Neighborhood Mom

There comes a time in everyone's life that they realize they have grown up. While I'm sure that I have had this moment many times over, today it happened again! I have decided that like it or not, I am the Neighborhood Mom. Now, this title holds the responsibility of having enough balls (soccer, football, basketball, baseball, etc) to go around for all 8 boys on my one little street. It also requires me to have enough fruit snacks and juice boxes available for a "break time" from playing.

I do enjoy this "responsibility" because in the end, I have to be outside either way if Super C and Sweet A want to play out front. As a side note, it does make me wonder at what age the kids will be when I am okay with letting them play out front without me....16 is a good age for that right? :)

Today while we were out front playing, the boys (ranging in age from 3-10) decided to play football...Super C being one of them. Now, Super C KNOWS what football is and says daily that he will be a football player for TX A&M, but when it comes to him actually playing it, he hasn't the slightest clue as what to do.

The boys decided to play tag football (thank goodness) in the street (oh yeah, Super C now gets to run and play in the street....WHAT?). So, they were hiking the ball and then passing it or running with it....Super C just chased whoever had the ball. (I laughed) Then when someone would get a touchdown, he would say "No, I don't think that is a touchdown". (Again, I laughed) My initial thought was that the boys would get annoyed with Super C playing like this (but wait.... his mom has the snacks and toys. Just kidding, I hadn't brought those out yet). So, I was helping Sweet A with a toy when I look up to see all the boys cheering Super C on while he ran passed each of them "so fast" and scored a TOUCHDOWN!!! He was SO HAPPY and the boys were genuinely happy for him.

It made me (and my heart) smile. All of the neighborhood kids that were playing come from a single parent home. 3 of them do not have dads around and their moms are always gone (thus why they are always at their Grandmother's house....our neighbor). Even though I could find the reasons why it bothers me to "have to watch" kids that aren't even mine, instead I decide to be thankful that I can help them have a great afternoon...even if it is just for 1 hour.

Then came the fruit snacks and juice boxes! :)