Sports Mom Confession: Can We Please Slow Down Time?! ⚾🥎⚽
As if being a mom isn’t busy enough… let alone a sports mom!
Apparently, keeping three kids alive, fed, dressed, and somewhat organized while running between practices, games, school, and work just isn’t enough to keep my brain occupied. No, no. We have to plan for EVERYTHING. And not just what’s happening this week. We’re talking months ahead!
Here we are in the middle of fall sports, freezing our tails off on the sidelines, and somehow I’m already knee-deep in winter sports registrations. And just when I think I can take a breath, spring sports planning comes flying at me like a baseball straight to the head.
Then comes the tournament planning, spring break trips, summer vacations, summer tournaments, hotel reservations, and figuring out how on earth we’re going to be in three different places at the same time.
LORD, my brain is tired just thinking about it!
Why Are We Like This?!
I have a theory that there are more moms out there like me — the planners, the organizers, the ones who need to know what’s happening three, six, or even nine months from now just to feel like life is somewhat under control.
And listen, I get it. If we don’t plan ahead, the tournaments fill up, the hotels get booked, registration closes, and suddenly we’re scrambling to figure everything out. So, naturally, we start planning the next season before we’ve even finished the current one.
And guess what? I am absolutely guilty.
As I write this, I have already registered everyone for winter sports, and most of their spring sports are locked in, too.
WHO AM I?! And why does my brain function like this?!
I should probably be proud of myself for being organized. Instead, I’m sitting here wondering if I’ve accidentally found a way to fast-forward my own life.
Planning Ahead Is Stealing My Present
Here’s the thing about always looking ahead: it can make you forget to enjoy where you are right now.
We spend so much time planning the next season that we barely have time to appreciate the one we’re in. We’re sitting at a fall baseball game thinking about spring tournaments. We’re watching soccer in October while researching summer vacation rentals. We’re cheering from the sidelines while mentally calculating hotel costs and figuring out who needs to be where six months from now.
Sound familiar?
And somewhere in the middle of all that planning, life keeps moving.
Our kids are growing. Their interests are changing. Their schedules are getting busier. One day, they need us to help tie their cleats, and before we know it, they’re handling their own equipment, making plans with friends, and asking for rides to places we’ve never even heard of.
Okay, maybe that last part is just the beginning of my future!
But seriously, I know these days are flying by. And while I love watching my kids chase their dreams, try new sports, make memories, and build friendships, I also know there will come a day when our calendar isn’t quite so full.
A day when we aren’t spending every weekend at a ballfield, gym, soccer complex, or tournament hotel.
And I have a feeling that when that day comes, I’ll miss a whole lot of this chaos.
Even the parts that currently make me want to hide in the pantry with a snack and a calendar.
My Promise to Myself (And Maybe You, Too!)
So, as I sit here writing this blog — with winter sports registered and spring sports already mostly planned — I’m making myself a little promise.
I’m going to try to slow down.
Not stop planning altogether. Let’s be realistic here. That would probably require an intervention.
But I want to be more intentional about enjoying the season we’re actually in instead of constantly racing toward the next one.
I want to enjoy the games, the car rides, the conversations, the team friendships, the weekend tournaments, and even the ridiculous moments that come with being a sports family.
I want to remember that not every minute needs to be productive, every weekend needs to be planned, or every vacation needs to be booked a year in advance.
Sometimes, we just need to take a breath and enjoy the moment we’re standing in.
Even when that moment involves sitting on a freezing metal bleacher at 8 a.m. wondering why we didn’t choose an indoor sport.
A Little Sports Mom Survival Tip
Speaking of freezing… if this past weekend taught me anything, it’s that we need to be prepared for the cold-weather sports season!
Those blanket wraps and rechargeable hand warmers are an absolute MUST. Trust me, your future frozen self will thank you!
If you haven’t already, check out my previous blog on sports-mom essentials for all the gear that helps make those long days on the sidelines a little more comfortable. Because if we’re going to spend our weekends outside, we might as well be warm while doing it!
Let’s Enjoy the Season We’re In
To all my fellow sports moms, planners, organizers, and calendar-loving mamas: I see you!
I know we plan ahead because we want to give our kids the best experiences possible. We want them to have the opportunities, the tournaments, the vacations, the friendships, and the memories.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But let’s not get so caught up planning the next season that we forget to enjoy this one.
The registrations will get done. The tournaments will get booked. The bags will get packed. And yes, we will probably continue to live out of our cars for the foreseeable future.
But our kids are only this age once. These seasons are only here for a little while. And as exhausting as the chaos can be, someday we might find ourselves wishing we could go back to just one more weekend of it all.
So here’s your reminder — and mine — to take a breath, put the calendar down for a minute, and enjoy the game you’re watching right now.
Even if your toes are numb, your coffee is cold, and you have absolutely no idea what’s for dinner.
Because the goal isn’t just to get through all these seasons. It’s to actually enjoy them while we’re living them.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check my calendar… JUST KIDDING! I’m trying to work on that!
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