and the hard work that goes into playing them. I was meant to raise children that understand that they must practice their sport like anyone else if they want to be successful at it. Do I hope that one day one of my children will be a professional athlete? Sure, why not?! Then, I can retire early and just travel around and watch them play and scream for them at a stadium. Yes, I will also have my "I'm the Mom of...." shirt on too. I could never not wear one, come on.
Enjoy your family this weekend.
