Day 294

Is it wrong that today I am thankful that I don't have to take my kid to football practice?

I hope not. Because I am.

Not because I don't want my son to play sports or be in activities. Quite the opposite. But sometimes we get so caught up in a life of running to and from practices that we forget how satisfying an evening at home can be.

I left work and headed for the pool, something I haven't done since my triathlon. I switched to running only after my race because it was too hard to get a swim or bike ride in between work and football practice. I swam for 40 min, taking my time with my pace, stretching my body out and allowing myself just to enjoy being in the water again.

I drove home and realized that I was going to be able to cook a dinner on a weeknight that did not involve chicken strips or macaroni and cheese. When we sat down at the table, I insisted the TV be off and all phones out of reach. We leisurely ate our dinner and actually talked about how our day was, instead of just shoving our food down as fast as we could because we had to leave in five minutes, or because it was so late we were starving. The 11-year old made several comments about how much he liked dinner ( although it involved Alfredo sauce and hey- who doesn't like that?), which made me feel happy and guilty all at the same time.

For once, it wasn't time to get ready for bed right after dinner, so I decided to run a couple of errands while the 11-year old went outside to shoot hoops. He was already red-faced with effort when I went out to my car, opting out of going with me in favor of practicing his dribbling skills.

When I returned, I texted one of my friends that is also a football mom. " No more football means I can run important errands during the week- like the library. And the liquor store." She responded with a text that mirrored my own happiness about actually cooking a meal for her family, as well as being able to go bra less at home before 9 PM...

I sat at the kitchen table this evening, checking the 11-year old's math homework while sipping on some Apple Pie Moonshine (don't judge), and took a moment to be thankful for a quiet, successful evening at home without strict workout requirements, appointments, or practices. 

Or bras.

So tonight's pic represents the quiet life. For now, at least. I put his registration form for basketball in the mail today. And just so you know, there is a whole different breed of people at the liquor store on a Tuesday early evening compared to the weekend...