All in all this day has pretty much gone to hell. It started with us being late for the morning football game, which put the coach in a bad mood, which he took out on my kid. The team lost badly and my kid was benched on offense. I was scolded a bit (parent shaming is too strong a word, but a less patient man might’ve snapped). The second game really tested my resolve. We have been working to get these kids ready and certified. We failed. We forfeited our fifth straight and all but mathematically guaranteed we will not make the playoffs. So all of this energy pushed towards making this story a hero’s journey–all of this angling towards my kid feeling like he did something–is wasted. It lets me know I should have never invested in the first place. I get so caught up in wanting them to be successful that I transfer too much of myself into their stuff. What is left for me?
The second game story doesn’t end there. We have (had?) a new kid join the team and he is a straight up wimp. He is easily the largest kid on the team and was actually afraid to play. He refused to take the field for a single snap. Football might not be for him. Sadly, as a result we played with 10 players for close to half the game (one kid hurt his thumb and cried for a good 20 minutes). The team is soft.
And I am sick.
I’m sick and tired of a lot of things this weekend. I’m going to share some of that in the days to come.