Well, we have made it through our crazy and hectic summer and are fortunate to have some great memories to take with us into the new school year! This blog is a follow-up to “Will you have my back mom?” which I wrote back in June.
It turns out Cole has chosen not to play football this year. The decision was a little bit of a struggle for him, but surprisingly it was more of a challenge for me. For the most part, I pride myself on being a parent who lets their kids follow their bliss. I know I wouldn’t want someone to decide for me what it is I should do with my recreational time. Wait a minute…what recreational time? Lately my main job has been taxi cab driver minus the yellow paint job and the plexiglass window separating the driver from the passengers. Hmmm, wait, there is an invention I haven’t seen yet. What parent wouldn’t love to have a handy button on the dashboard to press while the kids are arguing in the backseat of the car. Imagine with the push of one finger, a beautiful shiny piece of glass ascends from the floor, connects to the ceiling and silence happens. You can still see the commotion in the back of the car, but the sound is gone. Wow! I may be on to something.
Yes, I got off course but I’m back. Now Cole is determined to become a skateboarder in every sense of the word. He now wears skateboard clothes, has a backpack that holds his skateboard, watches the competitions on TV, and spends his recreational time at our local skatepark. Hence, that means I spend my time at the skatepark seeing as Cole is only nine. I must say that this is an adjustment for me. It isn’t like standing on the sidelines of football practice or sitting in the bleachers at a basketball game. Now, I sit at a table underneath a canopy (trying to escape the hot Texas sun) surrounded by a bunch of sweaty boys and men drinking their jugs of water while discussing the next trick they are going to accomplish. When I get to the point where I can’t breathe, due to the hot Texas summer weather or the pungent smell radiating from the hot sweaty bodies (some of these guys are wearing winter beanie hats in 100 plus degree weather), I remind myself that my time spent being a part of Cole’s journey to become a skateboarder reinforces that I have his back. I will support him in whatever he chooses to do with his life, as long as he makes choices that are healthy ones. There are times I wish I was sitting on the sidelines of a different sport, one that I connect with, but when it comes down to it Cole needs to have the connection, not me.
Oh, one more thing, Cole has also decided that his room needs to be like a skateboarders, not a little kids room anymore. If a friend was going through this with their son/daughter my response would be, “Oh, that makes sense, don’t we all want a change in our surroundings from time to time? Tastes change as we move through life. Fads come and go. This is natural. This is normal.” So, this is what I’m telling myself as Cole brings all of the special framed prints of vintage cars, trucks and trains my husband I picked out for him years ago at the Printer’s Row Book Fair in Chicago. I’m proud of the little man Cole is turning into, but I’m sad to recognize that the little boy days are over. Times are a changin!
Rise and Shine!
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