Score!!!!

Two fabulous things happened today. Corin is back home with us safe and sound AND we had a successful soccer practice tonight. I tell you I did not know what to expect. After last week, I was a bit apprehensive. We left the house too early, and arrived at the turn to the soccer field about 10 minutes before practice. Not knowing how standing around waiting (like last week) would affect Evan, I actually drove past the field and into the neighborhood nearby to avoid any kind of unnecessary nerves. Once we arrived, a beautiful thing happened. Evan hung out with me for about 1 minute and then announced that he thought he'd go on out to the field. Beautiful! But, I didn't hold my breath. I thought certainly he'd be back with some kind of potty emergency or phantom illness. But, NO. He stayed out on the field for the entire practice. Not only that, but he appeared to be having, how shall I say this?... FUN. He was quite the participator and even appeared to win a couple of races (if that's what they were). I must admit that I was not riveted to the practice. I actually got to enjoy talking to some of the other moms. And sit in a chair. A very different experience indeed. At each water break, Evan came racing over to drink out of his spiderman water bottle, and then each time I told him the coach was ready for them to come back, out he went. I can't tell you how rewarding that was. And at the end of practice, I'm loading up our stuff and heading to the car when he asks, "Mommy, can I stay and play with Everett and Nate for a while?" Ummmm, certainly! At which point he spent 10-15 minutes playing football (American football, that is) with his friends from the team. I probably shouldn't mention that Everett's daddy accidentally drilled Evan between the eyes with the tiny, hard football. It wasn't his fault. He was trying to make sure Evan felt included, and Evan wasn't paying real close attention. But, I'll say this... that kid is a lot tougher than I ever was or ever will be. He didn't whimper. He came over to let me assess his wound, but he literally did not make a sound to convey his discomfort (read: pain).

Anyhow, now I am very cautiously optimistic about the chances he'll participate in his first game tomorrow. I'm still not sure that Evan fully grasps the fact that he should not steal the ball from or "tackle" his own teammates, but I guess that is what makes team sports so cute at this age. We shall see. I'll keep you posted.