Parents of children who play travel sports make tremendous sacrifices for their child's love of the game, but they also reap immense rewards. The most obvious sacrifice is the amount of time and money that is spent traveling; you could go months at a time without an unscheduled weekend day, and many of your weekends are spent in hotels. But with all the time away from home, you are usually in the company of your children's teammates and families, which leads to the formation of close relationships that can last a lifetime. There's a certain element of bonding that comes from the kinship of waking up at 5am on a Saturday to drive several hours away, not returning home until 10pm on Sunday night. Of course, copious amounts of alcohol are also involved in soothing the stress of travel, which can lead to an entirely different kind of relationship...
As yet another season came to a close, the year-end team picnic was a mixture of joy, relief, and sadness. They had so much to celebrate - their children's athletic growth throughout the season, winning the state championship, and a coaching award bestowed upon their head coach for his leadership. Everyone was looking forward to a break from the travel and the seasonal change in which sports their children participated. But the families had all grown so close that with the end of the season came the inevitable collapse of the families' social circle.
"I think we should just have Gary book us a hotel 3 hours away and we'll all pretend we're going there for a game so we can just party in the hotel," Sam joked. "Who says we need to actually have the kids play a game for us to have a good time?"
Beers in hand, everyone laughed and one of the parents quipped, "Do we even need to invite the kids?"
As the laughter subsided, Craig thought for a moment, then said, "You know, I have a cabin that's pretty big - there's an upstairs area for sleeping and a downstairs living area. It's pretty basic and would be pretty rugged camping, but we could have a party out there some day this summer. The kids could run around, ride their four-wheelers and dirt bikes, we could grill some meat, and camp out overnight."
"Oh the boys would LOVE that!" Brenda commented, as several other heads nodded up and down in agreement, with utterances of "yeah!", "definitely!", "cool!" coming from the various Moms and Dads.
"Alright, I'll set something up and send out an email," Craig said.
***
"Oh, honey, I'm not feeling good," John groaned as he walked slowly into the living room.
"Why, what's wrong?" asked his wife, Deena, looking over the top of her magazine.
"I think I have that stomach bug that was going around the office," he frowned, looking like he was in tremendous discomfort.
"Oh no! Are you still going to be able to take Liam to the camp-out this afternoon at Craig's place?"
"I don't think so...," he moaned as he flung himself onto the couch dramatically, looking like a helpless invalid.
"Ugh," Deena sighed, "Liam is going to be so upset that he can't go - he was really looking forward to seeing his teammates again and fishing in Craig's pond. Are you sure you can't go? Can you take some Immodium or something?"
John glared at her with annoyance, "I'm running a fever, I can't stay out of the bathroom, and I feel like crap - I am NOT going to the party. Can't you just drop him off and pick him up tomorrow?"
Deena thought about it for a moment. "I don't know," she hesitated, "he's never been camping before - what if he doesn't like it and wants to leave? Or what if he gets nervous about staying with other people? That seems like such a burden to impose on the guys, expecting them to watch him."
"Liam will be fine, and I'm sure the guys won't mind. He gets along well with all the kids who are going, he doesn't need me there."
"I'm just not comfortable with that," she protested. "You stay here and rest, I'll just take him myself."
"It's a "Guys' Weekend" - the party is for boys and their DADS, no Moms or sisters - you can't go."
"Oh give me a break! I've spent all season with these guys, we're all good friends. They've never been inhibited around me when it comes to their discussion, it'll be fine. I won't be in the way - I'm just like "one of the guys" to them, anyway."
In many ways, Deena was, indeed, "one of the guys". Gender lines were often blurred when the parents were up late in the hotel drinking in the hallways - everyone was friends with everyone, and they were comfortable discussing any topic. In fact, late-night discussions could run the gamut, anything from plumbing repairs, to vacation plans, to remodeling homes, to the latest pop culture from music and movies. But as the beer and rum continued to flow, most of those conversations ended up going in an X-rated direction. Moms would talk about their bikini waxes and Brazilians, the guys would talk about a hot Mom with big tits that they spotted at the rink from an opposing team, Moms might talk about the latest trashy they'd read, while Dads might talk about recent jaunts to the strip club. From there, dirty jokes just abounded.
And even though Deena thought she was just "one of the guys" in those conversations, the guys never stopped looking at her as a woman. That didn't mean they were inhibited in their conversation, just that they couldn't stop mentally undressing her and lusting about what it would be like to hook up with her or some of the other Moms on the team.