Chapter 17 Steven skipping

Chapter 17 Steven skipping.

This incident happened while we were stationed in South Carolina. I'm guessing it was about 2002. Steven would've been about nine years old, and Andrew around seventeen years old. The older two boys were adults. Greg was in the Army and Jeff was a chef. Brian, my husband, was home during this incident, but was still at work.

A few facts need to be explained. Steven weighed nine pounds and fourteen ounces and was six weeks premature. He was a large baby and as babies do, he continued to grow. He didn't play football for the Army Youth Services, but with the county league where we lived. In South Carolina we didn't live on the military post. This meant football didn't fall under the military's weight and age restrictions, and Steven could play any position. He played center, not because he was that good, but he left a hole large enough the quarterback could run through. After numerous parent complaints about Steven, because of his size, I carried his birth certificate with me. As a matter of fact, I cleaned out my purse the other day and I still carry it.

The parents literally complained about his size, fearing he was too large and could hurt somebody. This was not my concern, because Steven was and still is a marshmallow. He didn't and still doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body.

During one of his games, a small child from the other team came to Steven's huddle and tapped him on the shoulder. Steven turned and the child punched Steven in the chest. Steven shrugged his shoulders and continued with the huddle.

One of our team's moms stood beside me and said, "I wonder if he, (meaning that child), knows Steven is our only player who won't fight back?"

"Maybe so." I just watched and shook my head. Steven didn't appear concerned.

As the game progressed, Andrew showed up after his football practice. Our huddle had just finished, and Steven skipped to the scrimmage line.

Andrew asked, "Mom, what did Steven just do?"

"He skipped to his position."

"No! What did he do?"

"That's called skipping."

Andrew turned a complete circle with his hands on his head. "Mom, you don't skip on a football field."

"Steven does."

"Mom!"

"Steven doesn't take football as serious as you do."

"Obviously. Mom, can I go home?"

"I think it would be a good idea." I watched Andrew go to his car.

*****

Our fourth home state after South Carolina was Fort Hood, Texas. Steven is now in eighth grade. We moved there in October, so school had already started. When I registered him, he stood beside me.

Another quick note, Steven was six feet one inch and weighed about 225 pounds.

What we didn't know was the high school was a football powerhouse. The secretary who helped us asked, "Does Steven play football?"

I replied, "He does."

Steven said, "I'm not interested."

Okay, that was fine with me. But at home I asked Steven why?

He said, "Mom, at my size, I'd be the tackling dummy. I'm not interested."

It made sense to me, and I dropped it.

About two weeks later, I got a call from the head coach who was also the athletic director asking if I had a son who played football.

"Yes, I do but he says he's not interested."

"Has he ever played before?"

"Yes, he's played since he was five years old."

"Why doesn't he want to play?"

"Steven is large for his age and doesn't want to be a tackling dummy."

"What if I promise that doesn't happen?"

"I'll talk to him and see what he says. Just so you know, Steven can also write his name."

He chuckled. "Ma'am, I get your point. This is Texas, and we take football seriously, but not at the expense of the boys' education."

Steven did play football, and the coach was true to his word. Steven wasn't a tackling dummy. Immediately after school, they had a study hall for the football players where the coaches assisted the students with their homework and tutored any that needed help. The only problem was, students like Steven who were straight A students also helped tutor the other students, so didn't always get their homework done. It had to be completed when they got home, which was often after 9:00.

Steven continued to grow. He's six feet five inches and weighs over 300 pounds. He loves football but doesn't enjoy playing. He's still a marshmallow or a gigantic teddy bear. Steven teaches high school math by the Gulf. He's fluent in Spanish, which is important where he's at. Steven is the type of person who is almost impossible to make angry. I've never seen him angry. He does get frustrated with me. He says it's because I'm acting like a mom. Not sure what that means. LOL

I keep looking at the ending and feel I need to add something, but not sure what.