Today was Klara’s first soccer practice! Once we found out registration was open, we asked her if she would rather continue doing ballet or if she wanted to try soccer. She loves going outside and kicking a ball around so I wasn’t suprised when she excitedly chose soccer.

She is only three and hasn’t been around other kids besides her brothers, kids at church, and her friends at ballet. Let’s face it, she is over dramatic about everything. Is that a girl thing or more of a spoiled brat kinda thing? I’m still not sure.

I knew going into this that there was a 85/15 chance of her completely losing it when SHE didn’t get the ball or when SHE didn’t make a goal. Y’all, it was more like a 100% chance of complete disaster. She cried, she stubbed up and folded her arms, she fussed, she turned her back to everyone and wouldn’t participate. I wanted to crawl into a hole.

But then she would make a goal and I could see her big smile and her eyes would sparkle with joy. She would jump with excitement and look over at me and give me a thumbs up because she was so proud of herself. My heart would turn into mush every time.

As a mama it is so easy to feel like a failure. It’s like when your child misbehaves you’re being judged as a parent. And yall, I’ll be the first to say I’m guilty of passing judgement on other parents as well. We aren’t perfect. The truth is we all parent differently and know what works best for us and our children. Today I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that it’s all going to be okay. The fits, the stubbornness, the ugly stares from other parents, all of it. Klara is three years old. She’s still trying to understand her emotions and how to handle them correctly. As her mother I have to be patient with her and model behaviors that I want her to adapt to. So punishing her for having a difficult time would not be fair. I will not punish my children for how they feel and I won’t allow them to feel as if I am upset with them because of how how they feel. I am going to support their feelings and let them know that they are entitled to feel those ways. Klara felt upset. She felt left out. She felt insecure because she is the youngest player on the team. But she tried. She used self regulation, calmed herself down, and would always try again. What I thought started out as a disaster ended as a triumph.

Even though I’ve been a mom for 10 years, I’m still learning. The best thing I have learned thus far, and what I was reminded of today, is that there are good days and there are bad days. For every bad moment there are 10 good ones. For every stranger that thinks you’re a lousy parent, there are 5 more people who wish they could be half the parent you are.

As long as Klara wants to go to practice I will be on the sidelines cheering her on and look the other way when she starts pouting, looking around like, “Huh? Who’s kid is that?!” Ha, I’m totally kidding. Kinda. 😉