Tag: teamwork

children, happiness, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Coast to Coast

WFAM

This soccer season has not reached the level of success that Mad Dog’s and Full Speed’s first season did.  I’m being kind here.

I know, I know, it’s not suppose to be about the winning.  It’s suppose to be about the learning and the teamwork, right? 

Who are we kidding?  It’s about the winning.

Sometimes it physically pains me to watch my boys go down in the flames of defeat.  It pains me even more when Mad Dog is in a less than cheerful mood for several hours following another heart wrenching loss.

There are some positives.  I will never tire of watching Full Speed never tire of running the field during games.  His new nickname is ‘Coast to Coast’ because the kid never backs down and will be wherever the ball is at any given moment.  It is a sight to behold. 

Full Speed gets set to head Coast to Coast.

Watching T.Puzzle evolve from the first game has been humorous and heartwarming.  The first several games he sort of ran near the ball but he didn’t like to actually come into contact with it.   Now, he’s mastered some legitimate blocks as goalie and on more than one occasion got a foot on the ball while in play.  These were proud moments for me.

Mad Dog helps T.Puzzle toss in bounds.

Looks like I’m officially a soccer Mom.

Maybe I’m evolving too.

marital blissishness, parenting

Teamwork

WFAM

If you and your partner have a system in place that runs like clockwork when one or your kids vomit, is that a good thing or does it mean that your children are awfully unhealthy? I’m not sure but both boys were sick again and Mad Dog and I divided and conquered the mess and emotional suffering of their illness with elemental proficiency.

Before this all happened, I had taken the boys to their Saturday morning Tae Kwon Do class. Normally on a Saturday we all attend as a family. Instead, Mad Dog was going to stay behind to wait for a service call that would hopefully fix a damaged corner on T.Puzzle’s new bed.

To complicate matters (as we wives tend to do on days our husbands are home) that morning I had given Mad Dog an ultimatum of sorts. In a marriage there are always going to be sticking points. Ours happens to be our Christmas tree. I won’t go into details but as of January 23rd, our lovely tree (which I had stripped of decorations weeks ago) was still standing in our living room.

I simply told him I had a date in my head. I wasn’t going to share the date but if he did not have that tree down by this date, I was either going to set it (or him) on fire (or something like that).

Lo and behold, when I return home with the boys the tree is down and the bed is fixed. I asked Mad Dog if he asked the service guys to lend a hand with the tree (it is huge and believe me, it takes a village). He is a marvelous politician. He will neither confirm or deny anything.

Turns out it was a good thing the tree was down because Mad Dog and I needed to have complete solidarity as our boys headed into their new bout of vomiting illness. If you don’t have teamwork within a marriage, all you are left with are year-round Christmas trees and a mess that can’t be cleaned.

gratitude, happiness, mommyhood

Anything is Possible

WFAM

Despite the hectic day of a sick T.Puzzle, bed delivery, and feeling quite tired; I had to pick-up Full Speed from school. The day prior, my good friend had dropped off a home-cooked meal for us and let us borrow her movie rental of ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.’ She is a lifesaver. I wanted to save her some time so while I was out getting Full Speed, I wanted to return the movie.

We pull-up to the Winn-Dixie where I know there is a Red Box Movie drop-off. I tell Full Speed that I am returning the rented movie, that he can see me from his window at all times and I will only be a minute (he doesn’t like to be left in the car without me even for a few seconds). Turns out that this particular Red Box was down and a kind stranger told me to head to Wal-Mart which is nearby. For the Red Box at Wal-Mart we have to park and walk into the store (just the entry part with the carts). I give Full Speed the movie to hold as his ‘job’, grab his hand and then heave not-so-little T.Puzzle on my hip.

As we are walking to the store, Full Speed keeps asking over and over about where I “grunted” the movie. I have no idea what he is talking about as I am trying to keep everyone safe from all the cars and people. When I have a moment where I can catch my breath and think, I finally understand what he means. I say, ‘Oh, you mean RENTED not GRUNTED.” Full Speed is clearly relieved that he finally got his point across.

“I didn’t rent the movie, Miss Kelly did. She was kind enough to share it with you and T.Puzzle when she generously brought us over dinner. She is a kind friend, don’t you think?”  Full Speed agreed.

Then we turn to the Red Box and I coach him through how to insert the movie and we are a success. I turn and give him a high-five and he giggles at his simple accomplishment that Mom is making into a big deal.

I grab his hand and we make the turn to head to our truck. A woman near us stops us. “You are the sweetest family!” she genuinely says. I’m taken aback. I resist the urge to look behind me to see if she is talking to another family.

Who knew my clan had the ability to be referred to as sweet? If this is the case, than truly anything is possible.