A Weekend in Atchi-town

Parents Weekend was this weekend at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Sooooooo, Kelly and I went to visit Meredith and watch her play soccer.

Last year I enlarged a fairly grotesque photograph of Meredith's face and pasted it to a paper plate and affixed it to a stick, cut out eye holes and a mouth and waved it around during the game and pretty much made an ass of myself with it--it was fun. On Thursday Meredith called to ask what I was doing this year because it had been a subject of discussion. I told her I hadn't planned anything and she said, "oh yeah, like I believe that." Oh CRAP, I really hadn't planned anything.

Fortunately, when I was Michigan at the Dunegrass Festival (heavy emphasis on the grass for most of the other festival goers, not me) I was feeling waaaaaay too normal, so I spent $55 on a tye-dyed sundress thang. So, I pulled that out along with a big goofy hat. On the brilliant advice of my friend Beth I printed some team photos on cardstock, cut them out and strung them on some red yarn (a lovely wool, silk, and rayon mix--yummmm) for a necklace. When the team was being introduced I slipped that little ensemble on over my clothes and voila, I was suitably ridiculous looking. (See necklace on Meredith)

It was especially fitting that the dress was very muumuu-like because Meredith and her friends periodically declare a muumuu day and wear their thrift store muumuu attire to class. And now the muumuu is in the wash because Beth's son Wally has to have something suitably ugly to wear for gender bender day at BTW tomorrow. As it turns out, that $55 was very well spent!

Now just WHY am I coaching soccer???

For months I have been crowing that Friday, August 17, 2007 (the day after we deliver Alex to school at OU) would be Annie Liberation Day. That day would be the inauguration of the ERA OF ANNIE. A time when, except for college parents' days and school holidays, absolutely EVERYTHING would be ALL ABOUT ME. (and a few things might, by some serendipitous extension of my pleasure-filled life, be somewhat about my husband, Kelly).

BUT, two days before ALL-ABOUT-ANNIE-EVE (that would be Tuesday August 14) my sister-in-law called to say my niece hannah's soccer team was without a coach. "Well hell, that sucks for them" . . . and if you know me, you know that's EXACTLY what I said. . . . right.

So, the Fireballs, the best collection of under 8 girl soccer players in Sapulpa, Oklahoma got me for a coach, and soccer re-appeared on my list of obsessions--coincident with the Womens' World Cup in China, I might add. So, of course I've been getting up at 4am to watch those matches. And of course, Alex and Meredith call me at different times throughout the day to discuss those matches.

What really really really sucks about the whole Annie is coaching again turn of events is that this spring in a rare and obviously misplaced fit of maturity, I threw out my boots (soccer cleats to you). I thought, erroneously as it turned out, that at my age, being waaaay overweight, having bad knees and an iffy back, with kids both over 18, my soccer days were over, except for the pure joy of spectating. STUPID ANN

The kids are a BLAST. They are learning quickly, owing entirely to their own wits and a few simple skills poorly, but enthusiastically, demonstrated by me.

And now I must find myself in bed soon as Kelly and I are leaving tomorrow morning at about 4am to drive 5 hours to get to Benedictine College for a 10 am soccer game--a consequence of the occurrence of an aforementioned college parents' weekend. And THEN I swear it will be ALL ABOUT ME . . . until 6pm on Monday when it's time for practice (or maybe a bit before then because you can't just show up to coach a practice without a plan).