I am very competitive, and I love sports so as soon as my kids were able, we signed them up for soccer. Sydney did not take to it. She was more artistic than athletic. Instead, I cheered from the sidelines as she did violin recitals and talent shows. Then in middle school she picked up debating. She was a fantastic debater which really did not come as a surprise to us 🙂 I watched with pride as she dismantled opponents and won battle after battle.
I was sad when she decided she no longer wanted to debate once she went to high school. She quickly picked up modeling and though it was not a world with which I was familiar, I still beamed from the audience watching my kid being amazing on the stage.
Sebastian, however, immediately took to soccer. He also tried baseball and basketball. Soon he was a 2-sport athlete playing both soccer and baseball in middle and high schools. I loved being on the sidelines yelling and cheering for him to make a goal, a hit, an out, whatever.
Sydney transferred to college last year and though she still models we are much less involved in the modeling scene than we were when she modeled for her high school. Sebastian is graduating from high school and has declared that he does not want to play baseball in college.
For so long my life has revolved around these kids and their activities. Sometimes we had to figure out how to be in 2 places at once. I remember a day last year where I had an event. Once it was done, I hustled to baseball to catch the end of Sebastian’s game. Then I rushed to a modeling competition where the kids team that Sydney coached was competing. It was 10pm and I was exhausted but beaming as they announced her team as the winner.
Another time last summer Sebastian’s baseball team had a playoff double header on the same day that Sydney was competing in a modeling competition. We had decided that one of us would leave the baseball game in time to make it to modeling. Luckily the game wrapped up in time for us to both run home to shower (was the hottest day of the year) and make it in time to witness Sydney shining from the stage.
The realization that after all this time this phase of parenting is ending, or at minimum transitioning, has left me feeling a bit unmoored. Who am if I’m not grumbling about being either freezing or burning up on the sidelines (there appears to be no in between), if I’m not fussing because someone forgot to tell me which color uniform they needed and now we are scrambling at the last minute, if I’m not struggling hard to stay awake because the modeling show started late and its now way past my bedtime. Who am I if I am not planning my days around their activities? Who am I if I’m not a sports mom?
Who I am is a lady who is grateful that she got to witness these special humans exceling at the things they love. A lady who smiles at the mere mention of their names and all the things they have accomplished and the bright futures they have. A lady who willingly admits to anyone who will listen that these two people are her greatest sources of joy and pride. Who I am is their MOM! And luckily that fact is eternal and unchanging.
But, if you need an auntie to come cheer on your babies, CALL me!
Also published on grownandflown
