Play soccer, that is what Helena said she wanted to do. The idea of trucking around town to get to soccer games really did not appeal to me. Soccer would be one more activity to add to an already full plate, but Helena insisted. So I reasoned that she really seemed interested. She is fast and it would be a great way to burn off a lot of energy and learn about teamwork.
I truly love my little town here. We are very lucky. The schools are wonderful; there is a lot of opportunity for family activities and people are friendly. We have a community. However, amongst this community must fall some soccer - intense soccer. There are teams made up of five-year-olds that travel all over to play their games after school several times a week. I just couldn't fathom doing that especially since we weren't sure Helena would like soccer, and I knew that kind of schedule couldn't work for us right now.
Then I remembered we had received a YMCA flyer amongst some papers from Helena's school. Oh the wonderful Y, I found the flyer under a stack of paper. I was so happy to see that they had a soccer program for young children that was very low-key and met once a week. Awesomeness! However, the program had already been in session for a couple of weeks. Thankfully there was room on the roster. The program was so casual that Helena didn't even need soccer shoes or equipment, although I did run out and get her some shin guards. You really can't or maybe you shouldn't play soccer without those!
It was a rocky start at first. Helena thought that she should already know how to play soccer,and that she shouldn't make any mistakes. Actually this is how our little perfectionist approaches most things. Greg explained to her that she was supposed to be learning the game and that the coaches were there to help. I told her that when she made mistakes, she was learning. After a couple of practices, Helena relaxed and fought off the perfectionist bug. She had a great time and she was very fast.
Helena has announced that she wants to play soccer again. Time to get some soccer shoes.
Tommorrow: the dangers of last-minute gift crafting :-)
