I’m currently in my bleacher years as a mom and honestly? I never want it to end.

As stressful as it is paying those monthly youth sports bills, making sure you have all the right gear, the correct dance attire, making sure you have your schedule down for the week, the team group chats going off constantly and driving you nuts with the crazy questions, it’s all so worth it.

Looking at our calendars sometimes I think are we doing too much? Are we too busy? Can we handle it all?

But then it’s time to sit in the stands while they look for you and wave and their whole face lights up and all those worries go away. I love watching them show up and do their best. Learn and listen and find friendships, that’s what it’s all about.

Sitting there watching them do their thing is so worth the rushed dinners, the late nights, early mornings, car full of random equipment bags, blankets, never ending snack bags.

I myself even learn so much from this journey. Teaching myself how to put each piece of equipment on right so I can teach them, tie the cleats and the skate’s tight enough, make sure the ponytail is intact. Learn the plays and the rules. Help practice the dance moves.

It may be stressful right now while in the thick of it all but I know one day it’s not going to be this chaotic and I know when that day comes I am going to miss it all.

The noise and the rush to get ready and out the door, the uniforms hanging to dry, the glitter that spills sometimes from dance recitals, the dirty cleats, the stinky hockey gear, the wins and celebrations, the loses, the bravery of getting out there and trying.

One day the fields, the rinks and the stage won’t have a player with my last name anymore and that breaks my heart to think about.

There are some things I regret in life and still some yet to come but, showing up for them and watching them on the field, on the ice, on the stage is never going to be one of them.

So I am embracing my bleacher mom era, their childhood. Yes, I may be tired most days but I am so lucky.

Lucky to have front row seats to memories that will last a lifetime. To cheer them on from my bleacher seat.

To soak it all in because one day, I’ll want to be back to being in this era of life more than anything.

This will be the good ole’ days.

So to all my fellow bleacher mama’s,

CHEERS!