reLAX mom!

I'm a reluctant soccer mom.  That is to say, I'm the mother of a daughter I thought I was signing up for a bit of fun, an after school activity, a little exercise she could do with friends but would quickly lose interest in.

Lacrosse.

And then something happened.  She loved the game.

Even more unexpected; so did I!

I never went to Super Bowl parties - not even for the commercials.  I mean, I'm not a complete numb skull toward sports.  My friends and I went to every football game my Sophomore year in high school, but I didn't really care to go when my friendship circle spiraled and my new friends didn't go.  For a brief time (an hour during the Olympics) I though curling was the coolest thing in the world.  Once in a while, I tune in to hockey for half a game and I've taken my daughter to a hockey game because my niece got us awesome tickets.

Generally, I gave sports a try, but decided I didn't give a flying fruit tree.

Lacrosse is different.  Have you watched it?  Men's Lacrosse is incredibly brutal (and awesome!) and watching ten minutes of Women's, you'll see the incredible skill and stamina required for this sport. Women's is actually pretty brutal in comparison to other female sports, but it's certainly no Men's.  (Rugby and hockey players don't hit each other with sticks, so seriously, LAX might be the fiercest.)

The girls we've met are not like the athletic girls I knew in high school.  Fit, yes, but so friendly and funny.  It takes a unique gal to play a the less popular sports, I guess.  They have the best personalities.  Then again, I see it from a "mom" perspective.

As much as teens and their parents don't relate, I notice most of the other parents are athletic types or at least into watching sports.  I notice the parents of the nerds at school are often quite intelligent, accomplished nerds.  Fathers read comic books to their sons.

It's not that we're so vastly different.  Jane appreciates comic books like her father and music like I do.  She enjoys watching old movies and musicals with me and we all go to comic book movies together.  It's just that neither of us was raised to be athletic by athletes so that part is difficult to relate.  We encourage her, but cannot afford expensive camps or a lot of private lessons.  As good as she is, she's had to get there on her own.  Well, yeah, we play catch with her and those kinds of things, but we aren't much of a challenge to encourage growth.

Yet I'm as proud as proud can be when I see her on the field catching, running, defending, attacking, and generally loving the game.

Plus, Lacrosse is pretty cool.  If you haven't checked it out, go to a local game and give it a chance.  We could use more supporters!

My Own Thoughts

So, don't judge me too harshly.

Last week I actually sat through an entire episode of Oprah. She had someone on to discuss how to talk to you kids about sex. Well, it's obviously early, but I like to be prepared nonetheless.

Something, however, has been bothering the hell out of me ever since.

During the show, they had a 14 year old couple on to use as an example. The doctor/guest talked about questions you should ask your child if they are thinking about having sex. Well, one remark was that you should discuss what you expect after the first time. Typically, I suppose, boys will just want to do it again whenever they can. Girls will still want to date and just have sex occasionally. Of course, this is a gross generalization, but it shows how they can think different things. Well, the boy in this scenario said that he would leave it up to her "obviously" because she calls the shots.

Then later, the doctor/guest asked if they had discussed what they would do if the birth control failed and she got pregnant. Again, he said it was up to her. The audience and Oprah seemed to eat that up - as though he was such a sensitive, mature, sweet young man to try not to take control of HER body.

Uh, excuse me, but that's one thing that has always bothered me. In the end, yes, it IS the woman's body, but the thing she happens to be carrying was made by BOTH parties. If she let him in, she is obligated to at least hear his opinion on the matter.

But that's not what really gets my goat. We're talking about two 14 year old kids here. He's not being sensitive and mature. NO! What he is saying is it's her problem. Perhaps not as blatantly as the football player says to his cheerleader girlfriend in the After School Special of the week, but if he is saying it's up to her, he is dismissing himself from the stress, angst, terror, and pain of having to MAKE such a decision.

That pisses me off! So I went to the Oprah forum in hopes of finding a voice of reason. None. No one seems to have noticed it!

I'm blogging it for myself because I don't like getting into the catty little forums where you have to register to post, etc.

We're just so jaded as a society that we can't see the forest for the trees anymore. GAH!