OU Game

us at the game - taken on iphone

I am not much of a sports fan. I would much rather have a long talk in a coffee shop than sit and watch a game. However, I think it's important to expose my children to all kinds of things in life and I often feel like we don't encourage sports enough. So this weekend we thought it would be fun to head to Norman and see a genuine OU football game live in the stadium.

Roland was so excited. He has watched a few games on TV and he loves to throw the football in the back yard with Justin. Our friend, who is an avid OU fan and lives in Norman, went with us to the game. He told us on the way that it's not just a game, it's a game and hike. He was not kidding. We parked about a mile from the stadium and began our trek. The boys were really good even though it felt like we were dragging them half the time. It's funny because this part of our trip really showed me how much I have grown in the last few years. Something like this would have caused major anxiety and frustration in the past. I would have been very uptight – saying "hold my hand", "come on", "stop goofing around", "would you boys pay attention please", etc.  But I really just tried to enjoy the walk and I kept encouraging Roland to do the same. I told him "instead of just trying to get there, look at where you are and take it all in, the tailgaters, the smells of yummy food, the campus buildings and the sea of red clothing surrounding us." He tried but he also got frustrated and just wanted to get there. I totally get it, but hopefully I planted a seed that will grow as he matures.

The game was so fun. We had a blast yelling "O" "U" with the crowd and watching the fireworks at each touchdown. Hayden was a little freaked out by the super loud fans that kept whooping and hollering. After awhile he was more interested in my iphone than the game. Unfortunately we were all really cold. We were on the shady side of the stadium way up high and the cold breeze was pretty intense. At one point Roland actually got in my coat with me – arms and all. I have to admit that I really loved this. He's getting to the age where it's not so cool to snuggle with mom any more.

I also had a problem with the crowd when they started yelling "Texas sucks" and cheering when the other team would make a mistake. It just didn't feel right and at one point Roland yelled "yeah Texas does suck". I got really upset and told him to not say that – that we would discuss it in the car. I guess I should investigate this in myself because I think it's totally ok to have healthy competition, but I have a real problem with the whole "us" vs "them" stuff. I tend to get a bit serious about stuff like this and I have trouble relaxing and just letting it go. I talked to Justin about this on the way home and he said "well maybe competition should just be with yourself". I think I agree.

We warmed up with hot chocolate at IHOP on the way back to Tulsa and the boys crashed in the back seat on the drive home. I learned a little more about balance this weekend – balance in our activities, balance in being kind to myself but also pushing myself to stay present. I really enjoyed doing something different. Would I want to do this every weekend? – No way – but I will definitely be purchasing some tickets for the upcoming basketball season.