New Four Letter Words

We learned some new four letter words this weekend. Though I really can’t give you clear definitions.

Maul.

Ruck.

Plus a lovely five letter word.

Scrum.

None sound particularly nice. Maul is the only one I’m vaguely familiar with.

But not in this new context.

Our darling twins have picked up another bad habit sport in college.

Rugby

Call us narrow-minded but PhilBillPaul and I were less than thrilled to hear this. We know very little about the game except to describe it as “tackle football without pads or equipment.”

Oh wait, they do wear a pretty black mouth guard.

In their first mini-tournament that they insisted we not come and watch because they were still unsure of the rules, Rachel was kind enough to send me these photos. She is number 15.

Lizzie played too. Bottom right corner picture. She was just on the opposite side of the field barely in photographer’s view I guess.

Upon review, I had to ask if anyone else tackled anyone or just her?

She insisted she just happened to be playing right at the photographer’s angle.

She’s also the smallest one on the team (again) and after watching opposing basketball players literally lift her off the floor for years – I was pretty sure I was not going to like watching this.

Side note: No, I haven’t forgotten that they are Soldiers. Yes, it stresses me.

When they invited us to their first official full-length game this past weekend, we headed up to North Georgia as part of our parental obligation.

This after several lengthy discussions with the other darling twin, Lizzie.

Who had been sick enough to go to the clinic and was prescribed an antibiotic for an upper respiratory infection and went TUBING in the river less than 48 hours later.

Exact words:

“Mom it wasn’t strenuous, I just sat in the tube and floated.”

She then continue her quest for resting and healing 5 days later by engaging in a flag football game where she…

“might have broken her pinky…the clinic said I should have an x-ray…where do I go for that?”

Bonus diagnosis at the out-of-network clinic (who declared the pinky the worst sprain they’d ever seen) was BRONCHITIS with 3 new prescriptions including an inhaler and steroid to open her lungs.

She called to tell us before we left home for the game and I paraphrase a bit:

I’m not playing unless we don’t have enough players. I’ve already told the team captain I don’t want to play. And if she does have to put me in the game, it will be in the backfield where no one really goes just so we have enough players on the field. Blah, blah, blah. Lie, lie, lie.

She played. Not in the backfield.

She was actively involved in this scrum.

Well, at least I think this was a scrum. Maybe it was a maul?

PhilBillPaul’s keen observation as he folded up his chair:

Well, it was more fun to watch than cross country don’t you think?

Anyway, darling Lizzie came up to us after the game happy and excited.

With a bloody lip. BIG SIGH.

Oh, and they won.

yipee

Never did I think, especially in this day and age, we would be begging them to…

Stop Exercising

Can’t they just be couch potatoes and take it easy for ONE semester?

Seriously.

Or at least try out for a less aggressive sport. Golf? Badminton?

I’m pretty sure there’s a life lesson here. But I’m too old and tired to connect the dots. Other than college freshmen get sick a lot.

Besides I have a lot of reading to do about scrums and hookers.