from the December 2012 issue of REAL SIMPLE

[bronze_ribbons]

Judith Newman, on being the mom of an 11-year-old football fanatic:

What do I wish for Christmas? I wish my husband, an opera singer even less interested in sports than I am, would take over my ESPN duties for a few weeks. Forget about jewelry or shoes or cunning scarves; I just want John to sit with Henry through Monday Night Football for the rest of the season.

Look, I love my son. Love him enough, even, not to roll my eyes when he sleeps in his football helmet, or sobs uncontrollably when his team loses, or insists on starting each morning with a piece of toast with the Jets insignia singed into it. (If only someone could figure out a way to burn the Jets logo into Brussels sprouts.) I have even learned to see the larger life lessons in fandom. To me, there is a straight line between a child who passionately loves a team that's on a losing streak to a grown man who sticks to a marriage in sickness and in health.