It's Just a Pair of Cleats...Or is It? And Other Abnormalities

This is for you Melissa and Nicole...

Six months ago I gave Jacob an ultimatum that forced him to pick an extracurricular activity to participate in. Two months ago he voluntarily announced he wanted to play soccer this upcoming fall.  Three weeks ago he changed his mind and begged to play football. Now, don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED that he is so eager to try new things and join a team. However, I have to admit I am nervous about football. The normal parent would be too...about him getting hurt, about the cost. But not me. I have Garzoli blood. I am not normal.  I am worried that if he continues to play football through highschool, he will be in that "popular" crowd that gets invited to the crazy parties with drugs, alcohol, and sex.  Soccer and track seem so much safer. And again, by safer I don't mean the normal person's definition.  I mean, those kids were never at the top of the "popularity" chain, but they still had plenty of friends.  Again, the normal person would recognize that her child is only 8, and that high school is about 7 years away, and that there are more pressing matters to think about, like whether or not the boy will ever learn to put the toilet seat up when he pees*.  Jon and I were talking the other day about different things that different people obsess over.  For example, he obsesses over financial matters and taking care of his family. He asked me, "What do you obsess over?" At first I wanted to laugh in disbelief and ask if he had just met me.  But then, I thought, I must really hide it** well, maybe too well. So I decided that I needed to record that I, too, am just as much of a worrywart as my dear cousins :)

*You see, even this is not normal. I always hear other women complaining about the males in their lives not putting the toilet seat DOWN after they pee. Me, I complain about it not going UP before...

**"it" being everything involving motherhood and Jacob="Am I too strict? Am I strict enough? Was I too hard on him? Am I being too easy?  Will he still want to talk to me when he is an adult? Will his future wife like me?" yada yada yada