Safety Net

Posted bywordsandcoffee1Posted inMotherhood, Poetry, W3 PromptsTags:, , , , , , , , 
Balancing act above treetops
open arms welcome home,
not worried about the 
dangers, connections allow
surrender

I wrote this poem for the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt #134 at the Skeptic’s Kaddish. This week’s prompt was provided by Jennifer, who asks us to do the following:

  1. Form: Acrostic;
    • You may spell out the word “BOND” for your acrostic; any variation of this word (e.g. bonding, bound, bind); or any of its synonyms (e.g. connection, glue);
  2. Theme: Your poem should be about something or someone you are bound to or share a bond with. Alternatively, you may write about two or more things that are bound together.

I am fortunate to experience the carefree nature of my children every day. They’ve recently (all three!) decided to try hockey. I’m not a huge hockey fan, and the only real experience I have with it are watching a few games back in high school and cheering for one of my best friends who was on a local girls’ team when we were teens.

Still, I can’t help but associate the sport with broken bones and concussions. I’ve been telling the boys the last few weeks that it’s totally okay, maybe preferable, if we don’t take the sport any further than the learn to skate practices in town– certainly not to the competitive high school level– but I’m also learning to appreciate my kids’ love of sports and competition.

I have two left feet and a tendency for balls to hit me square in the face, so I’ve never been really into sports, besides the ones that are more individual (tennis, biking, track, and snowboarding were my go-to sports in high school; in snowboarding, you even have the advantage of strapping those two left feet together and falling head-over-heels onto glorious fluff, highly recommend). However, my kids love team sports!

I take comfort in knowing that they feel they can take risks because they feel comfortable in their family bonds. They know they’re supported in their choices and that they have a safe space to return to whenever the experience doesn’t go as hoped.

In a cool twist to show that the universe does (maybe?) know what it’s doing, that hockey friend from childhood that I mentioned earlier has recently moved near our area, and we’re going to get the families together later today. Her three kiddos, close in age to my three, also do hockey (of course!), and I’m sure that will come up in conversation. If it’s anything like our childhood convos, I’m sure she’ll be able to reassure me that hockey isn’t as dangerous as I’ve built it up in my mind. 🏒🙉💗

21 thoughts on “Safety Net”

  2. Aww this is so cute and sweet, they look absolutely adorable in their getups!! It’s great that you’re letting them try it out. all I know about hockey is from hockey romance books and that’s they the professionals tend to be super rich 😂 So i totally support your sons trying it out haha

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  3. Wonderful acrostic! I hear you about contact sports. My sons were not into many sports but I steered them away from football (too many head injuries). There wasn’t even a hint of a hockey team in our area so no issues. My BIL has a puck sized dent in his back from skating in front of a slap shot to save a goal when their goalie was down – it was the regional playoffs. Their team won but he had a couple cracked ribs and missed playing in the state final (which they lost). He grew up in Northern NY where HS hockey is big…

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    1. Ooh, ouch! At least your BIL can joke about it later, and it sounds like he saved the day! Urgent care in our town already knows us pretty well, so I’m sure we’ll make it through all the chaos of contact sports. But it does worry a mom! 😬 We’re just a few hours south of Canada, so we’re definitely in hockey country lol.

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      1. Oh yeah! Hockey is THE thing in northern WI, MN and even MI. Fortunately basketball is king in Indiana so I never had to think about dissuading my sons from participation. Glad you have good health care available – I hope you don’t have to make any hockey related visits!

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  5. My younger daughter played softball from age 7 through high school, and it was an excellent experience. Her Little League and high school teams were completely different but both were good at helping her to work with many kinds of people in many different roles.

    I’m glad you are supporting your childrens’ interests. It’s also nice that it’s something they can share. (K)

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    1. Thank you! I think there are so many wonderful skills they can learn from sports, so I can see the value and their own excitement. It’s been neat to see their growth over time, too, as their athletic abilities develop! I can imagine there were so many connections on the softball team with coaches and teammates, too, in all those years.

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    1. Soccer is great! My oldest loves soccer and hockey, and my younger two really like T-ball, football, and hockey. I’m finding that soccer is my favorite to watch; they play in the fall and spring when the weather’s nice, and it’s fun to watch.

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