TIME FOR TALK

So lets see how this goes again this week....thanks to those of you who left me messages last week, it was fun to hear from you.
This week the word is....
FOOTBALL
come on and tell me what you think about football. As you all know my youngest son plays and really is pretty awesome. My oldest son...he also played high school football and he is probably the reason that TJ plays today. We were never as parents all that excited about our boys playing, we were always afraid of the injuries they might get. Plus Lionel had not been allowed to play football at all. We let them play all the other sports they wanted to but they both just seemed to always push to play football. So Andy started when he was in 10th grade and yep that was it...waiting that long to begin just didn't sit well with the coaches and such, so needless to say he did not play that much. So he just kept telling us that TJ just had to start earlier. SO we let him play when he got to 7th grade.
It has been really fun and exciting to see him do better and better each year. It has not been that fun to see the bruises and bumps that came. Swollen knuckles, elbows, ankles, ahhh the list goes on and on. Where is the fun in THAT! But I have to say that TJ just seems to love playing, and I think that as I watch him he has really been blessed. He has had some very wonderful experiences with the gospel during these past few years. The kind of things that really help to teach the importance of the priesthood and the blessings one receives when keeping the commandments. That has probably been one of the drawbacks of playing football, trying not to always do as the others and staying strong. I do have to say that TJ has been able to play with the same group of boys that just seem to have similar ideals. This year has been one of his best but also a hard one in way of injuries. He has not been able to play the last three games but he has continued to go to each practice and game and support his team. Yep football has done a lot in helping to mold and build a young man's character. (But I still think that it is not good to start your children in the sport before jr. high. They need the time to grow and develop and not risk breaking bones.)
Now I have to say that I regret that we did not let Andy play sooner, but who knows maybe, just maybe Andy is stronger for not playing before high school. Maybe that was just not what he needed in order to become a wonderful, older brother, son, missionary and husband.

Alright so share with me your experiences with FOOTBALL.