Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
I’m a parent now in the position like most, paying for extras in life. When I grew up, my parents got me into everything. I played every sport possible and ended up at moto. I have zero clue what the cost was back then for my folks to do this, but I remember the sacrifices and time they put into me just going out to a smile on my face in the end. So I ask you, what is the cost for your child’s happiness?
I would say I’m middle class as far as my job goes. I try to have a decent house, food on the table, clothes on my kids’ backs, and my wife if there’s anything left. I don’t think anyone can argue that it’s expensive to just live these days. The price of everything is going up, and it sucks. The worst part of that inflation is that it affects our lives in such a negative way. And not just the “holy crap, how am I going to pay for this” way. It changes our mood, our attitude towards everything. This outside influence changes who we are within our own home. That’s the shitty part for some. I try to push past it or work around it, but when the bill comes in for whatever is due, I run my fingers through my hair and wonder how much hair I have. Another super bummer of the current world of high cost is no matter how much you make, you just spend more. Now, this theory has never changed, but damn is it ever frustrating. It’s awesome to grow up, to be able to pay bills, drink coffee, booze, watch better TV shows, etc., but grown-up problems suck, am I right?
I was told once you will never love anything more than your kids. It couldn’t be more true. There are some deadbeat parents out there, and that sucks. I couldn’t imagine not being part of my kid’s life or helping build them into good, respectful, hard-working grown-ups. It’s not an easy task by any means. My word, there are times both my wife and I want to toss them out the door and send them packing. But we made the sacrifice in our lives to help grow one another. That’s the deal. Then as they grow, it gets more and more expensive to help them live. It’s a pretty wild cycle of events.
I have always sold the sport of moto as a great family sport. There is a possibility of making it a career, but it’s an extremely small chance. The racing part, anyway. Jobs in the industry are always a possibility which is always fun because of the moto talk that occurs when you are doing nothing in the office, lol. The family that moto builds is like no other: BBQs, campfires, meeting new people, campouts, laughs and more. I know corporations pay a lot of money for staff team-building exercises. Well, motocross is one naturally occurring family/team-building exercise. You’re all together learning how to deal with one another when your racer crashes, or the bike breaks, you’re out of propane, you snapped a tie-down, you didn’t bring enough gas, your racers wins a moto, you meet a new girl or a new guy and bring them back to the trailer to meet dad after 5-10 beers at the campfire. A lifetime of lessons learned every time you’re at the track makes the cost seems pointless or irrelevant because it delivers so much for your family. Passion over paycheck has been something I have said for many years. You make sacrifices for your kids for moto or any sport because of the love you see them having in the moments you all share. You cannot put a price tag on family happiness.
Yet, there is that pesky cost of going to the track. In 2022 it’s going to be no easier across the country. Gas prices and food prices are super high. It’s part of it, and that’s where we make the sacrifice to ensure little Tommy or little Suzie get to go out with their friends at the track and then race a few times as well. I have signed my kids up for power skating, soccer, ball hockey, and more outside of moto. It’s always expensive. I get frustrated with the system, and my kids never seem to enjoy it (thus far – they are still young) as much as being at the track. I have always said I want my kids to do as much as possible and never be stuck in one sport. But, the way things are right now, it’s hard for the average family to find things cost-effective in the sports world where their kid can play multiple sports. Hence the reason for the sacrifice. Drop one for the other if needed. It’s all about the happiness and enjoyment it brings for the kid and the family. It will not get any easier for these kids to get houses and jobs in the future. They will need us as parents longer than we needed the support of ours when we were young. Crazy times make for crazy thoughts and maybe even crazy sacrifices for the better of what’s important.
I will give a little plug to the new documentary coming out from GDR Honda to end this off. They just posted a little teaser of info on their Instagram, but I can go a little deeper into it. This video from Interlaced Productions follows the team from the start of 2021 to letting go of Tanner Ward at the end of the season. It goes through the ups and downs of the series for the team, injuries, heartache, and more. I know team owner Derek Schuster is a sucker for a good documentary series, and, the Interlaced crew is hands down the best in Canada. So I’m thinking this video, all 40 minutes, should be pretty sick. But the best part is, if it sucks, we can all be HUGE keyboard warriors and talk shit on social media. That’s fun and easy, right?
