I have officially become a soccer mom and am still in shock over the revelation. Granted, there are a few things whose strength of influence I've been underestimating all these years or else I would have forseen this little, shall we say extracurricular activity, long ago. The first thing that should've opened my eyes to the fact that even I would one day be sitting in the bleachers of a soccer stadium rooting for my future children is näturlich the country I adopted. Germans, and most all Europeans for that matter, love them some soccer like there's no tomorrow. I thought I was immune to this because I was American. Silly me. I was definitely not or else I wouldn't be taking the boys to soccer practice this afternoon! The second thing whose strength of persuasion I underestimated was the World Cup in 2006. This had me from the start and I should have seen my soccer mom denialhood weakening as I sat glued to the telly with a fistful of chips, anxiously awaiting matchaftermatchaftermatch. Thirdly, yes the list goes on, I should have felt the lightening bolt of truth surge through my mommy brain this very summer (and accepted my fate while I still had time to digest it) when the boys religiously began watching the 2010 World Cup matches with my husband and I. Talk of the town, peeps, talk of the town! The fourth thing whose strength of persuasion I did not underestimate but didn't expect was the atmosphere (the coaches, the blending of nationalities in the bleachers, the fresh fall air); I'm a real sucker for good vibes. Lastly, I should have recognized that my days as a non-soccer-mom were seriously numbered when my husband pulled me aside fifteen minutes into the first practice and said he wanted to show me something. Of course, being the good wife that I am, I followed him. The moment I hung a right, this is what I saw. This is what skyrocketed me to soccer mom heaven and triggered dreamy visions of me on warm summer days, lounging on the sidelines, something chilled in my hand, rooting for the boys, happy as a pea in a pod. Wifey's a sucker for good vibes, but she l-o-v-e-s her a good view!

Ole...oleoleole...oooole...oooole!