Wednesday, September 9, 2009


Sigh~ The other night I had a choice. It should not have been a difficult one, and in the end, it unfortunately wasn't. Does this sound contrary? Well hear me out. My son, has made the soccer team at his high school. He's a sophomore. His frame is very thin, but his heart is huge. He's made every tryout time, every practice, has perfect grades, a super sense of humor, and is an all around lovely young man - yes, I have been told this by many, not in my family, but by various people with whom he has just spent some time. I was so happy he made the varsity soccer team. He ran hard, played hard and is sitting on the bench hard after all that work. It breaks my heart. We tell him to talk to his coach or assistant coach and ask then to give pointers on how he can improve his game. They've given some advice, of which he's taken gladly and respectfully...yet still, a cold butt on a cold bench with a few others who are going through it as well is the result.

I went to the pre-season tournament games, which, by the way, were away games. I went to their first game which was about 40 mins away. They lost. The next game was at home. This was just on Wednesday. I was all set to go. I had already worn in my new WalMart stadium seat that has saved one person in our family from having a cold arse.. lol.. Then.. after I fed my son a nutritious, carbolicious dinner, just in case he was called upon to defend his team, I gathered the "ingredients" to start a new project; a small birdhouse. I gathered a lot of materials from my studio and messed up my dining room (much cooler). I armed myself with glue sticks, a wooden birdhouse, gesso, sandpaper, glossy enamel paints, paint brushes of all sizes, paper towels, sea shells, jars of store bought pebbles and, hey.. isn't that enough?? I started this project. I had no clue where it would lead, what the outcome would be, when I would finish. Time was of the essence since the soccer game was at 7:00. I would need to claim my spot shortly on that dreaded aluminum bench along with my other stadium seated soccer parent buddies. Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock .. (I had already dropped him off for early warm-ups etc) The house had only the sound of Fox News chatter and distant dogs barking as the sun was readying to set. My eyes reluctantly darted with hesitance at the clock.. Oh MAN! I need to get going..but that glue gun was so much fun.. the hot glue burning my finger skin was a sensation that was I had missed, weirdly and stupidly. OUCH!.. that's %@# HOT! Crap! and then quickly back to burying my face in the small dyed sea shells of which I had bought eons ago at God knows what craft store, plucking out my next victim to be hotly burned onto the primed birdhouse.

Geeez! What am I doing? Why can't I get my body to move toward my purse and out the door to the car? What kind of Mom AM I? pluck, burn, dig, place, admire.. I just could not break away!!! This is what we crafters/artist are known for; losing sight of anything around us other than what craft is at hand. The smell, the excitement of something new and never created before. The idea that I could sell this thing at my next craft fair, the promise to myself that this birdhouse will be the start of many more natural looking homes for our feathered friends.. it was more than I could take to break away from all these sensations. Soccer? Son? Stadium Seats? Who cares? He won't be playing.. Of course, it would figure if he was put in the game and would make a game saving stop ...and I I would have missed it. Double sigh. Triple sigh! Oh well.

7:00 pm came and went but I finished my tedious, teensy shell appliques in time to go pick up my precious boy. All the regulars asked me, "Where were you? Were you sitting somewhere else tonight? How come you weren't here? We missed you! I put on my best deceitful facade and said, "OH. I wasn't here, I HAD this important art project to finish." "Oh," they replied bewilderingly. I'm certain they were wondering, what kind of Mom misses her son's HOME soccer game for an ART project?

My boy did not play, He says it was fine that I didn't go. I was simultaneously thrilled that I finished this zany birdhouse and sick and embarrassed that I could not control my urges to finish a silly home for birds to go watch my son's team win 1 zip. Maybe, maybe, JUST mayBE.. I'm bad luck at the games?. Well, I can't bring myself to say it was worth it, but boy have I gotten the compliments on this thing since I've completed it.

Next home game, though, I'll be there screaming and yelling and making up for time lost on those cold bug lit grooved stands. I cannot wait!.. Next project.. river pebbles and sheet moss. I will NOT start it on a game day. I promise!

Susie

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