"Soccer Mom"

So I'm finally getting indoctrinated into the ways of AYSO.  It's a bit late, I'm finding out, as my first-grader's team-mates have already been at this for a couple years.  There have been a multitude of opportunities to embarrass myself.  It all started when my 42-year-old eyes misread the snack assignment list, and I showed up to the first game (bright and early on a Saturday morning) bearing a cooler filled with a gourmet assortment of mini-sandwiches which I had whipped my husband into assembling at 7 am.  We also cut melon wedges and packed the cooler with a variety of drinks.  We arrived "on-time" to discover that the kids, having already practiced for half an hour, were discussing strategy with their coach.  Then, we saw another cooler there, which I figured must have just been for the coach's personal use.  When it was opened at "quarter" time, the kids swarmed around the little bottles of water and mixed bag of chips inside.  Eventually I was advised that I wasn't due for providing snacks until the end of the season and to keep the snacks "simple" and be easy on myself.  So it was the coach's turn to bring snacks.  I spent the next quarter trying to explain how my silly aging eyes read the coach's last name as mine.  The next time, my faux pas was donning my son in full uniform for week night practice.  Moron, two for two.   Can't wait to see what I'll do next time.

Now I understand what my friend meant three years ago when he advised me to enroll my kids in AYSO before age 5.  It was so I wouldn't be the "Freak Mom" on the team when he is 7.  But it is quite overwhelming, indeed a big deal, and parents have a lot of duties, and there is a lot to do and a lot to think about.  I think by the end of the season, I will have had my first training toward running for vice president of the USA.