Mom on the Edge......

Last night I made the mistake of re-reading last year's posts at this time of year. I've been feeling like I haven't had much stuff to report, so I thought I'd look back and see what was inspiring me last year.

Bad move. Instead of being inspired, I got scared. I re-read just how tough that first week of football was for Brayden last year (tears with Mom and Dad having to send him back to his team saying "you can't quit") - the rough start with teachers (and return to homework), and feeling so out of the mix with new parents on a new team. The first week ended with a rough day at a football jamboree and culminated with my father's heart attack (for those of you new to the blog he's doing very well these days). Yeah, I'd say that's a rough week.

So, maybe it was a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy that I'd wake up today in fear of the stress and end up having a day of drama. Let's see - how did it begin....hmmm..... I got through the "PetSmart" style of full-service grooming (in my own bathtub) for Sydney without major incident, but had to laugh when my friend Kristin actually came inside the TRASHED house of mine to peek in and see me - as nasty as I could possibly look scrubbing down the dog. (Apparently, she didn't get the memo that when she came by to pick up Brayden, she wasn't supposed to come inside to visit.....sorry for that horror, Kristin).

But wait, the horrors for Kristin weren't over.....two hours later, she returned with my son (who had gone to an exercise program where he learns how to run faster/more efficiently - "Speedquest"), ringing the doorbell asking if I have towels to clean up my son and her vehicle from where he had thrown up all over! Oh boy..... Mix a strenuous workout, heat, and a windy long drive - and there you go. Let's just say I'm thankful Brayden had toast and not a milk product for breakfast today. Poor Kristin was desperate for my help as she has a very weak response to the smell of such disasters - it was a bonding time for the two of us as I cleaned her floorboards.....

Brayden recovered quickly - and we proceeded with a car-full to the pool to utilize my kids' last day there (end of August). Mikayla had her buddy Kenady with her and everyone was happy. Things got a little hairy when we got home, though. I got an email from Kidsports and spiraled into a panic that my daughter was placed on the "other" soccer team - the one apart from all of her closest friends (who are the reasons she chose to play). All my protective "this isn't fair" mommy instincts went into overdrive. I was scrolling through the schools' directory to compare notes by calling other moms - and, of course, no one was home. It's a good thing - I was a little psycho. I ended up emailing the gentleman that sent the notification email. I tried to word it politely, but it was clear I meant business.

In between, Brayden and his two buddies were out back, preparing for practice by playing football in my yard. They come in the door complaining of stepping in dog doo.... let's just say my response was less than helpful to them......

Just as I was shoving all 5 kids out the door to get the kids to practice, I get a response back from my buddy at Kidsports and he nicely pointed out that the kids will all practice together from the two teams and not to worry that my daughter will be placed with her friends. Wow....a speedy, thoughtful, "good news" reply - he got a big thank you email right back.

Should have waited to send that, though, because I walked out the door to the car only to find my dog running around on her own out front. BAD NEWS. "Sydney, we don't have time for this - I have three boys that have to be at practice on time!" I tried all of my usual lures, but sadly, ended up having to leave her on the sidewalk, knowing I could be back in five minutes after dropping off the boys to try to corral her back in to the house. (It's a big game for Syd....all about the chase....which is why the boys should have KNOWN better than to leave the door open.)

But, then, upon dropping the boys off at practice, I overheard Brayden getting flack for not wearing his practice jersey. Hmmmm, is this the practice jersey that Brayden, on his own initiative, asked one of the asst. coaches for (2 practices ago) as his was not provided in his team duffle? This mom was about ready to demonstrate proper tackle techniques to this other coach for getting on my son's case when he hadn't done anything wrong and the other coach had dropped the ball....when said "other coach" stepped in and sheepishly admitted "I don't think he ever got one". I guess the tackle demo will be saved for another time, whew.....

But, you know what? In my effort to vent about all of this to girlfriend, Lisa via cellphone.... I forgot about my dog! I drove Mikayla and Kenady to Blockbuster and Costco before remembering (at the checkout) that my dog was still out roaming the neighborhood!!! I'm telling you, not functioning at full capacity today! Fortunately, right as I pulled into our street, a kind lady had Syd on a leash knocking on the door of another neighbor. God is good, I didn't even have to sweat it looking for her...(but did sweat it when the lady asked, have you been driving around looking for her? Um, yeah, in the parking lot of Costco!).

Things started calming down after that. I was even able to successfully complete my jam for the summer - three raspberry flats purchased, not one moldy. To top off the turn-around, Brayden came home reporting a very positive conversation between him and his coach - giving us vast amounts of gratitude for the improvement from last year's experience. Praise the Lord. How awesome that God's love and control over our lives is nothing like the wild randomness of my efforts as a mom......