Rules Are Rules (Day 43, Year 3)

My conflict with refs began at my son's town basketball game. The ref called every last freaking thing; except, of course, when my son was accidentally bitten (or as he says "someones teeth cut my elbow). I was grumbling the entire time. I pictured the ref (who is someone's Dad, hi, sorry, nice to meet you!) with a very clean car and shelves of rule books organized by size and color. 

I guess my mind was preparing me for the big dance of ref complaining this evening. 

I mean, really, holding? Hardly! I don't know anything, but I know that was nonsense. 

But, still, I know, I know, the refs are just doing their job. And in the case of my son's town basketball, they are basically reffing gym glass, as my husband reminded me, which made me even more irate (give the kids a break!). 

And before you judge me or roll your eyes at me, I want you to remember all the times you've said "COME ON!" in response to someone calling you out on something you've done. 

We've all done it. I'll probably complain about a rule at least 3 times tomorrow; and 3 times the next day and so on. And it isn't even the rules I dislike, it is the person whose job it is to point out my failure to comply or the person who misses on someone else's failure to comply and let's them get away with it. 

Yeah, that's the worst, when someone gets away with the thing I wanted to get away with. 

I told my husband tonight we should just get rid of the rules in sports and let everyone fight to the win. Of course this takes away the sport of it; and what are they fighting for exactly because without rules there is no way to score and everyone would just end up fighting. And everyone would be injured or dead. 

Rules and compliance with rules keeps us alive enough to become aggravated and complain about the rules. It is insanity really--the desire for order and then the desire to rewrite what that order should look like just because we don't like how it all played out. 

In the end, it is just a game and rules are rules, I guess.

Anyway, I am not sure where I am going with all of this, except to say, GO BIRDS.