For An Additional Fee. . .

I never played soccer as a child. I never asked to, thanks to multiple sporting disasters during early gym classes. And oddly enough for this area, my parents never pushed me into it. I can't imagine why they weren't dying to spend a few hours standing on a field making small talk every weekend.

For the most part, I am glad Ironflower and Lovebug like sports more than I ever did. Which is why I've spent the last week trying to accrue soccer gear. Apparently I missed the place on the original sign up where it said they'd need shin guards and cleats. I thought it was all non-competitive and kids running around kicking a ball. And after observing games this weekend, I would say it mostly is that. But the kids are all equipped like they're Mia Hamm or David Beckham.

I inadvertently discovered that there is an entire store devoted to soccer gear in a nearby town. Sadly, the customer service was about as helpful as reading Amazon reviews like I did to find most of the gear, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Most people around here seem to know all about this soccer stuff and what's needed. Maybe I should have joined the PTA after all.

Anyway, I think the kids have everything they need now. I finally get the slight panic in the face of the dad signing his daughter up for dance a few years ago as he was confronted with various leotards and types of ballet slippers. He had no idea what the hell was going on, exactly like me with soccer.

So I think soccer programs, dance lessons and all the other classes kids take are missing a golden opportunity. Imagine if you could get all the necessary stuff for each activity just handed to you when you signed up? For an additional fee, of course. But wouldn't that be awesome? They already do it for school supplies. And I can't tell you how much more relaxed I was at the beginning of school, knowing all the kids' necessary supplies were waiting in their classrooms.

What activities do you kids do? Do you wish they had all their supplies handed to you when you signed up?