Spendy Sports

I am all about sports. Granted, I've got a few extra pounds on me that I am trying very hard to rid myself of, but in general I am a HUGE supporter of sports. Especially for Katya.

One nice thing about having Katya when I was 23 is that I clearly remember middle and high school. The drama, the classes, the riding the bus, the horrid cafeteria food, the never fitting in, the cliques.... Normal stuff. The one thing that kept my sanity during those years was running. I started running in middle school and that carried over into high school.

Now that Katya is in high school, I am encouraging her to go out for any and all sports that she likes. She should try it all! It is a great way to make new friends, have new experiences, maintain her athletic build, and travel this great state of Oregon.

Volleyball and basketball are behind us now. Both of those sports were not too bad money wise. I would say we had to spend $200 or less for each sport. That includes sign up fee, fundraiser, sweatshirt/t-shirt, shoes and $20 here and there for when they travelled outside of the Bend area for overnighters.

Track and Field just started a few weeks ago and last night was the parent night. Evidently the high school takes their track and field program very seriously. They push the kids really hard and their training program has turned out a lot of amazing athletes and quite a few college scholarships. (Keeping my fingers crosses there) I mean, those kids are out there running, jumping and doing drills with snow blowing in their faces. Yikes!

This sport is costing us some serious coin. There was the sign up fee ($65), the money request for snacks, the $60 uniform deposit, the sweatshirt/t-shirts/team jacket/team beenie purchase, buying new shorts, a new athletic duffel bag (her other sports actually supplied her with one for the season), a spike bag, and the nutrition testing. The nutrition testing includes blood tests for iron, Vitamin D and then a urine test for pH something or other that I don't remember anymore.

Can I hear a CHA CHING???

But, Katya loves track and I want her to stay in it for all four years. I think that exercise helps keep endorphins up and stress levels down. But I am so glad that I have a job right now. Granted, my hours were cut WAY back, but it is still income. Which is good, since it will take a while for my checking account to recover.