note: I wrote this way back in 2010 when I first started blogging. As I get ready to head to the Steelers Game tonight with BOTH my sons (and it is most certainly not snowing), this post still holds true. Possibly even more true because I am going to be sandwiched in between both my boys and loving every messy minute. Even though my sons are getting older, bigger, and wiser than me – they will always be my boys.
12/2010 – Just a little tribute to being a mother of boys……
Tomorrow is a special day – I am going to the Steelers Game with my oldest son: It does not matter who they are playing (well maybe a little – it is the Jets & potentially the game of the year). It does not matter that it is going to be 20 degrees and starting to get dark at 4:15; it does not matter that I have a list a mile long for Monday Morning; all that matters, is that I am going to the Steelers Game with my oldest son. A few years ago, I started a tradition with my oldest son (his religion is sports) of going once a year to the Steelers Game – just the two of us. It all happened by chance. We were given two tickets to a December game, and I decided to take JB as a special treat because his birthday is in December.
There was a certain magnitude to the event, and I am not speaking about the absolute magnitude of Heinz Field on Steelers Sunday. If you have ever been to Pittsburgh or Heinz Field on a Football Sunday, you know what I am talking about. If you have not witnessed this first hand, let me explain there are football fans and then there are Steelers Fans. As Pittsburghers, we are born with football in our blood – We are a part of Steelers Nation. The whole ground shakes around Heinz Field during a game because the crowd simply goes crazy! The city pulsates with anxiety and excitement during Steelers Games.
On this particular Sunday a few years back, the ground was not just shaking because of the fans, but also because my heart was pounding full of love and adoration. As the mother of two boys, I cannot say that I have never mourned the loss of not being able to go to American Girl Cafe or the Princess Breakfast at Disney World. BUT, on that Sunday, I would have not been anywhere else except in the freezing cold, snow, and dusk under a blanket, drinking hot chocolate with my oldest son. We were cheering, screaming, and huddling close to stay warm when I realized that I had to make this an annual event. Here was a connection that would last a lifetime! We were talking plays, statistics, and players. JB was explaining the game to me even though I have a pretty thorough understanding. I made him feel like a VIP with his football knowledge.
Sports is my religion now, too. It is the connecting force between my sons and me. Every once in a while, I have to borrow one of my friend’s daughters for a little nail painting, but I am fully immersed in the sports culture now. It is where I belong.
That is why tomorrow is so important, it is JB’s and my annual Steelers Date that I would not miss for anything! I might get frost bite and knocked around by some crazy Steelers Fans, but at the end of the day, I will be huddled under the blanket with JB.
Thankfully, it is not cold, but sunny and warm today for the 7:30 p.m. Steelers Preseason Game…and, I look forward to new memories not under the blanket, but eating pizza in the tailgate of the car and watching the Steelers under the starry sky with the whole gang.
Rachel, I loved this. Being the mother of 3 boys I can so relate to what you write here. Those fabulous moments where we bond with our sons are worth gold. I’ve just spent a couple of hours playing Dungeons and Dragons with mine and even though I’m not so good, that really doesn’t matter. Being on the same team is priceless. Thanks for sharing.
Fiona Stolze
http://fionastolze.wordpress.com