Mighty Manic Moms

                                                                       



Many multi-tasking moms are motoring around town often wreaking havoc on their children's lives, as well as their own. When our older son was in grammar school one mom was so busy driving back and forth to all three of her children's after school activities, that she even kept a compact porta potty in her mini van.

I remember when both of our boys had conflicting baseball games. It was often difficult deciding which parent would go where. In the end, I was very lucky that my husband and brother helped us cover all the bases. In seventh grade our younger son played travel baseball. It was years before his growth spurt, and he was one of the smallest boys on the team. The coach was new to the park district, and even scheduled smaller practice sessions to provide additional help.

Shortly after, he became fiercely competitive by allowing only the best players up to bat. Though our son was a strong catcher, hitting was his weakness and the coach took his frustrations out on him during practices. When I noticed that some of the other boys were being treated the same way, I made a huge mistake. I sought out the other parents in the hope that we could approach the coach as a group. Hence, I became the team piranha, and it didn't help matters with my son. I could understand if he was playing for his school, but this was a paid  program where everyone deserved to play.

On the day of the last game, my husband took our older son for a college visit, so it was my final chance to clear the air. After everyone had left I sarcastically said to the coach, "Thanks for a great summer." This really set him off,  as he went on a huge tirade. I tried to respond calmly, and  was proud that my boy also stood up for us.

Months later I ran into the mother of one of his teammates. She told me that she heard everything from the parking lot, and her family didn't leave until they knew we were safe. Afterward, my husband wrote a letter to the park district commissioner. It's almost eight years later, and we're still awaiting a response.