Back to Normal

Well, we are now 4 mths into our journey and I think it is safe to say we have hit our normal.. We definitely have our routines down and things are all falling into place. We have great friends and our kids have made some amazing friends and all in all we are very happy. Kids are all involved in something and it is keeping us busy like it did at home. The boys are playing baseball and are finishing up training season and about to start regular season. Jon is coaching them both with Carson playing up one level so that both boys are on the same team. Jon has never coached the boys and I believe that it is a wee bit challenging for him. The fact that "boys will be boys" and they have no attention span at this age it a mystery to him.. He keeps saying  "but Tatum and her team" referring to the softball girls he had coached since kindergarten.. I have to remind him that girls and boys are very different at this age and girls tend to listen and do where as boys may listen, may do.. but it will last for 10 mins and then their minds wander. It is killing him, but he is slowly understanding the mind of a 6,7,8, and 9 yr old boys.. not sure why he dosen;t get it since it is not much different from his attention span! :) Now, I think he is also struggling with the issue of his high expectations when it comes to baseball. I went thru this last year coaching T in basketball and it was hard for me given bball was my first love.. Since Jon was so successful in baseball I think he has expectations that are beyond the grasp of a little boy and because he seems to think he had this love, desire and discipline for the game at age 8 that our boys should too.. I think he is a little off and thinking he was more 11, 12 when all that came into play and remind him our boys are KIDS and when they fall in love with the game it will happen, but for now it needs to be fun. Easier said then done, right?
Now as for our little princess.. we have been on a rollarcoaster with her since we got here. she has settled in great at school, with friends and all in all she was doing well.. Soccer was more of a going thru the motions as she was intimated by the situation. She is the new girl on the block coming into a team that has been together for years and she was struggling with finding her place and role. She came from a spot where she was "queen bee" and she was praised for most that she did.. This is very different here.. not only is the game different but she is no longer top dog.. what a blow to her ego! We have reminded her that she is not the best player ( but could be.. ) but by far not the worst.. she just needed to assert herself and play the game without being intimidated. I will give her this.. they are playing a year up (2 yrs now for spring.. yikes) and the girls are big and fast, but she is capable if she puts her mind to it. That being said she was playing great one weekend and terrible another.. Jon and I were so frustrated, as one week she would play well and play alot, then the next it was back in the tank. We encouraged her to just go play like she loves the game and we were worried she was becoming disenchanted. We told her that we may have to move her as this team is expensive and the commute is long.. she understood, but was not willing to accept it.. that's all it took.. she went out the last 2 weeks and played great.. this weekend it finally clicked and she played so well. She was given many opportunities to shine and she did! She played, hard, fast and very aggressive and we Saw a glimpse of the old Tatum! We had countless parents not only from our team but from the other "bulls" teams comment on her speed and how great she was playing..  Then Monday rolled around and during the semifinals she played a fair amount in the first half, but didn't step on the field in the second. Now with this team in the past it would not have bothered her, (it happened over thanksgiving tournament, as her coach was trying to piss her off and she didn't care..)  at "home" she would have been furious.. When we got back to our team tent I could tell she was off a bit. she didn't really want to socialize and she even asked to go home. I pulled her aside and asked what was wrong.. her answer.."Im so pissed that i didn't get to play in the second half! " AMEN.. she cared, she was mad, her desire to play was finally stronger than just the desire to be a part of the team! Now, when I say mad.. i should say furious, angry.. I was proud of her for feeling that way. She was finally getting her fight back in her. I told her it was good to be mad and that she needed to ask her coach why she didn't play if it bothered her..She gave me a hug and then was pulled off to go hang out with some of the girls. As a mom I was so happy to see my child get her spirit back even thought I was sad for her. But she learned a big lesson over the last four months and hopefully it is all sinking in..
Now as for J and I.. we are both doing really well. We love it here and have made the comment more than once, unless something major happens we cannot see ourselves leaving. Our family is so close, we spend so much time outside and enjoy the sun and fresh air. Things are so laid back and we have become a little less stressed and slowed our life a tad. My anxiety is slowly going away and I feel free and happy here..