TriAptitude Coaching

It’s Sunday morning at Chez Culligan and my sweet husband is about to leave on day 2 of our sport extravaganza weekend.  Yesterday, he drove Matthew up to Fort Collins for a soccer game and they spent the afternoon afterwards shopping for a “puffy” jacket which Matthew insists he needs for this Colorado winter 2017/2018. Oh, and not just ANY puffy jacket but it needs to be a Patagonia brand because Eddie Bauer or Gap or LL Bean just won’t do.  Wait, what?  This is my son correct?  Because I am pretty sure that I did not give birth to a daughter back in 2005.  So, the love of my life is shopping around with a little love of my life to find a jacket in Fort Collins and somewhere along the way they find a Porsche dealership and go check out some cars as well. Oh, okay, there we go. That’s more like my boys…..They roll back in to Evergreen at 5:27 pm just in time to take quick showers and roll back out the door for a dinner party at a friend’s house. We, of course, were suppose to be there at 5:30 pm but arrived around 6:17 pm. #winning

Today, Greg is heading out to Colorado Springs with Tommy for a lacrosse tournament at the Air Force Academy.  He is a great Dad- taking care of all the sports this weekend so that I can coach my Saturday classes at Evergreen Park and Recreation yesterday and so that I can work with Connor and Matthew on school assignments and make up work today from Connor’s school trip to San Diego this past week.  Matthew wakes up this morning, wanders into the kitchen half asleep after putting on his dirty clothes from the day before and seems to think that he is going to go shopping again for a puffy jacket and test drive some Ferraris or something.  When I give him the choice of either working on his math assignments and getting back up to speed with his last unit (ummm…..since that test was not as successful as he had hoped) or going to Colorado Springs with his brother and Dad, I get a snarly “Well, that is the dumbest choice for a Sunday that I have ever heard.”  I invite him kindly to go back to his room, hand over his phone to me and regroup before he comes back out to start his day.  Hint- don’t come out until you can get in touch with your sweeter side. Pretty sure that son fell right back in bed and is now sleeping off the grumpiness for a few more hours. I head to the coffee machine and pour myself another large cup of coffee.

Connor strolls out of his room and lays down on the sofa in his PJs and is checking something on his phone.  Greg has just run out the door to head to 9:00 am mass on his own so that he can fit that in before lacrosse today.  The puppy is in his crate whining even though I have taken him out two times to go the bathroom. You know that heartbreaking whine- “Let me be free. I want to run around the house and chew up all the stuffed animals and maybe pee on the floor” kind of whine.  I ask Connor to take the puppy out and my half dressed teenager looks at me distressed and says, “Mom, I don’t even have a shirt on and the shower is running right now.” as he continues to lounge on the sofa and look at his phone.  Really?? “Well then, looks like you better get your booty off the sofa and either put a shirt on and take your puppy outside or stop wasting water and get in the shower, right?”  #choices

Looking for a quiet moment here…..please. I settle down with my coffee and my computer so I can edit my product review for Rudy Project and USA Triathlon for next week’s deadline when Matthew arises from his slumber and says, “Mom, I am sorry I was cranky. I just did not think it was fair that you said I had to do math homework all day until Dad came home from Colorado Springs.” Okay, well, pretty sure that is not what I told my child but apparently his hearing is a bit out of whack this morning.  I am happy that I get an apology though! I’ll take it! And, Matthew does take Meeklo the puppy outside for a walk and a bathroom break. He brings him back inside to jump on top of my lap on the sofa while I am trying to type up corrections to my article. Still looking for a quiet Sunday morning moment.

I decide to put my review on hold for the moment and try to get back to that fun later in the morning when I can concentrate on all the reasons why I love these new products from Rudy Project.  I’m afraid I may get distracted from that task and start writing a blog about the craziness of being a mom of boys who think they need new phones, jackets, athletic shoes, haircuts and bean bag chairs all on a Sunday morning before 8:00 am. Or, maybe writing a blog about trying to sit down in the livingroom on the comfy sofa to enjoy my coffee long enough to actually put a little bit of an indention in the seat cushion? Or, perhaps it is a smarter idea to take my coffee into the pantry closet and lock myself in there for a few brief peaceful moments…….

Three sips later, I realize that it is 9:40 am and my favorite lacrosse player is still sound asleep in bed and needs some help motivating.  My brief coffee break in solitude comes to an end and I start to wrap my head around the idea that I am going to have to inspire my 10 year old son to get up and get geared up for his trip to Colorado Springs with Dad in the next hour. It is not happening miraculously on its own today. I am pretty sure Greg is at church praying for some peace at the moment and enjoying that hour of solitude which I am wishing I had at the moment.  But, honestly, I am so used to all of the moving pieces in our household that when I do have a long period of quiet, I almost get bored!  This house is filled with boys and dogs.  There really is nothing quiet about it!  So, I do not know what I am thinking this morning expecting things to be any different. #unrealisticexpectations

Oh, and that French Toast casserole? It smells so great and I take it out of the oven just in time to feed my boys. But, everyone feels like plain old Cheerios instead today. Oh well, I like French Toast casserole so that is a win for me!  The Chainsmokers are playing loudly from Connor’s room, the dogs are wrestling on the floor in the living room, Matthew has recovered emotionally and is making plans for his day which don’t necessarily include Math homework, Tommy is finally “up and at ’em” looking for his lacrosse shorts and his cleats, Greg is pulling back into the driveway just in time to grab breakfast and head down south for some lacrosse fun and I may just get the chance to settle into that sofa and get those product reviews done for USA Triathlon after all! Let’s see how this all plays out.  My endurance event for the day has begun.

All I know is that I am finally drinking my coffee.  Success.