I wanted to sign the kids up for baseball and softball this year. It's a spring sport and I know the kids love spring sports, or at least Link does. I figured as much as I would love for the kids to have music classes, I think it's just going to have to wait until later. It's become really clear that the last thing they need is more arts in their life. They've got plenty of that. What they need more than anything is an opportunity to run around and burn off some of that energy. Besides, team sports are good for kids. It would help them build strength, a healthy lifestyle, be tired enough to go to bed on time, and it would be great social time.
Unfortunately, the world just didn't work that way this year. I didn't even know about sign-ups until three days before they end. Technically I could still enroll them tomorrow, but sports are expensive and I just don't think I can swing it. As much as I'd love to, it's just not in the cards. We've got to get a lot sorted out in that time. It would be different if we knew about it sooner because I could have budgeted for it, but sometimes things just aren't meant to be.
With everything in our lives on trying to get our car situation sorted out, it's probably for the best. Sure, we don't have to worry about the season starting until late March, but we'd have to get our schedule in order, get all their equipment, and everything else. On top of that, we've got the co-op to worry about and Chesh starts his new job the day before their season starts. Until we settle into a routine, it's going to be a bit crazy to try and get all of that started at once.
As much as I love the idea, I think we're going to have to wait until next year for spring sports. This year I think I'll take the kids to the park and help them learn the basics, catching and throwing, at least. Next year they should be in a much better position to play, and they'll at least have the familiarity with the equipment they'll be using. That's a start, right?
This whole thing got me thinking about my own involvement in team sports as a child. I know a lot of people devalue sports, especially girls. They would rather their children be involved in academic or artistic pursuits. It seems like not very many people I know see much point to sports. I've heard a lot of negative comments about what competition teaches kids and how a good day at the park can give them just as much exercise, if not more. I got that, but that's never how I felt about it when I was a child.
It wasn't until I was in 7th grade that I started to have anything to do with sports. We learned about field hockey in gym class and I loved it so much that I wanted to play more often. A drop-in team was formed and we actually played a few games against other schools. It was a lot of fun. We weren't a winning team by any means, but it was a good group of girls that loved the sport and loved playing the game together. We really felt like we got something out of it.
When I hit high school, everything changed. For most of my high school experience our team was still the biggest losers of the league. Even so, we tried our best and had a lot of fun doing it. The team really came together. Even my freshman year when I was the youngest player on the team and felt completely out of place, I still felt like I had something to look forward to. By the end of the year I was gladly talking to my team-mates, even if I rarely saw them in school. It broke down the structure of grades because it didn't matter that there were seniors talking with a freshman. We didn't care. It was all in the name of the team. It was like we'd bonded and become a family.
Maybe that's what it is about these sports teams, it's better to be on a losing team. When you know you're going to lose every game it's not that big of a deal when you lose. It's even better when you win. The game becomes all about playing your best and having some fun doing it. After all, winning and losing don't matter so much when you're having a blast.
Even looking at my own father, he still plays team sports today. He's a bit of a jock and plays just about every sport under the sun, but he loves it. That's one of the reasons I got into team sports. It brought me closer to my dad. Sure, I was never much good at volleyball, softball, or soccer like my dad was. I still had fun and it gave us something to talk about.
I've decided that no matter how tight things are, I'm going to make sure my kids get to play baseball and softball next year. Link will love that. Bunny Boo doesn't seem to care about it so much, but I think it will be good for her to try it even once. I know what she's really looking forward to is summer soccer. I hope to get them involved in that too. Honestly, I plan to find a way to manage getting each of my kids involved in some sport every season, just so they can try it out. If they love it, we'll do it again next year. If they hate it, well, no big deal. At least they tried it, learned a little about it, and made the decision based on an actual experience, not just because they didn't want to try.
If nothing else, I've learned one thing in all of this. We're going to put away the money for the kids to join their sports and sign them up as soon as they're able. That will give us plenty of time to get the gear they need and get them ready to play. It also means none of these last-minute problems will happen again. I'm really looking forward to it. Most people may not see me as a sports-mom, but you know what? I really kind of miss playing when I was younger, and I think the kids will love it just as much as I did. If they don't, we can always find something else they like doing, but that will be an entirely different adventure.
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