Actually, as my sister Tori put it (ever so eloquently...thanks, Tor), I'm more like the mom that SHOWS UP at the soccer game and cheers my kid on as she plays, but is all the while muttering "Screw this crap, it's too early to out here and I want to go back to bed and is it too early for a glass of wine?". But in all seriousness, we had a good time. And by "we" I mean everyone except Ella. We kicked off the morning yesterday with Meltdown 2009 at home because I tossed Ella's jersey and shorts over the stair rails to Mikan downstairs and oh my word Ella wanted to catch her orange jersey and now the day is ruined and life's not fair WAAAHHHHHHHHHHH screaming crying laying on the floor sobbing. I knew at this point that we were in for one hell of a day. So we packed up and headed to the soccer fields. Ella was actually really excited and looked so cute in her "outfit". Yes, I have been informed by multiple people that I should definitely not refer to it as an "outfit", that it is a "UNIFORM" for God's sake. Can you tell that I didn't play many organized sports when I was a kid? As a product of 15 years of dance classes, Ella's just lucky that her mom wasn't standing on the sidelines yelling about how cute her kid looked in her costume. We got to the field where her team would be playing and met up with all of the other parents and kids and the 1,483 people from our families that came out to see Ella play. And oh, she did NOT disappoint her fans. We were approximately 30 seconds into the game when Meltdown 2009 began its second act. Apparently she was under the impression that each kid would have their own ball and it would be just like practice where they all just kind of kicked their balls around and not actually have to try to TAKE THE BALL AWAY FROM THE OTHER KIDS to try to score. This did not sit well with her. Screaming and crying and LAYING on the field commenced. Mikan and I both tried to explain to her how things worked in a soccer game, but she was having none of it. She wanted her turn to kick the ball and could not for the life of her understand why a bunch of parents would sit there and actually CHEER when their kid TOOK SOMETHING AWAY FROM HER. If you think about it, she's kind of right...I've spent the last 2 years or so, ever since she was old enough to grab another kid's toy away from them and bop them in the head with it, trying to teach her how we share and we do not ever under any circumstances NO NO NO never take anything away from someone while they are still playing with it. And all of the sudden, on Saturday mornings, it is OKAY to take the ball away from another kid, and not only is it okay, the parents clap and grin like idiots when they do this to her. So she was a bit confused, I think. When I tried to explain to her that the other team in the red jerseys/outfits/costumes would try to take the ball away from her, she simply said, "That's not very nice." So yeah, I have a kid who totally gets the concept of sharing and taking turns, which YAY. But competitive sports and the concept of WINNING? Not so much yet. Which is fine with me, since she's only 3. I just wish she had had fun (which we kept emphasizing, that she just needed to run around the field and try to get the ball and have FUN! And she replied with a look that said, "What are you SMOKING, lady? You want me to go back out there and get the ball stolen from me again and have FUN doing so? I'd rather have a lobotomy.") But apparently soccer is no longer her idea of fun, as she told Mikan in the car that "soccer is kind of yucky sometimes". So I'm at an impasse...do I make her stick it out for the rest of the season to demonstrate to her that we honor our commitments, dammit, and you had better learn to like it because Daddy wrote a check for $90 for this soccer season and, oh, the costumes are so CUTE! Or, is she too young to understand the concept of finishing what you started even if you are no longer having as much fun as you once were, and do I just let her quit and find something she enjoys? Which, judging by the magnitude and drama of her meltdowns yesterday, may just be some kind of Acting Class For Preschoolers.
It's a shame that she gets so upset at the games, because she really is quite good at playing soccer. As long as she gets her pink ball all to herself. 
Doing well...
...annnnd about 15 seconds later.
She's okay again! Phew.
...and about 30 seconds later.
Dad trying, in vain, to explain the game of soccer. She's busy looking over at the snack that the team mom brought.
Charlie was absolutely enthralled by the game. But look! He's turning his head to the left, yay. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the giant, rolled-up blanket that is completely 100% preventing him from looking to the right.
3 comments:
Gabe did the same thing when we signed him up for T-ball when he was 4. He hated every minute of it and I was faced with the same dilemma do I make him finish what we started or just stop going. I decided to finish out the season. He sat on the sidelines the whole game and would cry and scream...yeah lots of fun. I think it is hard when they are younger because when Gabe was 5/6 I signed him up for soccer and he loved it. Who knows?
Isaac did the same thing with Soccer last season, but after about the 3rd game, he really got into it and enjoyed the rest of the season. Now it was a HORRIBLE few weeks until he got it, but then it was all FUN after that. Maybe she should just try it a little longer and see if her mind changes too?
She seems to have gotten the hang of it now..and can grasp th concept of "stealing" the ball from the other team if you want a turn to kick it. We'll see how tomorrow's game goes. Lord help me.
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