I didn’t know it when it happened, but I was born a hockey mom. I played basketball in college and always thought I’d be a basketball mom, but I didn’t recognize the unseen forces working against me. Born and raised in Minnesota, birthing and raising kids in Minnesota–it’s inevitable that they were more likely to become hockey players. Kids start skating when they are two. My first born was an active boy who needed to be kept moving during the winter. Hockey will take them at age five? Okay, let’s sign him up for hockey. Thus, I became a hockey mom.

But something really cool happened while I was becoming a hockey mom….I also became a lacrosse mom. I should have known this would happen when I married a lacrosse defenseman from Long Island. But when I married him, lacrosse in Minnesota was so rare, most people thought I was talking about a city in Wisconsin. But slowly over time, through the efforts of a lot of passionate and committed people, it’s now very common to be a lacrosse mom in Minnesota.

Being a lacrosse mom is like being a hockey mom, but different.  Yes, I have hauled (and still haul) kids to early morning practices or games at painfully early times. But during lacrosse season, I don’t drive in the dark. Instead, it’s beautiful to drive the empty streets while the sun is just rising above the horizon. I don’t watch games wrapped in a blanket in a freezing rink, I watch games in a tank top under a gorgeous warm sun.

During lacrosse season, I treat myself to pedicures because I can show off my toes. During hockey season, why bother? They are buried under layers of socks and a thick pair of boots.

But maybe the best part of being a lacrosse mom is joining the amazing lacrosse community. My husband already knew what this community was like–connected, passionate, compassionate–always eager to welcome new members. This community is growing in Minnesota and it is exciting to be part of this growth as a mom of four players, a coach of two, a wife of a coach, a mother of coaches–for me, being a lacrosse mom has become more than just driving and watching. It is the shared passion that bonds our family together. I didn’t know it when it happened, but we were born to be a lacrosse family.

Posted on behalf of Jenn Graff
by Epoch Author Carrie Moeger