I stood there in amazement as my 10 year old handed me her bat bag to carry. I never really thought about it much before – carrying her bat bag and equipment bag is just part of what I do as a mom. Right? Wasn’t it part of my job description as the parent of a player? She plays and I carry.
Didn’t this connect us and help in the bonding process? I was carrying her bag like a high school boy used to carry a girl’s books to show his love for her. To show her my love? Ya, I know…crazy over functioning mom! Well, just like every other day and game, I took hold of her bat bag and swung it over my shoulder and started walking with her to the car…our normal routine!
Today was going to be different. For some reason, this particular day just rubbed me the wrong way. I really didn’t want to carry her dang bat bag. I did a quick check to see if I was alone or what other parents were doing. I looked around and saw almost every parent carrying their daughter’s bat bag and thought to myself, why am I doing this?
Here I was, weighed down with stadium blankets, a backpack, my purse, the left over snacks and drinks (our turn to bring the snacks and drinks for the girls – a topic for another day) and her burger and fries. Yes, this had been yet another night of snack bar dining! I looked down at my daughter and saw her sipping on her juice box with a free arm and thought, this is totally insane…I am not anyone’s pack mule! Or am I? You would have thought I would have learned my lesson by the third kid. I have been carrying bat bags and sporting bags for my kids for fifteen years now, it’s the norm!!!!
A couple years ago my son and I flew back from a tournament and right at the gate he handed me his bat bag. As usual, I swung it over my shoulder. Only this time, it was heavier than normal. By the time I had gotten to the car, RIP, I tore my rotator cuff. It wasn’t easy to fix and after a long year of rehab, there I was carrying by kids bags for them again! When was I going to learn!
This was going to be a NEW DAY! I looked down at my daughter and said, “Mommy isn’t carrying your bat bag anymore, it’s your job!” I will never forget the look of shock and disgust on the face of my little 10 year. She quickly replied, “But mommy, it’s your job. You did it for the other two kids, that is what mommies do!” I did everything I could to bite my lip and not let any of my flaming thoughts pass through these lips, while I stood there thinking of the reasons why I shouldn’t carry her bag any longer.
But she was right, this was not her fault…it was mine. I was the one that established the pattern and trained her to think it’s my job! However, in a couple of weeks the habit would be broken. I would no longer be a pack mule, my shoulder would be saved from further injury, and she would be as happy as ever to take pride and ownership in carrying her own bat bag. And it doesn’t matter what your sport, this applies to any equipment bag your kid has to carry. So ask yourself, “Are you one of the infamous bag carriers like I was? All I can say is DON’T DO IT!!! I will give you 10 benefits of not carrying your kid’s bag for them in my next post! Share your story and let’s see how many of you have successfully kicked the habit, or not…