Football

Every year, right around this time, we embark on another Lost River football season. Two weeks of daily doubles in the midst of farming means that if we want to spend time with daddy then we had better head to the field. Most of the time that means the football field. The boys love running around the big boys at practice. Those older, tough, too cool high schoolers are so good with our boys. Our boys get to play catch with them, tackle their legs and drink their water. It has become a family time for us as crazy as that may seem.

Being a girl, I never played football, but I do have a deep love for sports and a bit of a competitive side. I think that there are life lessons learned on a sports field (or court) that cannot be taught anywhere else. I know I am a better person for having been involved with my teams, and I want that same thing for my boys. They are hearing some of these lessons already as daddy coaches, and they are only 7, 5, 3 and 1.

Football offers even more opportunity for life lessons than many sports. There is nothing like getting knocked down over and over again and having to choose to get up each time. There is nothing that shows that 2 is better than 1 and 3 is better than 2, than seeing a good line doing their job. Football has its glory boys and its boys who work in the shadows. And every good glory boy knows exactly where their bread is buttered, and they will not hesitate to give Kudos to the boys in the shadows. All of that teaches these young men how to be men. To think beyond themselves and think about the team. It will help make them better college students, better friends, better husbands and better dads. What mom doesn't want that for her boys?

Those latter goals are what makes our family so into football. Some people wonder if it gets old for me. Honestly, for the most part, it doesn't. It is not the sport itself that grabs me, but the idea of "team" and the etching away at boys to make them better men. Dennis works very hard to try to help "his boys" think about the bigger picture. So when we are hanging out at football practice it is not just about the pigskin, it is also about watching daddy teach and being a part of those young mens lives. Of course, it is also about catching, passing, running, tackling and all things that make them "boy." I am so thankful to God that we get to do these things. What a wonderfully blessed life we have. And maybe the reason he did not give us 4 girls:)