Surviving Football with Littles!

Looking at the calendar, football season is upon us. For many young children, attending their first football game is a rite of passage. That is unless you're a coach's kid and you've been attending football games since you were in the womb. It's no secret that the season can be a challenge when you have a little one running around, especially if that little one has multiplied into more than one!

In all honesty, there are times when it's hard to enjoy the season when you're juggling little ones, taking care of the house, and working full time. In my community of coach's wives, I have people ask all the time how do you navigate the chaos of the season with kids. My answer, you just have to find what works for you. Having been at the Division I level for three seasons, I can tell you that what works for you at one school may not work for you at the next school. We are currently at a smaller Division II school now, so I have found a little more freedom.

Nonetheless, I would like to offer some of my life saving hacks on surviving the season, with a smile, and two little boys.

1. Enjoy summer and the downtime. 

We enjoy a lot of time as a family before camp starts. You can make this small activities around town and simply having family game nights or movie nights at home. You can also take one last weekend getaway before football steals daddy away.

2. Communicate with your kids.

My five year old is gaining a better understanding of what it means when camp rolls in and the season starts. It helps him to enjoy the time that he does get to see dad. 

3. Take the kids to see coach as much as your time, and his time, allows.

Towards the end of camp I always take the kids up to watch practice and see dad. My boys love being around the team and at the field. The last Sunday of camp the team attends church and we also go. It just another moment for our family to bond with our football family. If my boys are really missing dad and it's been a few days since they've seen him, we pop in the office and just visit for a little bit. They get just enough of dad time to fill their love tanks and then they are happy campers again.

4. Set up play dates.

If you have other wives on staff with young children, set up play dates! Enjoy the adult conversation and the time to unwind.

5. Set a routine. Live the routine. 

As any parent knows, children flourish on structure. Fall camp means back to school as well, so when camp starts, we start our back to school schedules. Our evenings fall back into the usual regimen:gym(for mom of course), dinner, bath, bedtime. This can prove challenging during the season because sometimes they want to stay up to see daddy, but I try to stay consistent with bedtimes. As I mentioned earlier, if dad has made it home three nights in a row without seeing the boys then we will make a visit to the office and see dad.

Now, switching gears, lets talk about hanging with little during the season!

Here are some life hacks on handling football games with littles, like a boss!

1. If your children are young, invest in noise cancelling headphones. As the season progresses and it gets cooler you can swap out headphones for ear muffs or neoprene headbands. Both of these will provide noise reduction as well as keep the ears warm.

2. Dress for the weather.

When the season begins, we are usually plagued with smoldering hot conditions! Kids need sunscreen and hats. I also dress mine in dri-fit so they stay cool. As the weather cools off, be prepared for cooler temps. At kick off it might be sunny and 78, but as the sun goes down and it cools off to the 50s or 60s, chances are that you'll need a jacket or long pants for the littles. 

3. If you don't have stadium seating, invest in a good set of stadium seat pads! They will change your life! Especially when that one year old starts to snooze during the fourth quarter and you need to lean back.

4. Fill the sleep tanks!

If we have an early kick off I will wake the boys up early so that they can take an earlier nap. If we don't kick until 6:00, I let the boys sleep in later thus they take later naps. Nap time is everything and we never miss a nap time on a Saturday. 

5. Snacks/Drinks

Pack snacks and drinks! I know this luxury isn't an option for everyone, but if your stadium has more lenient rules then take advantage! I use a plastic container with compartments. You can find these at Hobby Lobby and Joann's. They make packing snacks so easy!

6. Electronics

I pack iPads for a security measure. Just in case we get antsy, I can put on Netflix and they're manageable for another good hour or so.

7. Help kiddos understand the game.

Our oldest is five now and he's taking more of interest in the game. This gives us a chance to bond and they learn about what daddy does all day. We read children's books about football so we can talk about what is happening on the field. One day he will impress his daddy with all his knowledge. 

8. Avoid strollers.

On a regular day, I am all about strollers. However they are not ideal for a stadium. If you have young little ones, I would suggest baby wearing. If you've never worn your baby, this is a good time to start! Your hands are free. Baby is usually pretty happy being snuggled up to mom. You don't have to worry about an escape from the stroller. (Side note: both of my boys were Houdini when it came to getting out of their strollers.)

If you see a fellow coach's wife struggling to wrangle in her herd at games, lend her a hand. She may not thank you immediately but in her heart she will! The saying holds, "it takes a village." It truly does and in coaching, your football family is your family. 

Jesus said LOVE.

When I first decided to create a blog, I never imagined I would be sitting here deciphering my emotions towards all the violence that is happening around us. Every post I've ever written has been about our awesome life in the fabulous world of football, but today is a little different.

My husband will tell you that I spend too much time on social media, and well, I can agree with that. With that said, I sit behind this computer screen with a heavy heart today. I think our nation as a whole has a heavy heart today.

As a white woman, I have a different perspective to the systemic race problem our nation faces. It's not just against blacks, but every minority race. As a white woman married to a black man, and raising young mixed boys into strong black men, I have an even different perspective.

Life is all about perspective and point of view. No two people's lives are the same. No two people react to a situation the same. No two people face the same struggles.

America, we lack perspective. We lack understanding and compassion. We lack empathy. We lack love. Jesus said love.

While I, like every other American, do not know every fact of the Alton Sterling shooting or the Philando Castile shootoings, I do several other facts.

Fact #1: RACIAL PROFILING IS REAL.
Racial profiling happens every day- both subconsciously and consciously.
America racially profiles Blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, Asians. Your very own Donald Trump racially profiles Hispanics. It happens. Understand that. Accept that and then we can move forward with change.

Studies show that police are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped. THAT is racial profiling!

Fact #2

In 2012, 51% of Americans expressed anti-black sentiments in a poll; a 3% increase from 2008. Now, I am not a math person, but I do know that more than half of our nation has issues with Black America. I would feel safe in assuming that if they have those sentiments towards Blacks then they have the same feelings toward other minorities.

Fact #3

The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance. Since I have two young boys, this stat really hits home. No, I don't need your sympathy or compassion. My boys have a good father. As parents we will raise our children and we will teach them respect, integrity, and character. However, that does not change the fact that they are 26% more likely to see jail time over a white kid. Black males lose their life and get incarcerated unjustly based on the color of their skin, their sagging pants, their "gang" tattoos EVERY SINGLE DAY. That is not to say that it doesn't happen to every other race, but it a greater percentage among the black community.

For you to deny that this exists in our nation, is pure ignorance on your part.

Fact #4:

Our nation needs more compassion and love. Yes, white people can sympathize and have compassion for Black America;, however, it is impossible to understand their feelings and their lives if you are white in America. 

Former house speaker Newt Gingrich summed up my thinking nicely. Here is an excerpt of his thoughts. The full article is linked below.

"It took me a long time, and a number of people talking to me through the years to get a sense of this," said Gingrich, who served as speaker from 1990 until 1995 and who represented an Atlanta-area congressional district for two decades.

"If you are a normal white American, the truth is you don’t understand being black in America," he said.

White Americans "instinctively underestimate the level of discrimination and the level of additional risk," he said.

LA Times: Newt Gingrich

Now as a coach's wife, I spend a lot of my time with black athletes and love each one as my own. I hear their stories and watch as people in their community racially profile them based on skin color. I watch them act in certain ways that they are "expected" to act based on the color of their skin.

If you missed Jesse William's speech from the BET Awards, I would recommend giving it a listen. Jesse William Speech

In closing yes all lives matter, but don't get on a soap box for #alllivesmatter when you never acknowledged #blacklivesmatter. If you support #alllivesmatter then you should support #blacklivesmatter and #policelivesmatter. Don't assume that racism is history when it is in our present and sadly will be in our future. 

The beautiful things about our nation, we have the freedom to have differing perspectives. With that freedom, we must learn to respect the opinions of others.