A whole new season = More names to remember!

It’s Saturday, it’s early and it’s unusually foggy and cool for an early September morning. But I’m settled into my chair along a sideline to kickoff a whole new season as a soccer mom.  I’m not a good one.  Just getting to the field proves to be a challenge.  I left the house in a rush and cutoff a woman in a minivan to nab a parking spot only to learn I’m at the WRONG field!

Then I am horrible at remembering names.  I can name the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan and even discuss the recent political shift in Japan but I can’t name all of the girls on my daughter’s soccer team.  I reason away the guilt by assuming all the other parents probably can’t remember me or my kid either.  We are all so busy, with so much to keep track of… and hey, it’s a new team and season.

"It's cold. And where are the hair & makeup people?"

Between my son and my daughter, I’ve spent a lot of years sitting along the sidelines for all kinds of sports.  Too bad there’s no Frequent Sideline Parent program.  Can someone work on that? Maybe after the gazillionth game, you get a La-Z-Boy chair or something?

Back and forth.  Back and forth.  Kids soccer games can get rather monotonous.  But before you know it, here comes a girl flying down the field toward the goal.  She has flaming red hair. Oh, I know her – she’s one of my daughter’s closest friends. Goooooooaaaallllll!!! I even know her name.  Goooooaaaaaallllll!!!

Say goodbye to the dog & get to school!

I took today off so I could be a “normal” mom for the first day of school.  I’m usually on television during the morning hours.  But today, I was able to make breakfast and help my middle schooler with her hair.  My husband used to say “I don’t do braids!”  By kindergarten, she wouldn’t let him even brush her hair in the morning.  She’s quite independent now, telling me just yesterday, “I already have my outfits picked out for the first three days.”  That’s after she insisted we make a special trip to her school yesterday in order to decorate her locker and make sure everything is in order.

She reminds me of me.  By 7th grade, I had already decided on a career in journalism.  I love writing and words (which explains my Scrabble addiction).  I can’t recall my parents ever making a big deal out of the first day of school.  It was just a given that I’d go and try to excel.

My parents owned a Chinese restaurant throughout my childhood.  Hard work.  Long hours.  We spent little time at our house.  I’d go to the restaurant after school to do my homework in a booth and then help out as a hostess or waitress.  I was a student council officer, cheerleader, gymnast, German Club president, school paper editor, you-name-it. My parents only heard about my exploits.  They weren’t around for much because they were always busy working.

But it’s that work that allowed for my college education and career in television.  I’ll be back at work tomorrow morning.  My daughter has no problems doing her own hair.