This is not the version anyone posts on Instagram. This is what actually happened.
"6:04pm — You check the schedule for next weekend."
— Every Soccer Parent, Without Fail
5:47am — Alarm goes off. You question every decision you've ever made.
6:15am — Kid is somehow already awake and asking if it's time to go. It is not time to go.
6:40am — Loading the car. You are a Tetris champion and no one will ever know.
7:30am — Arrive at the fields. It's colder than expected. Your coffee is already half gone.
8:00am — Game 1. You stand the whole time because the chair situation didn't work out again.
9:45am — Game 1 ends. You eat a granola bar for breakfast. Your kid eats an orange slice, three goldfish crackers, and a Gatorade and somehow has more energy than before the game.
10:30am — Game 2. You've found a spot of shade. It lasts eleven minutes before the sun moves.
12:15pm — Lunch break. Everyone is tired, slightly sunburned, and discussing where to get food within two miles of a field complex. The options are not great.
1:45pm — Game 3. You're running on fumes and pure sports-parent adrenaline.
3:30pm — Done. Loading the car. The tent takes longer to break down than it did to set up. It always takes longer to break down.
6:00pm — Home. Kid is asleep in the back seat. You sit in the driveway for four minutes before you can move.
6:04pm — You check the schedule for next weekend.
A Better Version of This Day
Most of what made today hard was setup and breakdown — the hauling, the tent, the chairs. Sideline Society handles all of that so your 5:47am is just about getting to the game, not surviving it.