How many times have I wondered, maybe even dreamed, of what it would be like for my husband to have a "normal" 8-5 job. You know, the kind where he his home by 5:30 every night and doesn't work on the weekends?
How great would it be to have a husband home to help with dinner, baths, and tuck-ins—all the time. Amazing, right?
Then COVID-19 hit and schools were closed, sports were canceled and Coach was home—all the time. I finally, in a weird way, got the life I sometimes dreamed about.
Well you know the saying “you never want what you got till it’s gone.” Yep, that is me.
It is not the him-being-home part that bothers me. Sure, I am soaking up all the family time I can get right now.
But if I am being honest, I miss the coaching part of our life.
I miss rushing to get off work, loading up the kids with a hundred snacks and toys, and dragging a cart full of stuff to the ball field. Who knew?
Who knew I would miss coming home and fighting two very sleepy, very filthy toddlers into the bath at 10:30pm and putting them to bed way past bedtime, knowing they will be real delights in the morning.
When we received the call that spring sports would be on hold until mid-April, my first thought was, "Great!" What wife wouldn’t want a few weeks break in the middle of the season? Not ideal for Coach or the players, but as a wife/mom ... awesome.
Then, when the day came for the first scheduled game we would not play, we spent the entire night talking about the game that could have been.
Who would have pitched, who would have hit where in the lineup, and how much we would win by (because in daydreaming land we always win).
A few weeks later we got the call that spring sports were officially cancelled. My first emotion was devastation. In no way would I have wished this on my family, my Coach, or our players.
Four games in and the season is cancelled. Cancelled before we even played a conference game. Cancelled before we even played a game above 70 degrees outside.
No one hates to be at a ball game sweating like it’s their job than me, but right now, yes, I want to be at the ball field chasing two toddlers, swatting gnats and cheering on my Bulldogs.
This is such a weird time for our family. No sports.
No sports to coach, no sports to watch, and a virtual draft.
As much as I may have wondered in the past what it would be like to have a husband with a "normal" job, I know now that "normal" does not fit our family.
Our family is a coaching family. I will never again question that. If and when sports go back to normal, I am not saying I won’t complain when coach isn’t home to help force my four-year-old into the bathtub, but I will know what it’s like on the other side, the side without sports.
I will be able to appreciate it more.
I get to drag my entire house to the ball field.
I get to cheer my Coach on.
I get to see my kids cheer on their bulldogs with pride.
I get to do all these things and I need to appreciate them while I have them.