Karma?

I just put my son down for a nap with a goalie mask in his crib. I was able to convince him that it would hurt to sleep in the mask, but I wasn't up for the fight that would occur if I tried to remove the goalie mask from the crib. It's one of those pick your battles situations. As I stare at the sight of my son sleeping with a helmet, I once again ponder if karma hasn't come back to bite me a bit.

Let's rewind a good fifteen years or so and visit the Ada-Borup High School gym. In grades 7-10, it was mandatory for everyone to take phy-ed. This did not bode well for me. It's been said that I could trip over a tape line on the floor--in fact, I believe I actually have tripped over said line on multiple occasions. Add to the fact that, to this day, I hate getting ready more than once in a 24 hour period and some of you may start to understand why I dreaded the sound of the bell that lead me down to the locker room and then into the gym.

The state of Minnesota tried its best to make sure I got my physical activity five times a week. However, I had other ideas. I must admit that it took me a couple years to truly figure out my system. I was always the one put way out in the outfield during softball. Everyone knew that I should be placed next to someone who could cover my area as well as their own during volleyball. There was truly no sport that I was even slightly skilled at helping my team. Then one day it came to me, no male gym teacher is going to argue when you say you have cramps. It was like a light had shone down from the sky and to show me the way. Poor Mr. Hann--pretty sure even he caught on to me at some point, but no way was he asking for evidence. 

Then during my freshman year, I started getting daily headaches that made me fairly miserable. The one bright spot--another excuse to sit out of gym class. This one even had an official doctor's note to back it up. Don't get me wrong, I would've gone through the torture of gym every day if it would've ended the headaches. At that point, I pretty much would've done anything to get a break from them. Since they were going to be a part of my daily life for years, I just considered this a slight silver lining on an otherwise dark cloud.

At this point, you are probable wondering what this has to do with anything. Let's jump back into the present. Here's a rundown of a typical day at my house. Kade gets up, we watch Mickey, eat and then it starts. Mommy, mommy play hockey. Mommy, mommy shoot baskets. Mommy, mommy golf. Mommy, mommy baseball. Throw in some football, soccer and occasional tennis (played with a kitchen strainer as a racquet is one of the few pieces of sporting equipment we are missing in this house) and you have a pretty clear picture of the majority of the day. Add to it the fact that Kade only moves at top speed. One of his favorite phrases to shout out is, of course, "Mommy run!" Plus the child is surprisingly fast for a two year old. This is not the observation of a proud mommy who thinks she has an Olympic runner on her hands. This is the observation of anyone who has to try to keep up with the boy on any form of excursion. Of course, he also has an equally unnerving amount of endurance and stamina for a child his age. Kade truly is a bundle of energy.

As I spend my days attempting to keep up with my born athlete, I wonder if this is the universe's way of creating balance. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that I have such an active child. It's great that he shows so much interest in sports and that he appears to have a great deal of natural talent (which obviously didn't come from me).  There is not one thing I would change about Kade as I'm his mom and I believe him to be perfect just the way he is. However, I'm starting to doubt that it's a complete coincidence that the girl who went through great lengths to be sitting in the stands reading a book (or two or three) instead of out playing on the court is now the mom who has to pitch a baseball to a two-year old because he already refuses to hit it off the tee. It seems I should've spent more time learning to hit, pitch, kick and shoot as my life now revolves around these skills. It appears that you should think twice before forging notes to get out of gym class as the universe has a funny way of maintaining balance.