The Durbins: Not so Fun Soccer

One of Claire's best friends at Mothers Day Out is Mason. So when Mason signed up for soccer, Claire begged me to sign her up. Her first practice was rained out, but she was so excited about soccer and was telling everyone about it. We bought her a cute pink and white ball, white and pink socks and of course pink shin guards. What can I say...my girl loves pink! When we woke up Saturday morning, she was eager to get dressed and out the door to head to soccer. The soccer field is about 20 minutes away and she talked my ear off the whole way there. We pulled up to the field and there were tons of people there. She was still excited, but I could tell she was a little hesitant getting out of the car. We picked up her cute yellow Happy Feet shirt and waited for the practice to start. The first 15 minutes Claire had a blast. Then it came time to play against another team. As they started the game, the ball came close to Claire and she reached down and touched it. Her coach politely reminded her that she could not touch the ball. That was it! She ran off the field into my arms crying. She kept repeating to me that her feelings were hurt. Her sweet friend Mason came over on the water break and tried to encourage her to get back on the field. She was not having it. I gently slid her down my leg and made her stand and watch the game. She continued to have tears run down her face and would not let go of my leg. My heart just broke. A few minutes earlier she was so excited and was all smiles and now she was telling me she never wanted to play soccer again. Being a mom is tough! When the practice was over, we headed home. She quietly begged me to not make her go back next week. Part of me wanted to tell her she had to go back next week, but another part of me wanted to tell her she could stay home. I told her that I would have to talk to her daddy and would let her know. Harry and I decided that we would let her stop soccer and we will try again next year if she wants to. She is 4. We have plenty of years ahead of us for her to play sports. Before she fell asleep for her nap, she asked again if she was going to have to go back to soccer. I felt so bad. It was almost like she could not rest until she knew that we were going to let her quit. After I told her she would not have to go back, it was like all her worries went away and she fell asleep.

I am so glad I got a few pictures of her on her first and only day of soccer this year. Maybe next year she will be ready to play again.