My husband lived for football as a kid. He played as a little guy, in middle school, in high school and even college. Football was his life until he blew his knee out during his sophomore year in college. He was sad to leave football, but knew it was the best choice for him physically. Since he’s always loved the game, he’s brought his four sons up loving the game. It just makes perfect sense, right? It’s funny – when I found out I was having our 1st son back in 2004, one of the first things I thought was that Matt would have a football buddy! Never mind 4 of them! It’s just really cool to see them ALL come together on game day and watch and cheer and love the game!

Since they’ve grown up loving the game, as you can imagine – they’ve been begging us to play football for years now… specifically my sons Alex and Ben. For various reasons we’ve never let them play. The main reason why we’ve held off is because my husband has been concerned about injuries and concussions for them. Our sons aren’t big kids, so it’s tough for him to justify letting them go out there and play when he knows there can be some risks involved. As mom… as you can imagine, I understand and agree with him. My husband has told them many times that when high school rolls around, he’d be open to tackle football then, but right now – he wants them to hold off. To see your child dying to do something and you just for good reasons can’t let him do it, it’s a difficult thing to stick with as a parent. We mean well, so it’s a tough balance.

Moving this summer was a REALLY big deal for our family. It wasn’t easy to make the quick switch and my sons took it in stride. They knew we were moving for them, but still… I knew it wasn’t easy. They were leaving lifelong friends. They were leaving everything that they knew. They were starting fresh in a new school and at tough ages! Not ONE of them complained about it, they all made the move with smiles and positive outlooks. It made me so happy as a parent. I made a deal with the kids that when we moved, I’d let them try out any new thing they wanted. I felt I owed it to them to try new things while we were in a new situation.

Guess what topped the list?

Football. But not tackle football, Flag Football.

Flag football is a version of football where the basic rules of the game are similar to those of the mainstream game (often called “tackle football”), but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier (“deflagging”) to end a down.

We’re not ready for tackle yet, but we compromised with flag football… and we found out that a bunch of their buddies at their new school play, so it was an easy thing to agree upon. We started yesterday and it was AWESOME for all of us to see and watch (and for the to play!). I’m not kidding, I teared up watching my son Alex grab the ball!

Watching William, Alex and Ben take the field today was awesome! It was like watching a dream come true because… it was for them!

There are times when you just need to find a way to make something work for your kids. It might not be exactly what they wanted, but it’s close. I loved seeing their faces light up. It’s also important to expose your kids to as much as you can. As crazy as life gets, it’s important for them to find their true passions and talents and loves.

Big lesson learned for me this weekend… and all of us were happy about it!