Goal!

Happy Fatherhood Friday everyone ! As always, thanks to the folks at dad-blogs.com for organizing this event, and thanks to you, the readers, for visiting.

This week I'd also like to say a special thanks to ShankRabbit for his "Have Friends. Get Music." contest. More cowbell!

It's been a few weeks since I've talked about Big Brother's soccer practices or games.

Due to the combination of spring break and rain outs, we didn't have any soccer-related activities for 2 weeks, until our game last night.

I was expecting that the long hiatus (2 weeks is long when the whole season is only 6-7 weeks), that my players would probably forget what a soccer ball looked like, not to mention how to play the game.

And things started off on the wrong foot when I was running borderline late from an all-day meeting at work. I had to change into my soccer clothes in the Port-O-Potty at the field. I was afraid that this would "set the tone" for the rest of the game.

Fortunately, I was wrong.

Amazingly, our team actually improved during the layoff. Go figure. Maybe exposure to my coaching made them worse? Don't get me wrong, we still gave up a truck-load of goals and we still had trouble keeping 3 players on the field at all times, but this game was much less lop-sided than others.

The most important thing was that all of the kids had fun. I had fun, too. What's not to laugh about kids kicking the ball in the wrong direction, or running full-speed for 20 yards after the ball has gone out of bounds (putting them right in the middle of the adjacent field)? And let's not forget a lots of crying because we don't want to play, and lots of picking up the ball with our hands.

And Big Brother earned the "Reformed Dirt Pile Player Award."

I'm not sure what happened, but his effort, listening, and politeness at the game was impressive and unparalleled. Did Busy-Mom-E sew magnets into his uniform that repelled him from the dirt piles?

In fact, he SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL! And the best part was that Grampap was there and videoed the game for posterity.

(For those of you keeping score, that means lifetime youth soccer goals for Big Brother=1, Busy-Dad-E=0.)

I must admit to being guilty of a little fatherly pride here. I felt imitating Steve Martin's "victory dance" in the movie Parenthood after his kid catches the pop fly that wins the baseball game for his cellar-dwelling team. Oh wait, I think I actually did a victory dance.

The most touching part was after the game, as I was putting him in his carset. Big Brother looked at me and said, unsolicited, "Dad-E, I love soccer." (And he said it again on the way home.)

Wow!

It's amazing how one moment of your child's happiness makes countless moments of frustration for you as a parent/coach just disappear. I'd go through it all again in a heartbeat to see him so happy and hear that reaction.

In a single moment, Big Brother summarized one of the core goals that I want for the lives of my children (and aspire to facilitate as a parent): I want them to pursue interests that make them happy and elicit their passion.

Maybe that interest will be soccer for Big Brother, or maybe it'll be something completely different. I'll support and encourage him either way, which is much more important than the "what it is" part.

As I strive to balance a full-time career, marriage, and quality time with my boys, it's moments (and days) like this that I'd like to bottle-up and store.

This is what keeps me going as a parent, what keeps me going through long days at work, evenings and weekends with the boys (and Mom-E) that slip by all too quickly, and long nights with Mom-E cleaning up the "aftermath" of it all--the gargantuan amount of mess (and dishes and laundry) created by small children.

Way to go, Big Brother. You made me extra proud to be your Dad-E today. And you always will.

Have a good weekend,
Busy-Dad-E