emotional basket cases

It has been a real long time since I posted anything. Football finally wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Mason's team ended up doing pretty good finishing 3rd in the district. I think their end of the season record was 6 -1-1. He ended up loving football and is really looking forward to next year. He played quarterback on the c team and scored at least 4 touchdowns during the season. He kept wanting me to record him throwing the ball, but I never had the camera running when he did. It is hard to anticipate when the play is a throwing play and when it isn't.

Mason tried out for basketball last week. He said there were about 100 kids trying out for about 30 spots. He made the b team. He was very excited about that. Right now he is in fear of one of the coaches and isn't too happy about that. He has complained about this coach since football season started. He says all he does is yell and he can't stand him. He is scared of him. The last couple of days Mason has been home "sick". Monday I got a call from the nurse saying he threw up at school. He stayed home Tuesday and then this morning I got a call from the nurse saying he was sick. I went and picked him up and finally determined he isn't really sick. He is scared of the mean coach at practice. They are having to run the width of the gym 6 times in 30 seconds. He says he can barely make it in 30 seconds and they have moved the time down to 25 seconds. He was crying and yelling saying he couldn't do it and the coach is going to kill him. He will have to stay after practice and do it over and over until he gets it done. He doesn't want to be punished by this man. I brought him back up to school and told him to deal with it. I don't really know how to handle this. Why coaches have to be so mean sometimes I really don't understand. I know part of it is okay, but there is a line that I think some of them cross. What worries me is if Mason can't handle it, I don't know how Tanner will ever handle it.

I had Tanner's parent teacher conference and his teachers told me they are concerned because he cries a lot in class. He will be in Jr. High next year and they don't want him to be teased. Tan has complained all year about his teacher and how he doesn't like her. He says she yells all the time and he thinks she is stressed out. I couldn't get him out of bed one day because he was crying and saying he didn't want to go to school. This has never happened. He wasn't even the crying, clingy type of baby when I dropped him off at daycare.

Why are my boys so sensitive? I know I have always been sensitive, but I don't remember it interfering with my school or sports. How do you teach your kids not to let one person ruin things for them?

Independence

This Christmas Brad wanted to get the boys a mini dirt bike. I wasn't really happy with it, but like a lot of things in this house my opinion doesn't mean too much because I am the only female. There are lots of things I just don't get like guns, laughing at noises that the boys make with their bodies, talking about body parts etc..... Anyway, we got them the dirt bike. Once I saw the boys ride it I wasn't too concerned. It really didn't go too fast and they did wear helmets. Brad even agreed with me on making them stay off the roads. We have a bayou behind our house and a pond in the neighborhood. This gave them a safe place to ride. Then one day I got home and Brad was trying to figure out how to make the bike faster. Why!? He succeeded and now the bike goes much faster than I am comfortable with. The boys have also found a new place to ride. We had a public golf course that closed down during the summer. The bayou behind our house runs to the golf course. They like to ride to the old golf course now. I am not real comfortable with it, but I am not sure if I am being too protective. Part of me likes the idea of the boys getting to do what boys should do. But the mommy in me is scared they are going to get hurt. Last Sunday, Mason told me he was going to the golf course and ride. I made sure he had the cell phone. A little time had passed and Mason called crying, saying the bike had broken down and he was really far from home. Then the phone died. I tried to call him back, but it went straight to voice mail. I got in the truck with Tanner and drove down the bayou to where you can't go any further because there is a gate. Then Tanner and I walked to find Mason. At first I wasn't too nervous, but as I called for him and didn't hear him I got more and more scared. Finally we saw him. I told Tanner to run to Mason and for them to go to the building at the front of the golf course and I would come with the truck and pick them up. I ran, yes I ran, to get the truck and drove to the front of the golf course. The kids weren't there. I got really scared. I imagined someone had stolen them both. (although I know they wouldn't keep them for long) I rode all around that place looking for them. I finally decided to go home and guess who was there? Those crazy boys pushed the bike all the way home. I asked Tanner why they didn't stay and he said he forgot what I had said.

Then today the boys went with their neighborhood friends to the old golf course to play war. Brad and I rode our bikes out there and spied on them. They were fine and just having a blast. I am not sure how much independence you let the kids have. Do all moms feel this way when your babies are growing up?