4 Quarters of a Sporting Event…with Kids

0

chair titleBy day, my husband works for the federal government.

By night, he is a high school lacrosse coach here in Cincinnati.

By day, and by night, I am a stay at home mom. Which means sometimes, our big outing for the day (or week) is going to support ‘da’ while he coaches a game.  Since both kids are under 2 years, we are only able to go if the game is before bed time, and the weather is cooperative. Recently one game fit the criteria, and although it had been a ‘hard’ day at home and I was tired, I still packed both boys up so we could support ‘da’ and the team!

The game had a 6pm start, there are four 15 minute quarters in the game. Here is the break down of each quarter, plus warm ups.

Warm up:
Jake has to make sure his accessories are in place, and that everyone in the stands knows he has arrived.

?Quarter One: Dinner.
I made Jake and I peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, (before you ask about the nutritional value let me tell you the menu for previous games was Wendy’s.) fruit pouch and apple bread. It took the entire first period to eat this dinner. Partially because Jake is a very helpful 20 month old who throws each piece of garbage away as the food is consumed, which is a lot of trips to the garbage.

Quarter Two: Exercise.  
Jake had to then work off his dinner by walking or running circles around the bleachers.
Flag down: attempting to run onto the field mid play.

Halftime: our previously selected time to depart.
Until, I caught wind of the scent all moms dread when out in public.

Quarter Three: Uniform change. 
Luke, a 12 pound, 9 week old decided to blow out his diaper. It took one 15 minute quarter to clean up the child, his diaper mat and the car seat.
Flag down: not having extra clothes in the bag for him so he wore his brothers shirt home. He is so not impressed.

20160420_191628

Quarter Four: Exit.
We could not get out of there fast enough. Both kids had melted down, mommy was having a little meltdown and we needed to go. Except, I caught wind of the dreaded scent again, this time from Jake.
Flag down: Jake scraped his knee on the way to the car, drawing blood. He got a diaper change in the back of our SUV.

If you kept track, that is 3 flags. Since I clearly didn’t watch a minute of the game, nor learn the rules yet, I decided that 3 flags leads to a glass of wine. Before the next game I will forget my vow to never leave the house again, and will pack up and be supportive of ‘da’. We will make memories and have fun the best we can, maybe even watch a play or two! And that, my friends, is how coaches wives get through the season. It isn’t for the faint of heart!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here