Now that basketball season is over, I gave my 6 year old son the choice of his next activity, soccer or t-ball.  His choice—piano lessons.

Piano, really?  OK, no one is “cooler”  than Justin Timberlake, so I’m not at all against my son being a musician.  Musical talent runs in the family and his music teacher at school has given him exceptional marks for his ear for music.  So maybe this will be his life’s passion?

Sure, music is cool, but what about sports??  I grew up playing all kinds of sports from the time I was very young.  All through high school I was involved in sports every season (although I did trade my bball hightops for a cheerleading skirt come Junior year)!  Playing sports played such a positive role in my life.  So many of my relationships were formed through my teams, I learned sportsmanship and teamwork and was accountable to my team –which kept me out of a lot of trouble.  Playing sports also kept me active and in great shape.  It was definitely one of the most positive influences in my younger years.

So, as you can imagine, I always wanted my kids to play sports.  I decided before even becoming a mom that my kids would be just as involved in sports as I was.  So I got my son started early.  We started with swim lessons, which he really enjoyed ( and I enjoyed even more when he could finally go into the pool without me having to suit-up!)   At age 3 we did T-ball, which was amusing more than anything.  And this year we started soccer and basketball.  My son is usually hesitant to go..and he almost always puts up a fight.  But once we get there he almost always has fun.  Although he may not be a “natural” athlete like some of the other kids, he is smart, fast and focused and always makes me proud.  In basketball he was the tallest and the fastest kid on the team, I was so proud, I thought he may have found a true talent.

So here’s the bummer…he doesn’t want to play!  I told myself I would expose him to all sorts of sports, then, when he was old enough, he could choose which ones he wanted to play.  His choice, Piano.

And so, because I want to be a supportive mom, and encourage my kids to do whatever makes them happy and fulfilled, I took to the net to find piano lessons.  I’ll admit I was a little relieved to discover the local studio requires kids to be 7 years old.

So now I am faced with having to force my kiddo into playing another spring sport.  I think he is too young to decide for himself not to play, and he definitely needs an extracurricular activity to keep him active, and so begins another season of wishful thinking that this will be the year that he decides sports are cool.

It’s a funny thing that happens when kids start becoming their own unique individual selves.  I couldn’t be prouder of my son and will support him all the way to the Grammy’s should he choose to become my little piano man