If It’s Thursday, It Must Be Soccer Practice
Thursday night soccer practice for Lily has quickly become the highlight of my week. I didn’t think that would be the case when I found out her weekly practice would be on the one night of every week that the girls are with me. But that was before I found out just how much Lily is into soccer this year.
This fall is Lily’s second experience with soccer. She played on a three-year-old team last fall, but that was mostly looking for flowers and talking with friends. This year is a different story, however. When she’s at practice, she’s totally focused. She does what the coach says, she tries her hardest at everything, and she doesn’t cry when she falls down or misses a goal.
Not that Lily falls down much this year. Her coordination, speed, and dexterity are dramatically improved over last fall. She’s not the strongest player on the team and she’s still pretty shy about going after the ball on game day, but her athleticism this year over last is pretty impressive.
The best part is that she’s having a blast. She loves soccer. And I love that she’s found something she likes so much.
Meanwhile, Hannah and I get to hang out on the sidelines. Sometimes we read (Hannah: chapter books, me: Twitter), sometimes we kick around her soccer ball. I keep an eye on Lily practicing, but most of my attention is focused on Hannah. Sometime soon I’ll have blog about spending one-on-one time with the girls. It’s not easy to do so as a single parent, but it’s so important.
One caveat: Thursday night logistics aren’t easy. I have to leave work by 4pm in order to pick up Lily from preschool, pick up Hannah from aftercare, feed everyone dinner, and make it to soccer practice by 6pm. I waited until after practice for dinner one night, and that bombed. I knew it wouldn’t work to start cooking at 7:30 when we got home from practice, so we went out. I had just about the best service you can imagine at O’Charley’s, but the girls were bouncing off the walls by the time we left–and they still had to take showers when we got home. That was a long night.
A quick dinner at Subway before practice works. And tonight, I had the bright idea to do a picnic dinner. Before work this morning I made sandwiches, packed chips, and made some fruit salad (yummy, yummy). Put everything in a cooler, along with some drinks, and stored it in the fridge at work all day. When I picked up the girls, we went to a little city park near Hannah’s school, found a picnic table, and had a fun, relaxing dinner in the late afternoon sun. I had wanted to do the picnic thing for a few weeks. I’m glad I finally made the time!