It's My Birthday

Pretty much every year for the last 8 or 9, I've spent my birthday angry. This one isn't looking to shape up any differently. It's not that my birthday won't be remembered, because it will be. It's not that I won't get a gift, because I will.

I think it's because TODAY we are 4.5 weeks into a 9 week season and my patience is wearing thin. It's the fact that my birthday falls on the same day of the month EVERY YEAR, but my husband can't manage to think that far ahead when all he has in his head is football and so ends up going to Walmart at midnight to buy me something....anyting.....whatever I TELL him to get me. Brings it home and shoves a Walmart bag into my hands.

I once heard a veteran football coach give a thank you speech for an award. He said "....and I want to thank my wife. Because she raised our kids, while I raised everyone elses." Amen, brother.

I have a Love-Hate relationship with football. Before I married my husband he told me his priorities were God, Family, Football. I think that's true for about 2/3s of the year. The other 1/3rd, I'm not so sure.

I am angry at him today because he totally refused to engage with the kids last night. So I wrote this poem in honor of all Coach's Wives.

I Am Last

I am the Coach's Wife
I come after football practice
I come after reading about football on internet forums
I come after phone calls from other Coaches
I come after creating plays in Playmaker

I come after High School football games
....and JV football games
.... and Freshman football games
....and sometimes Junior High football games

I come after Sunday football
....and Monday Night football
..... and Saturday College Football
..... and local Community College football.


I come after OU and the Cowboys
I come after watching film
I come after the Xs and the Os.
I am the Coach's Wife
I come last

- Julie Pool Sept 30, 2009