Soccer Pride and Prowess

So proud of tommy today. This morning at soccer, we encountered a real problem child on the other team. He was kicking kids and then pushed my smallest kid to the ground very forcefully. I spoke to his mom (also the other coach) and she did nothing. Enter Tommy. 

Didn't say anything... wasn't uber aggressive... just started bossing the kid around the park like he was his own personal you know what. Kid got even more frustrated and more physical and STILL Tommy didn't resort to uber aggression, he just stepped up his finesse, and his footie game. There may have been a straight elbow to the other kid's mouth that I didn't see, but for the most part it just looked like Tommy willed the other kid off the pitch. Not only did Tommy instantly strip him of the ball every time he touched it, T scored FIVE more today, including a natural hat trick in less than 3 minutes, and basically set a tone that could not be equaled by any other player on the field. #‎solid 

And we destroyed yet another team - the only team that had given us a game earlier in the year. Today, it was about 11 or 12 to 2. I'm proud of all my team for playing with control and not getting ratty, but I'm proudest of my son for recognizing that he's a big kid... this is his team... and if you push them around... you are gonna get a visit from the T man. And he's bringing quiet pain. 

Concrete Proof that I Am A Thug Daddy

Why yes, I did write his name in the wet concrete. What of it? Embrace your inner child.

Trouble shmouble.

#thugdaddynation

Team Green Rolling!

Our U4 soccer team has reached such prowess that we are destroying teams each week. It's ugly out there. The opposing parents and coaches... not enjoying it as much as us!!! Woot! 

I would say in the last 4 weeks, we have outscored the opposition approximately 60-5. Every game is about 15-1 or thereabouts. Nobody ACTUALLY keeps count but obviously you keep a running total in your head, or of who on the team has scored a least.

And if I put my foot on the throttle, it'd be 25, not 15. We just seem to be improving a little quicker than the other teams. Really, really jacked about how well the kids have taken to it and have come ready to play each week. Tall order from a 4y old, so I assume they're enjoying themselves as much as Coach is.

Tommy about to score one for Team Green!

Tommy is Four Today!

Four years ago today, my world shifted on its axis... and started spinning correctly for the first time in my life.

You complete me in a way I never dreamed possible son, I love you and wish you the happiest of days on your birthday.

Happy Birthday Kimosabe!

School Is In!!

This week marked a very important milestone for Tommy - he registered for school!

Tommy is a February birthday, and was not eligible for Junior Kindergarten this past September, so he will be going this upcoming fall. While it seems ridiculous to me that he will not be in a standard Kindergarten class until September 2016, I'm glad that he will soon be starting this next chapter of his life. Tommy is a learning sponge, and a social animal - the only thing that school will not offer Tommy, is much of a challenge. With so much to gain though, that will be an easy bump in the road.

His entrance into "the system" marks a very important time. In his first four years on this planet, his parents' sacrifices have been... many. Believing in the sanctity and importance of his early learning years, we took it upon ourselves to give more of our time than most parents choose, or can afford to do.

There is presumably a slightly unique mindset to a parent who does not experience the blessings of a child until after he is 40 years old. Is it a moderate amount of wisdom? A tangible sense of appreciation? A modicum of mild sensibility?

Whatever it is, I made the decision early on in parenthood that I was not going to miss any of the important early moments. I wasn't going to spend my life working more, so that I could provide for my son better. I felt the best thing that I had to "provide" or to offer, was me. And my time. And my love.

So while I could wax poetic all day long about all of the wonderful experiences and joy that it has brought me in the last four years, I will just say that it has been an incredibly thrilling, and fulfilling ride. Not a bed of roses by any means, the struggles have been many, and arduous. It's not a path that all can take; but, it's one that I am personally extremely thankful to have chosen for myself.

We have built an incredible bond - an amazing meld of guidance AND friendship. We have spent so much time with each other that we know the subtlest of nuances in each other. It helps Tommy every day. It helps me every moment of every day. It is a powerful parenting tool to know your child on an atomic level.

We share a love of learning. We share a love of gamesmanship. We share a love of silly-ness. We share a love of a lot of things, but most importantly of all, we share. A lot. I am so thankful every day not only of the love and joy that he brings me, but of the fact that I am constantly cognizant of it. I think it's part of a zen existence to enjoy where you are at all times. Tommy has taught me to do just that.

So it is with a very strange juxtaposition of excitement and disappointment that I turned over those registration papers this week. A beautiful beginning for Tommy, marks a very sad ending for his mom and dad. Tommy's everything. Gone will be the days of owning every moment of his time, and every drop of his energy. And his love.

But when the disappointment washed over me in a day or two, and the selfish pangs waned... I was left with an incredible feeling of fulfillment. Of making that "sacrifice". Of deciding to dedicate all of myself to him for as long as life would permit. Nobody can ever take away the incredible good that has been done. The incredible base and foundation that we have built, as a father and son.

My little man is ready to take on the world, with me at his side.

Job well done.