Chiefs, Baby!!
First and foremost, 9/11 has been on my mind all day. We all remember exactly where we were and what we were doing that day. I remember feeling afraid, shocked, worried, and overwhelmed; amongst so many other emotions. And, I was all the way in Montana. The men and women who responded that day, the ones who helped those they could, and the families of everyone involved lost so much more that day. I have never, nor will I ever forget 🇺🇸 God bless you all ❤️🤍💙
Compared to our other adventures, this weekend has been fairly low key, though we got off to a bit of a rocky start 🥴 I made the grave mistake of giving Hank the art box while I finished getting ready 🤦♀️ I came back an hour later and the whole room was covered in feathers, puff balls, and those bendable pipe things 🫣 I honestly stood in the doorway for about 20 seconds seriously contemplating just shutting the door and leaving 😬, but I MADE myself clean up. As I was almost done, I discovered Hank managed to open the glue and the decoupage (yes I looked up how to spell this) and the little stinker GLUED the feathers, google eyeballs 👀 , and puff balls to the floor and carpet 😳 🤣🤣🤣 See video proof below 👇
(Yes, THAT is still glued to the floor currently 🤷♀️😂)
Next, we’re heading out of town and as I’m about to get on the Interstate, he is insisting on pancakes and eggs and I’m insisting he had breakfast, and then I’m like, “Wait. What. DID I feed you” 🤔🤪, so we turned around and drove 15 minutes back into town so we could eat at IHOP. This was not our normal Sunday IHOP and we ended up with terrible service, but it got the job done. As we were leaving, poor little Hankie tripped (he’s like his mother and brother, trips over everything and nothing 😂) and went down hard. We had to sit on the floor in the middle of IHOP until the poor little bugger could catch his breath, and while kind people picked up my bag that got turned over in the process. I’m kissing his knees and patting his head, and we finally get him calmed down enough to pay and leave, but I have to promise him band aides are waiting in the car. Alas, I get them ready and hand them to him in the back seat, telling him to put them on his owies, which I think are on his poor knees I’ve been kissing. I get all buckled in and look in the review to leave, and I tried not too, honest ✋, but I couldn’t help myself. I bust out laughing 🤣🤣 He literally bandaged his mouth shut 😳🤣🤣🤣🤣 And, he stayed like that for about 45 min of the trip. I mean, too dang cute. He probably thought, why is this lady kissing my knees so much, it’s my dang face that hurts 🤦♀️🤣🤣 Mom FAIL 👎🤪
After that we drove to the Phoenix Zoo, where I once again proved I am a complete imbecile (and again when spell check corrected nimbecile to imbecile 🙄 I swear, some days are so much harder than others 😂) when it comes to AZ. Hank and I about died AGAIN trying to walk around the zoo. It was SO HOT 🥵 We only made it half way. And of course, the gift shop is right there when you walk in, so we had to do that FIRST 🙄, so now I’m lugging around all Hanks treasures in an awkward reusable bag I had to BUY because they don’t use plastic there 🤦♀️🤦♀️
About half way through, we stumbled upon the carousel and splash pad and that was it for us!! 😂 All the kids had trunks on, which I didn’t know there was a splash pad there, so he didn’t have any, but not to worry!! While I’m talking to some lady about whether they sell trunks anywhere (surely I can’t be the only person whose done this), I hear some mom say, “O. My. Gawd. That kid stripped down to his skivvies” Hmmm, wonder who that could be 🤔 As I slowly turn around, sure enough there’s my sweet Hank, happy as a clam, running around in his skivvies 🤷♀️😂😂 As far as I was concerned, problem solved!! 🤘💙
The BEST part, besides the splash pad of course, were the sting rays. We paid to play, pet, and feed them; and it was so much FUN 👏👏👏 What beautiful creatures!! Hank was a Super Star and got right in there!! Loved watching him have that experience 🥰🤍💙🤍
After all that sun and a bite to eat at the food court, we opted to bag Lego Land and just head back to the hotel, where we watched movies and hung out in the a/c before calling it a night 🫶 After all, Sunday was going to be a big day for us 👏👏
If you know anything about me at all, you would know that my Koyer has played football 🏈 since he was in 4th grade. I attended every home game and close to home game there was 🤎However, I could NEVER grasp the damn game. To be honest, I was bored most of the time. I mean, why is there so much stopping in football!! Ugh 😩 drove me bonkers. Doesn’t help when your kid is the one sitting down, picking grass either 🤣🤣 My Koyer Petrich! Not an aggressive bone in that kids body 😂 BUT, he loves being on the team and as the years went on, I think he did a pretty good job!! I don’t particularly know for sure, since I could never follow the darn game OR see what was happening, but people told me he did. I mean, all those numbers moving all over 🤪 Needless to say, I honked when the other parents honked and always threw out a few random, “Atta boy, Koyer!” Or, “You got this, Buddy!”, just for good measure 🤷♀️😁👏🏈😘
The point is - football was a constant at our house. If it wasn’t Koyer, it was the Chiefs. And, once I discovered Travis Kelce, all bets were off. Who WOULDN’T want to watch the Chiefs 😍 There were times I loved them and times it hacked me off that we had to record a game so we could watch it later. There were many meals spent as a family and with family and friends while watching a game. You can say what you want about football, but I know why people love it so much. It brings us together, even if it’s just to razz your buddy who cheers for an opposing team. Sometimes, when I’d struggle to keep the communication open with Koyer, I’d start by asking him about the Chiefs. Whose playing, new strategies, to explain the whole game for the 80,000th time 🤦♀️😂 They became a part of our family, a common thread that united us. So, when I heard they were in Phoenix, I HAD to go. I had sent Koyer for his 16th birthday, but I wasn’t able to attend at that time. This time, I bought front row tickets for Hank and I, and made one of my dreams come true: to go to a game. To see these men who we let into our homes, who we watch over important holidays, and who mean so much to our families. I was nervous how Hank would do, it’s so loud! But, the school has been working on using headphones, so I bought him a pair and off we went!
When we showed up at our seat, old battle ax and her husband were of course next to us and she made it clear she wasn’t happy about it. But, we were also seated next to and around people who helped me get situated and shot the breeze with me. It was an amazing experience, despite having to switch seats with Hank because she kept acting like he had cooties 🙄 Yep, I was thinking the B word too 👍 And, we sat next to this, probably 11 “ish” year old kid who was going on and on about the Cardinals and then, 3rd quarter when my Chiefs are kicking booty, he takes off his jersey and has a Mahomes one underneath 😳🤣🤣🤣 Little stinker!
As I got up to leave a few minutes into the 4th quarter (it takes us a while to get up the stairs and walk back; and I didn’t want a huge mess with us slowing people down, plus we creamed ‘em, so… ✌️😂), the gals behind us took our picture. It was so kind and so sweet. And, as we walked up all those stairs, one at a time, fellow fans were high fiving Hank as we passed by, all the way to the top. It was a really beautiful moment. I stopped at the top and looked down at this team who has been a part of my life for so long now, and really just took it all in.
If you would have asked me 6 mos ago if I could ever have a moment like this, I would have said no. But, there I was, standing next to my son, having this amazing moment because I worked hard and gave it to myself. Nobody else did it for me, I did. I made one of my dreams come true. Maybe to some it’s not much. To me, it was everything. I left that stadium with so much gratitude in my heart, and I left with a little more strength and courage.
On our way to the SUV we passed by a man playing jazz on the corner and Hank said, “it’s a saxophone 🎷, it’s so pretty (sounding)” and I pulled $5 out of my wallet and told him to put it in the bucket and tell the man he loved his music, which he did. That man smiled the biggest smile, bent down to Hanks level, and said, ”Thank you, son”. He was beaming. I know the feeling.
As I got into my car to leave, I found myself really emotional. I guess it’s because I realized that I don’t need someone to help me create these moments. I can have these really great experiences with my kids or by myself. I guess it just felt like everything was going to be OK 👌. I let go a little more, and put one foot over the line. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to be building the life that I want. God is good and life is pretty darn alright ❤️🕊