It was the boys 1st soccer game of the year. Due to being out of town to visit relatives, we got home at 1:30am last night, and Justin had to be up to Manowe early this morning, so it was just me and the kido's today. So We all got up plenty early, got cleats, shin guards, uniforms, water bottles, etc all ready. I also packed a special bag of snacks for Miah just to be prepared. I went outside to check the weather, seemed fine. We all jumped in the van, I made sure the umbrellas were in the van (just in case) and off we went to be to the field 30 minutes early! I thought "we are doing great, awesome morning, this is going to be so fun!!!!"

We get to the field, and things are looking muddy. I find a place to park, in the muddy parking lot, but I think, well the fields are grass and they look fine. We open the van doors and all four of us all think and say to ourselves, "it's cold, it's windy, is it raining??? do we really have to get out of the van????"
The boys say out loud, "Ah Mom, my cleats are going to get dirty..." We grab the water bottles and I grab my lawn chair and 2 umbrellas and head to the fields. I open "my" umbrella to find that it is broken, and at that moment Cameron says, "Oh yeah Mom, Miah broke your umbrella." I say to myself,"Okay I can handle this..." One minute later, I realize Cameron doesn't have a sweatshirt or hat, or gloves, or anything other than a t-shirt and shorts. Thankfully, Jalen is wearing a sweatshirt and Miah has on a winter coat. But, within 5 minutes, I realize that we all need winter coats, gloves, hats, umbrellas and blankets would be great as well. so I run to the van hoping the kids or I have left things in the van (But, I know that I don't like things left in the van, and I am always cleaning it out and I am always telling the kids not to leave things in the van.....") So as I am running to the van to search for any clothing articles, I am kicking myself for trying to keep an organized van.
I do find 3 things that I put in the van at the beginning of winter just for EMERGENCIES, like a car accident in the middle of winter, which is sort of what my morning felt like. I found a pair of big ugly gloves, an old scarf, and an old ear muff wrap.
Holding my broken umbrella, which the wind is just whipping around like crazy, I run back to the field and try to give Cameron the ear muff wrap and my sweatshirt that I am wearing, but as he is shivering and rubbing his hands up and down his arms, he refuses, saying he is not cold at all. Jalen and Miah are sharing the small "spiderman" umbrella and they are sharing the one lawn chair that I brought, they are cuddled together but still cold. So for the first 45 minutes, I stand in the rain with a broken umbrella watching my freezing nine year old play soccer.
Thankfully, Miah wanted to go sit in the van. So I took her their and got her settled in the warm van, but then I knew I had to go back out. Jalen's game was now about to start.
I got Jalen to his field, he agreed to wear the ear muff wrap thing, and he didn't seem to mind the pouring rain or 90 mile-an-hour winds! Cameron's team was at half time, I again offered Cameron my sweatshirt, but he smiled and said no.
I now had been there for over an hour and I was starting to doubt if I could do this. I sat shivering in my chair between the two fields watching both games. Cameron was out for along time and he got so cold, he kept saying I can't feel my legs, my hands are turning blue. The coach put him in, but after a couple minutes he asked to come out, he said he couldn't feel his hands, so at this point, I just took off my sweatshirt and wrapped it around him and he didn't refuse at all. He kept it the rest of the time.

So now I am sitting in the rain, so glad Cameron is wrapped in a cozy thick sweatshirt, but at the same time, I am now in a very thin shirt. I decided I should check on Miah in the van. I got to the van, started it up, cranked the heat, prayed for strength, knowing that I had to go back out to the field. I thought about trying to wear Miah's winter coat, but seeing as she is 6 years old and I am 33, I knew the size difference just wouldn't work.

As I start walking to the fields, Cameron's game is ending, he is running for the van, he hands me my sweatshirt and says that he will be with Miah in the warm van. Awesome. So now it is just me, the spiderman umbrella and Jalen's game. Looking around I saw all the other parents with these HUGE, strong, expensive umbrella's, and here I am with this tiny little thing. But, it was all I had and I made it work for the last 45 minutes. Jalen had 2 goals, he had fun, and even said he got hot.
I have vowed to never be unprepared for an outdoor sporting event ever again. Even if it is sunny and 80 degrees, I will have huge umbrellas, gloves, coats, blankets, etc. I know that the soccer season can only go uphill from here on out.