Fast Spring

 

 

We arrived in a rush after gulping McDonald's chicken nuggets and surviving the hot rush hour crawling traffic across the bridge, and we all had to take several deep breaths as we turned on to Hauser Street and discovered a line of cars and a precarious parking situation just ten minutes before game time.  I parallel parked on the road and threw on the backpack and the folding chair and grabbed the Packer blanket and handed each of the kids their water bottles and said "Let's move."  We followed a line of rushing parents, Eva complaining about her flip flops as we walked along the rockbed roadside and Sam constantly distracted and slowing to look at all the kids in different team shirts. 

 

"Come on.  Move," I barked as the hot sun was already pushing down on us and I started dreading what the next 3 hours were going to be like 

 

Once we made it to the grass I exhaled slightly and then Eva said she had to go potty and we ran to the port-a-potties and then stood and waited and waited and waited while she needed a great deal of time.  With 4 minutes to spare, she came out of the potty and we washed her hands and I sent Sam running through the crowds in the direction of field 9J.

 

Along the west side of the field we found our people, Sam's friends and their parents, and all the other Euro kids dressed in red and white and kicking a ball around with their coach.

 

For the next 3 and a half hours, the boys (and the amazing Abby) ran and ran and really played their hearts out, each one of them at some point getting a fire in the belly and driving for the goal.  They passed and defended and shared the ball and played aggressively and laughed and cheered and made each and every parent proud.

 

By the time the third game started late at a little after 8pm many of the parents were tired, but the sun was lower in the sky and gloaming light and cool air made for perfect fall-like conditions for watching a ball game.  Eva and Eomji played tag and soccer with Abby's big sister, and the kids got a little punch drunk on the field, but I got a tear in my eye when Sammy posed with his team and then again with his club and his Brazilian coach.  I wasn't prepared to so suddenly be caught up in the emotions of another ending on the same day that Sam had his last day of kindergarten.  All my friends with older children tell me that it goes so very fast, and some days when the sun is hot and the kids are dragging their feet and whining for uppy or complaining that they are hungry or tired or have to go potty for the tenth time, it's hard to imagine that it could go fast.  But then you find yourself standing in front of a bench full of 12 soccer players who grew and matured and learned so much during the spring season and you realize if you had blinked you would have missed so much.

 

Wow.  Thanks for another great spring, Winona Euro!