It's Hammer Time!

So last night was Peyton's football benefit. The coaches gathered together before last night to give each kid their official "football nickname" and then called them up one by one for their certificate and trophy. When the kids came up, the head coach (Coach Richie) gave a little speech about each one. When I heard him say "Where's my little UFC fighter? Where's Peyton". Between feeling the "oh crap" of any mother who isn't fully comfortable with her child's "Enforcer" status and the huge smile because I'm so proud that he's given his all, I sat in for the speech. The coach talked about how Peyton is the definition of the word aggression and how he has no "off" switch. He talked about how Peyton was ready to throw down with anyone who even looked at he or his team mates the wrong way. He was then given his official football nickname that I'm sure will follow him throughout his football career. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you...

Yup. My child is now called "The Hammer". I am the least competitve person on the planet. I've never been in to sports and I've never been in a real fist fight. The idea of my son being "The Hammer" makes me cringe...but it also makes me smile. Anyone who knows Peyton knows that there truly ISN'T an off switch with his energy and passion. Since he was a baby, he is go go go all the time. When he loves something, he loves it fiercely and he loves his teammates and his coaches. He would go out of his way to give "Hammertime" to any of the opposing team if he even thought they were looking at them funny.

Also, anyone who knows Peyton knows that off the football field his personality is the exact opposite of "Hammer". From the moment he was born, he was the easiest and kindest person I've ever met in my life. There were no awful terrible twos with Peyton. There was no "biting phase" or other mean streaks that most children go through. He was everyone's buddy and my angel. He is this extremely kind and sensitive person off the field, so it was even more of a shock to my system to see the "Hammer" getting lowered on so many unsuspecting kids. (For my family that was at the infamous game where I cried...you know exactly what I mean. I won't get in to it now cause it's Friday and I don't feel like crying all over again). But, in closing, I am happy that "The Hammer" has an outlet to channel his aggressions...and even happier its towards the opposing team. He's a team player 'till the end...and regardless of WHAT his nickname is, he'll always just be my "Bubba".