NFL: life in a lockout

it seems like i am always being asked the question, "what's it like to be an nfl wife?".  well, that is not at all an easy question to answer.  are you talking about during the off season?  when we are at home?  groupies?  fans?  other wives?  partying?  on game day?  during training camp?  on rookie night?  self-esteem?  materialism?  career/location instability?  after a lost game?  or after a win?  there are so many aspects to consider.  our life is constantly adapting to coincide with the ever changing needs of the nfl.  (i've never watched those reality shows about professional athletes' wives but i have heard from reliable cources that they do not accurately portray the average nfl family lifestyle.)  and i would have to say that my family is pretty average.  so i will attempt (over the next few months) to provide a more correct  depiction .

if i could only use one word to describe my life right now i would go with, unpredictable.  there is constant uncertainty as to when this lockout will end thus bringing about our pending move to the lovely new york.  i always have everything tidied up & ready to go should the lockout come to a close tomorrow & we be expected to move across the country in a matter of days.  or of course, there is the other possibility that this lockout will continue through the season, in which case we try to enjoy this time off & pack every moment full of fun.  it is rather hard to be ready to go & always on the go at the same time.  we are constantly invited to various events & our response is always the same, "we'll see".  we can't commit to anything.  i try to limit my grocery purchases to a one week supply so when the time comes to leave we don't have an abundance of food to throw out.  the down side to this is that i am forced to make more grocery trips than i would like.  we've been living with this dilemma since the first week of march.  this is precisely why having a spontaneous & non-stop fun husband like todd sure does come in handy.  he takes our unstable life in stride & never let's it phase him.  just look at our crazy fun life we enjoy thanks to him:  we went on a huge adventure to utah for 7 weeks then within 10 days of returning we have visited yosemite, san francisco, and santa cruz, coop & i went on a date to his first musical, todd & t.j. had their first date night, todd helped with a friend's sports camp, we've been swimming with friends, and stopped by the water park.

this is difficult to cope with for a natural planner like myself.  i love to plan.  i am a habitual planner.  planning keeps me sane.  i like to know what is coming & how i am going to handle it.  for example, cooper's birthday is 2 months away.  on a normal year i would have already planned his party, purchased all the supplies, bought every gift, & had the full days' menu laid out.  so it is killing me to not have any of it together!  cooper also has to be enrolled in preschool & soccer for the fall. so do i sign him up in california or new york, or both?  along with these concerns i also wonder where i will live in ny, how will i get all of our belongings out there, how long will we be there...the list goes on.  all these questions are overwhelming but i always try to see the positive in each situation.  i know that everything i encounter offers me the opportunity to learn & grow in some way.  this lockout is no exception.  through this experience i have learned a great deal about "going with the flow", patience, improvising, and the true importance of things.

now with that being said, could the nfl & the players please come to an agreement & end this  lockout?!