Hurricane William

My boy, the Hurricane. I've often said that his room looks like a hurricane has hit it, but that's another story. Tonight, he was a full-blown high school Hurricane football player---their first home game of the season. I was playing Mamarazzi on the sidelines, and since Scott had the kiddos up in the stands, I was afforded the opportunity just to watch and take in the whole football experience. Now, I've never really been one to 'get' the whole football thing. In fact, my whole Big Idea for Donny Deutsch is to have blinking lights in different colors on top of the helmets so we moms can find our sons out there amongst the mayhem, but being down on the sidelines with a big lens allowed me to really see what's happening down there. And ya know what? I actually enjoyed the game. (Note to self: I need some really good optical quality binoculars for other sports outings. Nikon binoculars. Or Zeiss. Or Leica. Whatever.)

As I stood there watching him talk to him teammates in the huddle, it really hit me that he is losing the 'boyish' look, and taking on the appearance of a young man. I can still see him playing in the front yard with the neighborhood boys, holding back tears, saying, "I'm hurt, but I'm still playin'". Where did that little boy go? A moment at a time, a day at a time, a year at a time, he's growing into a man. Ouch. That hurt just a little bit to write.

As I was standing there watching him, I must admit to saying a little photographer's prayer that went something like this: "Come on baby, give mama the shot, give mama the shot." I think it worked, because I was awarded with these:

He wasn't hurt (thankfully), but he certainly kept playing. He had two tackles during the game that were so hard you could actually hear an audible groan form the crowd. Atta boy. I'm probably the world's worst Football mom. I think they should play nice. And not hurt people. And not yell at those who get hurt, but help them up and put Toy Story band-aids on the boo-boos. So, I should probably keep it a secret that it was fun to watch him summon that grit and determination and play with zeal and gusto and nail that Patriot hard. Real hard. Let's just keep that to ourselves, o.k.?

So, here's a few more from the Mamarazzi: