Carter was supposed to have his first soccer game yesterday. He was excited about it when he woke up and we talked about it when we went for bagels for breakfast. BUT…when we got to the soccer fields, the wind had picked up and there were actually a few snowflakes in the air. It was cold –- really cold.
Carter whined the entire walk from the car to the soccer field. He wouldn’t even put on his new soccer jersey (which by the way is very cool). The six or so other kids on his team were great and very excited to learn and play. Carter clung to my leg and cried.
We tried to entice him by offering to practice with him. We tried bribing. First with an offer of the pancake restaurant (Leo’s Coney Island) for lunch, we tried bribing with promises of a new Transformer (his favorite toy for the month) from Target. No luck. We tried threatening to take away TV for the day. No dice.
Nothing worked. Carter would not peel himself from my leg. He wouldn’t stop crying. Sure Carter can be shy in new situations but this was ridiculous. Other parents are running the sidelines, cheering on their kids. They are videotaping their 4 year olds learning how to pass and shoot on goal. All their videos have a soundtrack of Carter crying.
It was humiliating. He just keep saying he was tired and didn’t want to play. And the crying, oh the crying. It just didn’t ever stop. I wanted to dig a hole right there on the sidelines and crawl into it.
After 30+ minutes, we finally caved in and went home. We sent Carter to his room and he was probably asleep within 10 minutes.
Ben and I felt defeated and we were so confused. Where was the Carter of Friday evening? The Carter that loved soccer and was so excited to play? No where to be found on Saturday morning.
Fast forward 24 hours and Carter has a fever and is complaining of ear and throat pain. We had our physician family friend meet us at Einstein’s Bagels and she confirmed our suspicions: Carter has an ear infection.
No wonder he didn’t feel like playing soccer in 30 some degree weather. No wonder we couldn’t bribe him with pancakes, TV, or toys.
You can be sure that I feel like a horrible mother having him out on the field trying to make him play.
Better luck next weekend after a course of antibiotics.
3 comments:
Jeremy cried every game for the entire season last year. He loves indoor but didn't like outdoor last year. He starts outdoor Saturday so we'll see how it goes! Hope Carter gets into it!
OH NO!! Don't beat yourself up! I hope he likes it next week!! Was that his first ear infection? Avery just had her first in Feb. A friend told me that it's common at their age because of the ear development going on?! Did your doctor friend say anything about that? Good luck, girl!!
oh too bad! I didn't realize the full back-story. How is he doing?
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