Happy New Year!

Follow Game Ready Mom on Facebook!

Happy New Year! I am so thankful for the blessing of seeing another year! As a mom, it means another year to see my children grow into all that they are becoming. It also means we have another chance to make a new start—that is very exciting for me. My holidays were bittersweet and started with my mom having surgery to amputate her leg. She is two weeks from turning 91 years old and her only prayer before the surgery was for all of her children to be okay and to be safe. No matter how old we get, parents always carry their children close to their heart. I am so thankful that the surgery was a success and that my mom is doing well.

The reality of being a football mom means that many Christmases have been spent with post –season bowl games. Once our son entered the NFL, his regular season extended through the holidays. For the first time in 10 years, all three of my sons were home for Christmas. I cannot begin to tell you what a treat that was for all of us. Our oldest made breakfast on Christmas morning and tried making waffles from scratch for the first time. The waffles were very salty but we ate as much as we could. The omelets and grits were great and made up for the waffles. We spend the rest of the day playing games, watching football, eating more food and we squeezed in a late night movie where most of us fell asleep before it ended. I spent the day smiling and thanking God for this gift.

This is the third day into the New Year and my thoughts are racing with information to share with all of you. Last year we took a critical look at safety of children while playing sports and the seriousness of concussions. We were shocked at the gruesome stories of child molestation in by coaches and stories of suicides that were linked to blows to the head by athletes. We looked at college sports recruitment and address many topics near and dear to parents.

As many of you know, I am a sports parent advocate. Lately, I have had many parents approach me to find out if I could share information about lesser reported sports like swimming, cheerleading, squash, table tennis and wrestling. Each Thursday, I will be featuring Thursdays Sports Spots where I will highlight interesting news and information across the sports world. I would love to hear from you and your experience with working with your child’s sports career. Please share your challenges, concerns and success tips.

Parenting is one of my biggest accomplishments but also one of my most daunting challenges. My children are 28, 22 and 19 years old and I am now learning to parent from a distance. I pray the lesson that I’ve learned, and those that I am still learning, will help you and your children.

I have found much joy being a sports parent. I have also seen tremendous benefits for my children. I pray you find much joy and peace in 2012 and that your children thrive as they pursue their path in sports. Be blessed and enjoy the journey!

DJ