I woke up Sunday to our 3 year old demanding I get out of bed.  It amazes me that the same little person that will hide under covers so as not to have to wake up has little to no patience when I don’t just jump out of bed.  Geez.

Note to self – I really should go to bed earlier so I can have a decent amount of time to wake up on my own terms.

So you could say that Sunday morning didn’t quite start off as expected.  It didn’t get much better.  Nothing tragic or dramatic, just not a lazy day with lots of down time.  For some reason, I found myself in an increasingly bad mood.  Short tempered.  In general not pleasant to be around.  On a side note, the Women’s National Soccer Team was playing Brazil.  It’s not a game I had planned to watch, but suddenly I found myself annoyed that I couldn’t watch the game uninterrupted.

So when the going gets tough and I can’t take it, I go shopping.  Suddenly the need to organize Lola’s Legos seized me.  Though it wasn’t a complete necessity to organize the Legos at that precise moment, it was better than a clothing shopping spree.  When we came back, the game was still on.  It was overtime, down 1 goal due to some drama.  I sat down, because though I was now slightly more organized, I was still in a bad mood.  Two minutes later, in the 122nd  minute , 1 man down, the perfect cross, Abby Wambach  scores the tying goal.  WHAT?!?  It was insane, unbelivable, a miracle, impossible.  It changed the game.  It changed my mood.  A total shift.  Bad mood gone.  Seriously.

There’s something about this game.  It’s so hard.  No, really.  It’s not as easy as it looks scoring a goal or stopping a goal for that matter.   There are so many influencing factors – the field, the other team, the refs, the goal keeper, your shoe, the ball, the weather, the crazy rules – some of which I may never truly understand (it doesn’t matter how much I learn, I can’t spot offsides to save my life), the list goes on.   Of course these factors influence any sport, but there are so many other things.  Controversy never fails to show up.  A bad call can change the entire game.   There is no turning back once the decision has been made, no instant replay, no coaches disputing the play.  The cards fall where they may.  It can be a total injustice, but the game goes on.  And good or bad it draws you in – heart and soul.

It was also a mood changer to see this game I love played by women.  I know.  You might be thinking; Great.  Womens’ lib.  Feminism and all that.  Yes, it makes me happy to see women just like me (ok, women that play better – much better –  but in large part just like me) victorious in a game I’ve come to love.  It was freaking awesome people.

I must confess, until today, I’ve never really watched our women’s soccer game and I’m pretty sure watching Lola during Soccer Tots or watching Bend it Like Beckham over 20 times doesn’t really count.  Not sure what possessed me today – I think I needed a distraction, but I got so much more.  It’s amazing the impact of watching someone do something beyond themself, beyond what you thought was possible, in many ways a fairytale come true.