Saturday, August 24, 2013

Being a Sports Mom is Enough to Make My Head Spin

                  

It's been a full week since my kiddos have started attending their sport try-outs.  Butter for football, Peanut for volleyball.  Both made their teams.  

That means, until the end of October, both children will be off to practice each and every week night until 5:30PM and I won't be leaving school until 6PM.  Yes, even on Fridays.

Thrown in to that mix is the games.  Each child will have games in towns all over southern Missouri.  Butter's will be almost every Tuesday, and Peanuts will be almost every Thursday...and some Mondays...and some Tuesdays.  There are a lot more volleyball games than football games.

I got a tiny glimpse of what it's like to be a sports mom last year, when Peanut started her volleyball career.  Several times I drove for any where from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours to watch her play her games.  I enjoyed it.  It was fun.  It did a number on my gas budget, but seeing her play a game she obviously loved made it all worth it.

Now, this year, I get to feel that joy twice over.  Butter will be playing his first competitive sport EVER.  Peanut played softball during her 3rd and 4th grades.. but Butter hasn't been involved in a sport since the short stint he did in Tee ball when he was 5...and that wasn't a "competitive" team.

There's just one tinsy, tiny problem.

With two kids playing sports..how do I juggle game nights with practices? How do I juggle game nights when both kids have games?  How do I make sure it's fair and try and balance myself out so that I can be where my kids need me to be...when they are both off in opposite directions?

Enough to make my head spin.

Getting my hands on the schedules for both teams was a little daunting.  I haven't, yet, sat down and looked at the overlaps.. but I know they are there.

There will be nights when one has a game, but the other has practice...and in order to get to the game, I need to go before practice is over.  

There will be nights when both have a game.  I guarantee that on one of the nights Peanut has a Tuesday volleyball game, Butter will have a football game.

Honestly, I hadn't thought about the possibility of scheduling conflicts before encouraging both kids to move forward with their desires to play competitive sports.  It didn't occur to me that I'd be running all over Missouri several nights a week, and trying to figure out how the other child will be collected from practice.

The only way around it is to have Hubby help out.  Which means adding even more dollars to our slim gas budget.  

I need to sit down and create a calendar, and make a plan.  Figure out the conflicts before they get here.  Set up a plan so that we are ready and prepared for the nights where I have to be in two places at once.  

I know I will figure it out, and it will end up OK. I might not get to each and every game, but the kids will understand...and as long as I'm there when I can be, they'll be happy.  

I have a little over a week before the games start, however...so I've got some time to work out the kinks and make sure we're in for smooth sailing and sport watching fun.

The things parents do for their kids.  Right?

OK...time for me to grocery shopping....

Photobucket

No comments:

Post a Comment

Tell me what's on your mind - I love to hear from you!