Dear Kid,

It won’t surprise you to learn we’ve been watching a lot of soccer recently. There’s that World Cup thing going on you know.

I know soccer is a physically tough demanding sport. But I’m so surprised by the number of shots that aren’t even close to being shots on goal. These players are the best players in the world—it seems like they would come closer for the majority of shots. Even hockey shots that miss tend to come closer and the goal is a lot smaller. Can’t say I really understand it.

I heard a great quote about soccer. A woman on NPR (don’t ask me who, I missed that part of the conversation) said that—as a short woman—she was absolutely in favor of a game where the best player in the world is 5’6”. Yep, that about sums everything up from my point of view!

Referees are allowed to stop play during the World Cup 2 or 3 times due to weather conditions. This is a most excellent decision. No one quite knows what the criteria are around calling a water break, but given the location (Brazil is great, but major soccer playing in this weather? Seriously? Almost as smart as Winter Olympics in a beach resort town. Oh, yeah. We did that this year too.) In my opinion, this is not only really smart for the players and officials, it is an important message for little soccer wannabes around the world. Water is critical. Drink more. Pay attention to your body. Etc.

This is your mother speaking: Take a drink of water. Stay hydrated.

Love, Mom