I Thought It Would Be Scarier. . .

I thought it would be scarier. The thought of it has made me nervous for months.

Andrew, my baby, putting on pads and a helmet for practice seemed just a warm up for this grown up sport that I was hoping would never come. Football, and the apparent violence that accompanies it, was something that I couldn't even begin to comprehend my big/ little man playing.

But the funny thing is that on Saturday, for Andrew's first game, it wasn't scary. At all.

I can admit to actually getting a little teary. As I sat waiting for the game to start, another mom brought around a program listing the names of the players and the game date. When I saw my baby Andrew's name on the list, my eyes flooded with tears. I was grateful for the sunglasses blocking my emotional breakdown.

But, that was it. I was fine.

I watched them warm up as a group.

(Andrew is sitting in the middle: number 54.) I watched Andrew get a chance to be the kicker. He was able to take part in the punting and kick offs. He did great!

I watched Andrew play center. (He is snapping the ball in the picture below.)

I watched the team huddle up like big guys, making decisions about their plays.

I saw our name on the back of a jersey, looking more like a grown up guy than a little boy.
Despite all of these things, I was fine. Totally fine. Despite the boys losing on the final play, I was fine.

It wasn't scary. I realized that much scarier things will present themselves in the next few years. This was not one of them.