the girlchild took up basketball. in a lot of ways this is awesome; she's learning the ropes, getting to run around like a crazy kid a few hours a week, working out team dynamics, and having a good time. she's also a competitve girl, and i think sports are a great way for her to express that.
the thing is, i really hate basketball. all by itself, it's not a sport i enjoy, in any way; watching, playing, or hearing about it, i just hate it. while i'm all for taking her to practice and going to games, i find myself all jaw clenchy and irritated by the time they're done. the incessant smacking of the ball against the wood floor, the shrieks of pre-teen girls, all the "likes" and "ums" and older teen sisters talking about stupid shit and wearing the same skinny jeans and converse...it's all very, very annoying to me. i bring my knitting with me, so i have something to work on, and if i have to go to practice i listen to my ipod. i find it hard to feign interest in the game, and trying to remain supportive and smiley is hard work at times.
she knows i don't love basketball, but i do make sure to let her know that if she digs it, that's all i need to know. i'll take her to games and practice, make sure her little uniform is clean, and have dinner ready for her early, but is it so wrong to wish she was a mathlete?
3 comments:
I know how you feel. We are definitely discouraging football at our house. I can barely hang with baseball and that's all sunny, warm and hot dogs. There's no way I'm sitting at football games! Are there other parents at the practices to talk to (although I find the other parents are often worse than the teenaged older siblings, bleh)?
Ooh, man, the Parent Curse. You are handling it in an awesome way, though. I think that being as committed as you are (and honest about not being crazy about basketball) is perfect - you don't have to love it, but the fact that you're sitting in the stands (and not in the car or at home) is a huge, huge deal.
I was "nextblogging" and I found your blog and when I read this post I think I found my sport-hating soulmate. Only for us it is hockey. I HATE it so much. The kids LOVE it. The other parents are super fans and I feel like a total bitch for not relishing every second of it like they do. I'm glad I'm not the only one in the entire world.
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