…is never how I want a conversation to start. But this is exactly what happened Thursday when my 10 year old got home from school. Now, what we did Wednesday was go to the school administration building to get her signed up for basketball. I also paid the $25.00, non-refundable fee. She has been going to 2-3 basketball practices a week, for the past couple of weeks. Wednesday was the last possible day I could sign her up and pay the fee in order for her to be on the team. I waited until the last possible minute to give her ample time to figure out if she did or did not like it, and if it was something she would be able to make a commitment to and follow through with.

So what I said as soon as I heard those terrifying Mom-you-are-probably-going-to-be-mad-at-me words come out of her mouth :

Me: “You do not want to play basketball any longer.”

Her: “No. I’m not very good at it.”

Me: “That is why they have practice. No one can get really good at something without practice.”

Today she was supposed to stay after school for basketball practice.  Which would likely explain the phone call I received at work from her at 8 a.m., telling me her stomach hurt every time she moved.

Really???

So, what I am going to tell her when I get home, is that if she does not want to participate in basketball, she will be doing $50.00 worth of chores around the house, and I determine what that $50.00 worth of chores consists of, or I will directly take $25.00 out of her Christmas money, and she will get less gifts than her sisters. I am not going through this with her every day there is basketball practice.

I will also not allow her to sign up for anything else again. Is this harsh, mean, cruel, I’m a horrible Mommy?

Yeah; I can live with that. Because I am not even going to begin explaining the number of things this child has been signed up for, only to wait until I invest my time and money to the point of no return, and beyond, before she drops out.

You would not even want to guess how much one year of Irish dancing lessons, school uniforms, 2 pairs of shoes, travel time, gas money, days off from work, and hotel rooms can add up to.

So No, she does not get to sign up for anything else. Unless if it costs me zero dollars, and does not involve me driving or picking her up.