A Day in the Life of a Soccer Mom

I'm a soccer mom.

It's true.

I accept it.

I suspect for some, this would be a hard truth to embrace. For me, it is simply part of who I am. I have a child who plays soccer. Eventually, I will probably have more than one child playing soccer. I live in the suburbs. I'm a moderate politically. Soccer mom. I don't drive a minivan, but I do drive a slightly overlarge SUV. I have three kids. I like Starbucks (actually it borders on obsession) and any restaurant with a drive-through. Most importantly, I spend a good chunk of my time driving to soccer, e-mailing about soccer, bringing snacks to soccer, and hanging out at the not-far-off-from-mass-chaos games of six year olds.

Please understand, I actually LIKE soccer. I played in high-school, so I feel it is not some fluke or whim of societal pressure that brings me to the point of encouraging my children to play soccer. Somehow, in my inner self, my actually playing soccer when I was younger justifies my children playing as not just jumping on some suburban bandwagon. Perhaps I am simply deceiving myself. I like to think not.

In all seriousness, soccer is a great sport. Lots of running, lots of exercise, lots of team...stuff. Slugger is actually very enthusiastic in his participation. It fits in with his love of all sports worldview. At the moment, he actually prefers to call soccer, "football", like the rest of the non-U.S. world. Although very culturally aware of him, this tends to create frequent confusion for his soccer mommy . When he asks questions like, "When is the football game?", or "What was the score of the football game?"...my answers tend to be along the lines of ..."The Broncos are on tonight.", or "Huh?".

So, for at least one more Saturday this fall, my life will involve cleats, shin-guards, and kid's snack foods. We will pack up the three kiddos, the captain's chairs, the "Go Navy" water bottle, and head out for our weekend ritual. We will grab a Starbucks, set up our "station" on the sidelines of a slightly makeshift field and enjoy the sun and the community of other parents and families committed to spending their Saturdays cheering on a mob of "Under 7" boys. We will watch as they learn in yet another venue of their lives how to work hard, keep going when tired, not cry when you don't get your way, and not to rub it in when others aren't having as good a game as you. Life skills us adults do well to remember. Meanwhile, I am learning not to yell louder than the coach (it is a little confusing for the kids), to keep an eye on my almost-2-year-old so she doesn't take off with anyone's keys or water bottles, and to juggle actually watching the game with gabbing with the other parents.

So, for at least this short section of my life...I am a soccer mom.

I accept it.

I embrace it.

I love it.