A New Kind of Soccer Mom

If only my husband and eldest son had not laughed maniacally at the mere invitation from a new gal pal that I join her newly forming soccer team, I might not have even considered it.

But when you laugh at The Mom, you will suffer The Consequences.

In this case, they will be required to attend every Friday night game, just like I've attended nearly every Saturday morning soccer game for years for my oldest, and countless baseball games.

Their laughter is not without warrant. Not only have I never played soccer, or any team sport for that matter -- in my life -- I am simply not athletic. Most friends and acquaintances know that I've run five marathons and countless shorter distance races over the past 20-plus years, as well as completed a couple of triathlons and duathlons. But friends who know me well, know that I run only because I'm not coordinated to do much else.

Karen's Recipe for Running:
1. put one foot in front of the other, quickly
2. repeat

Race medals ... perhaps soccer medals
will adorn my basement walls next?

But a fellow baseball/t-ball mom said she was putting a team together to play in our sleepy suburb's women's league and assured me 'no experience necessary.' In fact, she wrote in her recruiting email, the league is "really just an excuse for spry women well out of their college years to laugh a lot and then drink on Friday evening."

She had me at 'spry.' I mean, I've never been called spry before, and I was flattered. And as the saying goes, flattery will get you everywhere.

I just hope it doesn't get me a trip to the ER.