Well, I am officially a soccer mom and my first weekend at it was not so successful. Trip is playing soccer this fall. His team is made up of 6 boys, 5 and under. 2 of his teammates were also on his little league team this past Spring and they live in our neighborhood. So, it's a great way for him to get to know them better, especially since he'll be going to school with them next year in the big K! (Kindergarten, in case you were confused) We have practices on Friday afternoons and games on Saturday afternoon. Getting Trip ready for practice on Friday should've been my first clue that this might not go as well as I was hoping. Per his usual, Trip was a little nervous about going and doing something new. Luckily, TJ came home early that day and was able to get him excited about going. The soccer fields were chaos! Kids and parents everywhere. It was kind of like a social hour for the parents and kids. Trip did well and seemed to have fun. His coach is great; he's coached this age before and seems to know what he's doing. His wife, the team mom, is very organized...which I love! Practice and games are only 30 minutes, which is really nice. So, we let Trip decide where to go out for dinner after practice, since it was his first soccer practice. He, of course, chose Five Guys Burgers. He likes the peanuts there. So, we ate dinner and he pigged out! Shortly after we put Trip to bed that night, he cried out for TJ, and proceeded to puke out all that he had pigged out on earlier. Note to self...do not allow Trip to pig out immediately after running around in the heat for a 3o minute soccer practice. He was fine the rest of the night and woke up totally recovered in the morning. So, we decided it was ok to continue the day as planned and go to his soccer game. The way they do the games for this age is they have 3 players from each team on the field at a time. Trip was one of the first three on the field and he was loving it. He was really tough too, pushing other kids and really trying to get to the ball. He even scored a goal! Then, the coach told him to go get some water, which is coach talk for it's your turn on the bench. Well, this code talk did not register with Trip, so he went over, got a sip of water and ran back out on the field. Unfortunately, the team mom/bench coach decided to run out on the field and pull him back to the bench, after her attempts at yelling his name did not work. Well, that was all the excuse Trip needed to have a fit. He started crying and telling me he wanted to quit, that he didn't like soccer and it was oh so awful! So, feeling my blood start to boil, I called in for back-up, aka TJ. He has a way of dealing with Trip in these kind of situations, that I just cannot manage. After lots and lots of talking, Trip finally settled down and went back into the game. I think the coach tried to call him in about 3 other times before he finally went back on the field. In the meantime, I turn around to find Mady, drinking out of a stranger's water bottle. Someone (I have no idea who) left their water bottle on the bench where Mady was playing, and she took it upon herself to unscrew the top and drink the water. After being scolded by Mommy for drinking dirty water, Mady begins crying. So now, both children have cried...boy do I look like a great soccer mom. :-) Trip is back on the field, playing well, until TJ and I notice that he has this habit of grabbing other players jerseys and pulling them, which we are pretty sure is illegal in soccer. So, TJ yells out to Trip to let go of the other player's jersey, and thus Trip has another excuse to have fit number 2. This time, he is not so easy to console and TJ has to threaten no snack after the game (which is pretty much all this age group is playing for) if Trip doesn't shape up and get back in the game. It works, and Trip makes it through the remaining 10 minutes fit free. I was exhausted by the drama of it all. It's so hard at this age to know what to do in those situations. I feel guilty for signing him up, but at the same time I know it's good to learn to play on a team and to meet other friends. I know he is really good at soccer and loves to run around, so it seems like the perfect fit, but when he reacts this way it's hard not to take it personally and feel responsible for his bad day. But, just as a friend reminded me, I am not responsible for making him happy, it's his choice. I am just responsible for loving and protecting him. So, I am praying for next week, that he has fun and understand a little better how it all works. And, that Mady doesn't find a stranger's water to drink out of. :-)
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