A Day in the Life of a Mom of Boys

Our after school snack consisted of canned spaghettios with meatballs…and a glass of milk. Josh (my six year old) put on his cleats (and I double tied them) to get ready for flag football practice. After begrudgingly finishing homework, Parker (my 10 year old) asked if he could take his bike (for the bike trails) to Joshua’s practice. I said, “yes”, so we loaded the bike in the car. When we got there, Parker decided that he didn’t want to ride the trails…after getting his bike out of the car and sitting on it. Instead we played catch. After all, Parker has flag football practice tomorrow and needs to keep his arm loose since he’s the throwing quarterback. Josh is also quarterback (especially this week because the 7-yr-old QB is missing the game) and I’m watching his practice out of the corner of my eye as Parker and I run patterns and practice leading each other with the football. As practice winds down, Parker and I go over to wait with the other parents and one “dad” says TO ME, “You throw pretty good!” Then he takes the field and Josh’s team circles around him for a motivational speech. It was Buddy Curry who played linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons in the 80’s! We leave flag football practice and go to pick up the big boys, Trey (my 14-year-old) and Dad (my almost 40-yr-old) from varsity football practice at Lincoln High School. I am handed tickets to Friday night’s game, which is in a 20,000-seat stadium in Valdosta, Georgia and told to be there by kick-off because my freshman son is starting at right guard that night!! We decide to celebrate just a tad early and go out for dinner that night. After putting the bicycle in Dad’s classroom, because we forgot that the FIVE of us and the bike could not all ride together across town, we head over to Sonny’s Barbecue where at least two of us will order the “all you can eat” portions. As we are escorted to our table, Mike nods toward another table and I discreetly look over and see Bobby Bowden (head football coach of the FSU Seminoles) and his wife! Wow! My first Bobby sighting in the four years I’ve lived here. How cool is that? So we sit, and pray, and eat, and chat, and eat and joke and eat a little more. And then we have to pay, of course. And pay again when we arrive home because it is a little later than normal for winding down, and the boys are silly, and begin running through the house naked (well, not the 14-yr-old) after their showers.
Ah, and finally they settle, and Mike and I have the living room to ourselves. I’m reminiscing about a fantastic day with my boys, and he is absorbed in Ultimate Fighting Championship TV.