A Football Photo

Last night, AJ had soccer practice, and they were doing a dedication of the new Ohain football field at the club. Monkey’s coach sent a message that all players were invited to be a part of the “photo” they would take as part of the inauguration ceremony before the first match at the new field.  I thought it would be really cool for the boys to be part of this. With our upcoming move, this would cement them in the history of our adopted home. What if they hang the photo in the new clubhouse? How cool that they could come back years later and find themselves in it.

Everyone had to wear purple soccer gear. AJ’s practice was at 5:30, and Luke was instructed to be there at 6. AJ’s coach said that they would have practice first, and join the festivities when they were finished (his practice finishes at 7). This should have been my first clue.

Not wanting to drive back and forth to the field, we came at 5:30 prepared for the duration. Miss B brought her doll, and her stroller, and her coloring books and for backup reserve, I had my iPod loaded with Blue’s Clues. (We are used to killing time at the football field.) The sun was warm and bright, and we had fun sitting in the stands watching everything around us. There was a party tent pitched by the field where the politicians were giving speeches and toasting glasses. A beer truck was attending to thirsty crowd goers.

But it was a school night. In the middle of a really busy week. Knowing we would be later than the already late usual, I was even more organized than my usual self. I had a dinner, ready in the oven at home. All I needed to do when we walked in the door was turn on the oven to Broil to melt the cheese on top. (Seriously – it’s the best recipe for a rushed night: Make some penne pasta, mix in a bolognaise sauce and a layer of mozzarella cheese across the top. All you have to do when you walk in the door is turn on the oven to broil. But be careful not to let the top burn – it goes from golden brown to black really fast. I usually make Monkey stand there and watch it.)

But I digress. We sat in the stands of the old field and played. And colored. And watched Blues Clues. And then the sun went down and it got cold. Monkey’s team was running around together. AJ’s practice was finishing up. There was lots of purple everywhere. Except for one group of older boys wearing green. This probably should have been my second clue, but I was too tired and cold to be rational about anything at this point.  

We made our way over to the new field where most of the crowd was gathered. I stood with other moms who were equally worried about dinner, unfinished homework and it being a school night.  And we wondered together, where was this picture going to happen? When was this photo going to take place? No one really knew. Eventually, all of the action moved to the new field. I found an old sucker in my pocket for Miss B.

The speeches concluded, the young players lined up. Finally, this was it. The moment we had all been waiting for, the photo.

It wasn’t a photo. They had all of the kids line up, and cheer on the players who were there to play the first match on the new field. I don’t even think they took a photo.

Ok, so it was cool. Sort of like at a Wild or Twin’s Game when they invite a group of kids onto the field – on a much smaller scale of course.

But it wasn’t cool enough to stand around in the cold, entertaining a bored, hungry four-year-old on a school night. But the silver lining, was that this didn’t happen because I misinterpreted something. The other moms all thought the same thing I did, that there was going to be a big historic photo, and there wasn’t. In the end it didn’t matter, we were home later than normal, but dinner was quick. Homework got finished. Bedtime was a little late, but the fresh air meant everyone fell asleep really fast. In the end, it could have been worse. It could have been raining.