Saturday 9:15AM, leave for the soccer complex for 9:45 game. Any delay in traffic will mean that 5-year-old Aidan runs directly from the car to the kickoff. He scored four goals — down from six the previous week, but one chance was taken off his toe as he was about to shoot — by a teammate.
Saturday Noon, 3-year-old Alex’s game begins. His socks and his shorts meet, so it’s not clear Alex even has knees, but he scores a spectacular goal.
Saturday 1:45PM, 8-year-old Mack’s soccer match. He scores and plays some fantastic D in a losing effort.
Sunday 8AM, Mack runs a mile cross country race and takes first overall despite having to do the limbo along the way. Not quite sure why they thought the limbo added anything to a mile run, but it was a fun event. (Two types of people show up for rainy, cool, Sunday morning runs — those that run and socialize and those that just run. The two groups often appear to be of an entirely different species.)
Sunday 10AM, 6-year-old quarterback Kiley and defender Aidan play flag football. The team wins its third game (no losses) despite having basically just one play, Ethan down the sidelines. Ethan performs this play very, very well.
Sunday 1:45PM, Mack plays flag football, at quarterback and on defense. Not having an Ethan-like runner, this team relies mostly on passes, several of which are intercepted as smaller quicker defenders snag the ball as it’s dropped by the receiver. Highlight of game — other than the pure joy of watching kids learn and perform — is having the other team penalized two or three times for guarding their flags on long runs.
Meanwhile, Aidan and Kiley are at the pool where Aidan, who is a self-taught swimmer, swims 25 meters in under 40 seconds. Kiley also makes this summer’s club swim team on the strength of her kick.
Mack’s swim practice comes later — he spent the time after football and before swimming shooting hoops across the street.
Grandpa was exhausted.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Sweetie Sofie relaxes with the Sunday New York Times Magazine after her swim lessons.
Wow, what an affair! I remember soccer as a kid; I remember tee-ball as a kid; I remember swimming as a kid, and I remember flag football as a kid (though neither was organized). I don’t remember doing them all on the same weekend. We did a lot of hiking and running around outdoors, but never cross country running (at least until I started high school). The sweeties sure do seem like a formidable force!
We always manage to survive these weekends…but I have to say that Sofie looks like the smart one here.
It’s exhausting just to read about it. BTW, isn’t there another VA Sweetie conspicuously absent here? I take it he doesn’t like sports?
You must mean Reidie. Not much he can compete in at age 3-and-2-months. His soccer starts this fall.
Well, that’s one of the problems with living so far away. I don’t keep up on the ages so well. Does that make me a bad aunt instead of a grand aunt?