Haven’t blogged in a while here. My other blog and responsibilities have taken over my time but I promise I haven’t quit this project.

Today is the first game. High school football. Freshman team. Thursday Night Lights.

The weather is gloriously, thankfully, mild and humidity is down. There is no Code Orange air quality alert.

The pollen is not terrible today, according to the “Allergy Tracker” on weather.com.

So why am I worried?

Because I am a mom of an athlete with asthma.

The good news, and there is a lot of good news, is that he has done better this summer and this August than ever before. Possible reasons for this improvement are:

1. He is in better shape than ever. They have lifted weights and worked on conditioning since the spring.
2. There is less dust than last year. The high school field and facilities are a million times nicer than the middle school. They actually have grass and there is less crap blowing around.
3. Maybe, just maybe, he’s getting better/growing out of it?

Wishful thinking, perhaps. It’s most likely the first two, but a mom can hope, right? He has only had one day of real breathing trouble — their first afternoon August practice — and even that day, he controlled it with his inhaler.

He knows now, at the age of 14, to sit down and use his inhaler when he feels trouble coming on, and not wait until it becomes a crisis. His coaches know. He has had some allergy trouble this week but nothing severe.

All of this to say, that even though I want to let it go and try to let it go and let Jesus take the wheel, the first game is always nerve wracking. I pray for all of these kids, on both sides, to be safe and well and have a good game.

I love football and I love it for my son and all the good it does him. I am grateful that his meds keep him well enough that he can play. And breathe.

As for me, I will breathe easier after the game. Go Cougars!