other things

Here are a few random thoughts for the day

Other things than annoy me:
*When we are talking on the phone and you continually talk to your kids.  I mean the entire time. I feel very awkward and I want to just hang up

*When you bring peanuts to an event when you KNOW I am going to be there.  Next time, I will bring out a loaded revolver and point it at your kids head.  NOW you know how my son feels.

*When people say I talk to loud

*When kids are not properly restrained in their car seats

And here is something I wanted to mention about sports.  I think as parents we often toy with the idea of forcing our kids to do a sport or activity.  I can say from personal experience my parents forced me to swim.  I would say 80% of the time I hated swimming and I hated them for making me swim.  It was very time consuming and strenuous.  I made some AWESOME friends and had some amazing times throughout my swimming career.  I cannot type this without smiling and thinking of all the shenanigans we did.  Looking back, I AM SO GLAD my parents never let me quit.  As a matter of fact I had a full scholarship to a Division One school for swimming which I turned down.  That is one of my biggest life regrets.  I could have left school with zero student loans....but alas....I should really get to the point.
Our son was ready for t ball when the sign ups started when he was 5.  He was one of THE WORST on the team as far as throwing and fielding.  He knew this and after the season was over, he totally wanted to quit.  When the next season rolled around, we just signed him up again to play without giving him a choice.  He has SUCH a good time socially at baseball but really wasn't all that good.  He loved the games and the competition but he was ready to retire after the season.  When you are 6 in our county, you must moved to machine pitch where a machine pitches the ball at 45 miles per hour.  He was not interested in playing but OF COURSE I signed him up.  His skill level was actually starting to improve to be as good as the other boys.  Where we live, this pee wee league is like major league baseball.  There are fights and disagreements and many teams are out for blood.  For his entire career, on the way home, my husband and I would tell him all the things he did wrong during the game.  And I cant say anything once.  I would say it again...and again...and again. 
Before this season started (sometime during the winter) I read an article about a study done on division one college athletes.  The #1 thing these boys dreaded most as a child was the car ride home.  It stuck me like a knife through my heart.  Oh no!  He knew he messed up!  He didn't need to hear it one hundred and seventy times from me.  I made a pact with myself.  and myself....and my husband.  Lets not critique him.  Lets leave that to the head coach.
We started out the year with THE BEST head coach.  He is good natured and kind.  I vowed to blood my lip after the games.  This was what I would say, "I loved watching you play today." 
When he was up to bat- I would say- I believe in you....you can do it buddy.  Eventually it caught on and the other parents laughed at me. But guess whose kid rarely struck out?  Chicken little Allen.  MY boy.  3 years of forcing him to play has paid off.  He loves the game, he loves the kids, he is learning life long skills.  His brother starts t ball in 2 months.  Different kid....more stubborn....and you can bet your ass I am going to make him play.