Jump on that Crazy Train and Ride, Sister Ride!

I've been holding back, I absolutely know it, and my motives are purely selfish. I have gotten away with this behavior for nearly 15 years, but I used to be able to blame it on somebody else. ( like an Ex-Husband).

I have not jumped into the "(insert favorite sport here) Mom" role. Its not that I haven't embraced it, its that I have not really encouraged my children to participate in organized sports. Just like Octamom, I like my long baths, and my long books. I like my quiet time. I LOVE that my children will willingly go to bed at 7:00pm every night. I like that I'm not running all over the valley in crowds of disgruntled dad's who's major-league dreams never came true. I like that my leathery butt is not sitting on a bleacher bench only half clothed, pretending that I'm not swilling beer at my 10 year old's baseball game. There are alot of things about organized youth sports that are great, but I haven't found anything about it that I'm dying to participate in yet.

And so I find myself at a junction, where love for a child meets selfish attitude and I realize a decision must be made. I've written before about Gabriel and his Karate lessons. He LOVES Karate. And I think someday he will be quite good at it. But there's this sticky little caveat...he will only be good at it if we give him the opportunity to train to his best ability.

The past few weeks ( Christmas Break to be exact) we have "tested" the program. It has involved rearranging our schedule in ways I'm not entirely comfortable with, making good use of the "Crock-Pot", and extending bed time 'til 8:00pm (gasp!).

And this is what I've found. This works for us! (In fact, sitting outside the studio for an hour most evenings I've realized that Martial Arts just might be the thing I've been looking for in MY life. I've committed to joining the studio and attending lessons. Hopefully by this time next year I will find myself to be the owner of a small rainbow of belts.) I have seen our family come together to support one of our children in something that is very important to that child. Its wonderful to see him from the vantage point of "fly on the wall" train, learn, focus (sometimes) and work towards a specific goal.

We've decided to hop on this train and ride it. We don't know exactly where this journey will take us (although various trips to California and Arkansas are almost certainly in the mix) and we're not really sure exactly what this commitment will require of us as a family. But we've decided to make this commitment to him and his potential.

It is our hope that as an adult, our son will be able to look at his child-hood and know that Martial Arts helped form him into a respectful young man who knows how to set and achieve goals. But my greatest hope is that we as a family will have found a healthy ( both in body and in mind) activity that draws us closer together and helps us strengthen the bonds we already share.

So here goes! Friday is Gabriel's first testing day. I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be no turning back after he tastes success in acheiving his first goal-to earn a yellow belt. Better pack my bags, 'cuz I "Hear the train a comin' rollin' round the bend" (10 virtual points if you can tell me what song that is!) and I want to be on it with both feet before it leaves the station.