Back From Summer Break… and Right Back Into Sports Mom Guilt

I’m back!

After a busy summer, I took a little break from writing so I could spend some time with the kiddos. And when I say “break,” I definitely don’t mean we were sitting around relaxing all summer.

Because… sports.

We still had baseball, softball tournaments, camps, summer basketball league, and soccer tryouts for the fall season. So while life certainly didn’t slow down, it was nice to step away from a few things, be present with the kids, and just enjoy summer for what it was.

But now I’m back to writing — and, fittingly, I’m jumping back in during another completely chaotic sports weekend.

And this one comes with a pretty big dose of sports mom guilt.

Three Kids. Three Sports. One Weekend.

This weekend, my son is playing in a baseball tournament that their dad coaches.

One of my daughters is playing in a softball tournament, which is where I’ll be spending most of my time.

And my other daughter has an early-morning soccer scrimmage.

Of course, because youth sports schedules apparently enjoy testing parents, her scrimmage conflicts with both tournaments.

But there’s one more little detail that makes this weekend even harder for this mom.

She turns 13 that day.

Yep.

My daughter will wake up on her 13th birthday at her soccer teammate’s house instead of at home with her family.

Cue the mom guilt.

Sometimes You Have to Enlist the Village

If you have multiple kids playing sports, you already know the phrase:

It takes a village.

There are going to be weekends when two fields are across town from one another.

There are going to be games scheduled at the exact same time.

There are going to be tournaments, practices, scrimmages, birthday parties, school events, and family commitments that somehow all land on the same Saturday.

And unless we figure out how to clone ourselves, we simply cannot be everywhere.

Thankfully, we have an amazing sports village.

To make this weekend work, my daughter will spend the night at her soccer teammate’s house so she can get to her early-morning scrimmage.

She is completely fine with it.

Actually, she probably thinks spending her birthday morning with a friend sounds pretty great.

Me?

I’m picturing all the things I feel like I should be doing.

I should be there when she wakes up.

I should have balloons waiting.

I should make her birthday breakfast.

I should be there to say “Happy Birthday” first thing in the morning.

Meanwhile, she’s probably thinking, Mom, I’m fine.

Funny how that works.

Sports Mom Guilt Is Real

One of the hardest parts of raising multiple kids in sports is realizing that sometimes being a good mom doesn’t look the way you pictured it.

Sometimes being a good mom means sitting in the stands at one child’s game while someone else is cheering for another one of your kids.

Sometimes it means asking another parent for a ride.

Sometimes it means Dad is at one field while Mom is at another.

Sometimes Grandma — or in our case, Gigi — saves the day.

Sometimes you miss the goal.

You miss the hit.

You miss the basket.

You miss the moment you desperately wanted to see.

And yes, sometimes your daughter wakes up somewhere else on her birthday because soccer starts early and her siblings have tournaments.

That one definitely doesn’t feel like a win in the mom book.

But maybe we need to stop keeping score.

They Remember Who Showed Up — Not Just Who Was in the Stands

The truth is, being there for our kids is about so much more than physically sitting at every single game.

It’s washing the uniform they forgot to take out of their bag.

It’s finding the missing cleat five minutes before you need to leave.

It’s filling the water bottles.

It’s packing snacks.

It’s checking three different sports schedules over and over again.

It’s coordinating rides.

It’s cheering through text messages when you can’t physically be there.

It’s asking, “How did it go?” and actually listening to every detail when they get home.

It’s making sure every kid knows that even when you aren’t standing beside the field, you are still completely invested in them.

That counts too.

Actually, it counts a lot.

Organization Helps — But It Can’t Solve Everything

I’m a huge believer that organization makes sports life easier.

Shared calendars, tournament schedules, packed bags, snack bins, carpools, and planning ahead can save a sports family from a lot of unnecessary stress.

But organization cannot create more hours in a day.

And sometimes the schedules simply don’t work.

That’s when you divide and conquer.

You utilize the village.

And you remind yourself that asking for help does not mean you’re dropping the ball.

It means you’re making sure every child gets where they need to be.

So Here We Go Again

This weekend, I’ll be at the softball field.

Dad will be coaching baseball.

Our soon-to-be teenager will head to her soccer scrimmage with her teammate’s family.

And later that day, we’ll all find our way back together and celebrate our girl turning 13.

Will it be exactly how I would have planned her birthday morning?

Definitely not.

Will I probably still feel guilty?

Absolutely.

Because I’m a mom.

But she will be doing something she loves, surrounded by friends, while knowing her family loves her tremendously.

And maybe that actually is a win in the mom book.

Just not the perfectly organized, Instagram-worthy kind.

It’s the messy, divide-and-conquer, utilize-the-village, organized-chaos kind.

And around here, those wins count too.

To the Sports Mom Who Can’t Be Everywhere

If you’re heading into a weekend where your kids’ schedules overlap and you’re already doing the mental gymnastics of figuring out who will be where, remember this:

You don’t have to make every moment perfect.

Use your village.

Make the best plan you can.

Cheer from wherever you are.

And when everyone finally ends up back under the same roof, enjoy the moments you do get together.

Because someday, we might actually miss these crazy weekends.

Even the ones that come with a little sports mom guilt.

Here’s to another weekend of organized chaos.

If you’re another busy sports parent constantly juggling practices, tournaments, carpools, school, birthdays, and everything in between, stick around. I’ll be sharing more ways to organize the chaos, make sports weekends a little easier, and hopefully enjoy this season of life without stressing about making every single moment perfect.

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