Trials of a Football Mom

The party's over...with the dawn of August came the start of daily football practice for Eric (five days a week with equipment pickup on Saturday - they give us Sunday as a day of rest!). Adam and Greg left town Sunday for a weeklong trip to the mountains to meet up with Greg's high school friends. I could have left Eric with grandma or a friend, but I knew it was time to take up my duties for the season as Football Mom.

Football Mom is kind of like a toughened up version of Soccer Mom. I'm still learning the ropes, but these are some of the duties of a (Catholic) Football Mom:

* Spend the summer feeding son healthy doses of lean protein to add healthy weight in hopes that he'll be one of the bigger guys on the team (he thinks that's because you want him to start, but it's actually because you want him to be the smash-er instead of the smash-ee!)

* In the heat of a Fresno summer, run with him (or a few steps behind) and do those terrible two person sit ups where you pass the football between the two of you - I can usually do about 43 sit ups and then I just stand there and hand him the ball while he does too many for me to count. Do pushups with him...and no, you can't do the "girl" pushups. Even if you can only do eight non-girl pushups!

* Realize that once practice season starts, your personal schedule revolves around his football practice - football coaches don't seem to care about "family commitments"...those need to happen in July.

* On the first night of practice, you're not allowed to get out of the car to chat with other parents...if you do feel compelled to get out of the car for any reason, you must allow football player son to exit the car first, drive off as though you're leaving, park at least a block away where mom's car is not visible, and then sneak back to visit with other moms (who have all been given the same death-glare when they tried to walk their sons to practice).

* Up until this year, as a Football Mom I was allowed to walk around the high school track during practice. Apparently there's a new rule for eighth grade Football Moms: You must leave the grounds during practice. If you feel the need to watch, you must do so from a great distance and only if other moms are already present and watching. It's really better if you show up two minutes before practice ends with an icy beverage and an airconditioned car.

* There are two essential items that must be carried by a Catholic Football Mom at all times - a charged up cell phone and a Rosary...need I explain these?

Luckily, football season begins with a one week conditioning period in t shirts and shorts before the boys receive their pads and helmets. I'm pretty sure that the conditioning is for the Football Moms, whose skills have grown rusty and nerves have grown weak since last season...