Another season starts

[Rich]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Two games last Tues night (nice, easy evening commute in the DC area on the Tues before Turkey Day - NOT! 45 minutes to go 19 miles.....). Two games today and two more on Monday.

Maybe I can run off some of that holiday chow......

PS - on the baby thing, Snaq's you're a lucky man. While I was not officiating when my kids were younger, I personally would not have entertained the idea of leaving the house for officiating when my son's were just born. Would not have gone over big in my household at the time. Every relationship goes through many stages. She's a little more forgiving and understanding now......after 25 yrs. But, even now there are some days....... To each their own.

When my wife and I met 16 years ago, I was working all 3 of my current sports, PLUS softball. She's always told me that I was working these games when we met and knew it was part of the bargain, so she's never going to ask me to work less. It may also have to do with the fact that I was already a 20-year official with an established schedule when my wife was pregnant -- I wasn't about to give away an entire schedule just to be available the exact second she went into labor. Hell, she worked right up until the day she went to the hospital. I was willing to dump a game to a JV official at a second's notice and did carry my phone to the table the last month of her pregnancy (and told the ADs why I was doing this so they could be prepared, just in case).

Matter of fact when the doc suggested she go to the hospital, she was told it would probably take 12-18 hours at a minimum before birth -- they just wanted to monitor her BP closely -- she INSISTED I go work my BV game that night just to get my worrying self out of the picture. I did. Then she told me the hospital food was garbage and that I should go have a meal with my partner cause the baby wasn't even close to coming. I did.

And I recognize that I'm lucky in this way. My wife is a very independent person and she knows (and has told me) that my officiating is a very important part of who I am. We've already discussed what will happen when my daughter plays sports -- will I take time off to watch her, etc. I probably will make sure I see at least a third to a half of her games, but I think there's a lesson in letting your kids know that while their stuff is very important, that our lives as people don't stop just because they are playing sports. I've seen officials take off entire seasons to follow their kids around to all their games and it's a personal decision -- one I don't think I will make, although I still have another decade to change my mind.