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Momma T here... Yes indeed... It's that time of the year when the wondering really steps into high gear... Combine and Pro Days... done and gone for the year. Draft Day... Happy Day for some  ... & Not so Happy Day for others...  Listening to the fans from various teams greeting each other (& I am among them) with the anticipation that is born over and over with each new season. "Did you get who you wanted?" "Do you really think HE will make a difference?" and with each pick a chorus: "Yesssss!!!!!"' or "Noooooooo!!!!!"... Mini Camps! GETTING CLOSER!!!!!!!! Time to get ready for some football! Elation and aggravation mixes like finger paints when you talk teams with real fans... (That is another entry... real fans.) And Time marches on. It seems to go faster than ever and c-r-a-w-l during the same span in some situations. So that is what I am going to start with. Time... here and gone before we know it. I have so many parents ask me about how I felt about Lofa playing football as early as he did. I have to be honest and say that in his case, my feelings didn't count for much. He had made it pretty clear that football would be his passion whether or not Mosi or I were on board with that notion. Mosi wanted him to play soccer. While I understand the rational behind that wish... (that's what it was. A wish.) it wasn't going to fly with our son. Nope... he made a deal with me when I wasn't even aware that it was a subject open to negotiation. (Little did I know that when I was going to be describing 'the seasons' in New England, it was going to be Football Season, then Basketball and then Baseball and or Track. Colors changing leaves made me think Kickoffs and Touchdowns and Tackles... new leaves meant baseball or track... and later, boxing.) "Who are you talking to?!" "I am the parent last time I checked." I remember thinking that as he let me know he was going to start Mighty Mites and he would need new shoes... for practice. A pair for games, too. Sooner rather than later. Let him know when I was ready to go to the store... This was months before the first practice. Apparently, he and his friends had been discussing the season coming up. First one he was eligible for. To him it was a no-brainer. Of course he's going to play... Okkkkaaayyy then. Now what? Dad saying "Not yet" Lofa saying "Yes yet... you get to play!" (hard to argue with logic like that) So we agreed to try it out... Kind of a truce until we could see what he was capable of handling. Not just physically. Emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. All of this comes into play as well. Time would tell... and I will begin addressing the tangible rewards and costs, as well as the unseen. In the hope that this will assist you who have these questions confronting you. To you grandparents, single mothers and the dads that did not experience sports in their youth and just anyone else who has this event facing them... I will do my best to enlighten you with what I've learned. Because, it's just around the corner... and it's about time! We all have the same unit of measure... & some of us are born knowing what we want. Which leads me to ask... What are you doing with your moment?! Till next time... Be safe. MT |
Team Tatupu
