Despite the frigid temperatures, freezing rain and even snow that lasted through the end of April (yes, just a mere four days ago), it has officially been spring since March 20. These past six weeks certainly haven’t felt like it, that’s for sure. But being the astute observer that I am, I knew it was really spring all along because (a) I’m smart like that and (b) these six tell-tale signs gave it away:
- My car smells like ass (thanks to stinky equipment and smelly boys).
- There is grass, mud and turf on the floors of my house.
- There are gnawed mouth guards and half-filled water bottles strewn about the garage.
- There are piles of sweat-drenched, foul-smelling clothes filling the laundry room.
- The occasional dirty cup (not the drinking kind!) has been left behind on the kitchen counter more than once. (Gross, I know.)
- The family calendar is booked solid, thus requiring lots of schedule coordination, carpools and kid-swapping.
This is spring in the Tarr house. Spring is lacrosse season and in our house, lacrosse is life. If the boys aren’t playing it, they’re watching it. If they aren’t watching it, they’re talking about it. We have scheduled birthday celebrations, family events and even religious ceremonies around the lacrosse schedule.
Our youngest fell out of love with lacrosse last year, after four-straight losing seasons. And to clarify, by losing I mean shut outs and double-digit deficits, so it’s completely understandable. He is only 12, after all, and defeats like that take a toll on the psyche. But somehow, on his own accord, he found his groove again and is back to happily playing with his buddies. Score one for patience and a can-do attitude.
Our oldest, on the other hand, has never fallen out of love with the sport. He plays virtually year-round, despite being a multi-sport high school athlete. This year, he pushed hard and made the starting Varsity high school squad as a freshman, so big ups to him. [Yes, that was an unabashed #humblemombrag, but it shows you how important lacrosse is to him.]
My husband, too, is all about lacrosse during the spring (it could have something to do with his alma mater being a big lacrosse school), but me? Not so much. I do enjoy watching my boys play, but I’m a bit of a fair-weather fan. I spend the first few week of the lacrosse season huddled under a blanket or umbrella, cheering my boys on while cursing Mother Nature and stressing about how much work I’m missing while sitting in the bleachers or driving all over Chester County. Then, I spend the next three months complaining that it’s too hot and the metal bleachers are giving me third-degree burns as I sit under the scorching sun through the dog days of July.
So how does an anxious, busy mom handle the extended lacrosse season? With lower standards for a clean house and car, a case of Febreeze, a warm blanket, big umbrella and good sunscreen, and most importantly, as I’ve written about before, a solid group of sideline sisters and bleacher bros because it really does takes a village — both to get it all done and to help keep my sanity. Case in point: After I hit send on this blog post, I’ll be rushing off to drop the younger kids at practice before driving across town to watch another kid play in his rivalry game. Good times! Thankfully, it’s a beautiful night for lacrosse.
– LJDT
