Worst and best

My alarm rang at 5:30 AM and I sprang out of bed, no snooze button involved.  I didn’t dare to “snooze” because after only four hours of sleep, I feared falling deeply asleep again.

We left the house at 6:22 AM and arrived at the soccer field an hour away on time–a Christmas miracle, for sure.  It was chilly–under fifty degrees, which I know is a heat wave compared to some areas of the country, but for us, here in sunny San Diego, it’s downright cold.  So I wore mittens.

The game was fierce but ended in a zero-zero tie.  We raced into our car and over the hills and up the highways and byways to our church where we arrived just in the nick of time for the annual Christmas brunch.  (We changed clothes in the car.  I only changed shirts but my daughter went from soccer uniform to Christmas dress complete with fancy shoes.)

The brunch was lovely and before we knew it, it was time to get back in the car and drive an hour through rain to the soccer field.  Driving in the rain reminded me of living in the Pacific Northwest.  Mainly, I remembered how much I hate to drive in rain.

At the soccer field, the rain pelted us and the wind blew.  By the time the game started, the girls were soaked through from “warming up.”  I sat in my beach chair wearing  sweater, scarf, coat, mittens and hood.  I had a blanket over my lap and an umbrella shielding me.  And then the rain stopped but the cold wind remained.

The worst part was that the other team scored a goal in the last minute of the game.  So, our team lost 1-0.

The worst part was the drive home, an hour through mostly rain.

The worst part was discovering my right shoe was broken and let water in as soon as I exited the car.

The worst part was getting my jeans soaked from the knees down.

The worst part was having wet feet and wet socks and wet shoes.

The best part is that this day is over.