What I Love About Baseball
Did you know that there is a fairly big market of accessories for baseball mom's? Go to Etsy and type in "baseball mom." You will see 13,000 items come up. There are bags, purses, jewelry, shoes, shirts, hair items . . . you name it- it's there. What in the world????? Go to a little league baseball game and you will see quite a few of those items. If you're not into youth sports . . . you're missing out.
One of these days Andrew is going to look at us and say he's done playing baseball. I will be so sad. I love baseball. People who don't hang out at baseball fields, totally don't get it. Maybe they think we're weirdos. Maybe they think we're pressuring our kids and forcing them to play this insane, time consuming sport. People who do hang out at baseball fields . . . you get it. You will totally understand this post.
One time I posted this picture on Facebook.
And my friend said- "No wonder y'all can stay at a field all day!!! You are in the lap of luxury." It's true- we put tents over the bleachers and bring comfy chairs and coolers full of snacks and drinks. So that I don't have to pack this much junk every weekend, I usually put it in the back of Doug's truck the first tournament of the season and then just leave it there, so I don't have to repack it all every weekend. We have a wagon to carry the cooler and the bag of entertainment for Alexa. It's a bit of production, but so worth it.
Why? Why is this worth it?
1. The lessons Andrew has learned. He's learned teamwork. He's learning that practice actually does make perfect (or muscle memory- either way). He's learned the joy of winning and the frustration of losing. He's learned the joy of making a great play, and the frustration of sucking it up. He's learned how to deal with failure (well . . . that's a lesson still in progress). He's learning that as part of a team, he has to do what's best for the team- not for his personal glory. He's learning that he is PART of a team, not an individual player with a group of boys. He's learning that his parents will go ape **** on him, if he argues with the ump, but give a small "Good job" if he makes a good play. He's learning all the terms for male genitalia. He's learning how to encourage his teammates. He's learning the joy of being on a team and the awesomeness of when they "gel."
2. The friends we've made. Over the last 2 days, we've been at the field for about 10 hours. 10 hours in one weekend. WTH?!!!! Folks- this ain't nuthin'. We're just getting started. I've been on the field when it's over 100 degrees. I've been on the field when it was 50 degrees and windy as all get out. I've been there cheering them on at 9am and 9pm. I've been there through torrential rain storms and huge thunderstorms. Like the boys unite, the parents unite. I've been lucky enough to have been on teams, with positive parent experiences.
3. I've seen completely A-Maze-ing plays. Our first All-Star baseball season, I saw a kid make a triple play. Folks that kid was 5 years old. He had the where-with-all to know to catch the ball, tag the runner, and throw the ball to first and tag out that runner. Shut the front door. That kid was 5. I've seen kids hit the ball out of the fence. It is exciting and awesome every.single. time. Yesterday, our team was down by 2 in the last inning. One of the boys hit the ball out of the fence, with a runner on second. He tied the game. He single handedly saved the game. I've seen kids steal home, make amazing line drive, or diving catches. I've seen amazing come from behind wins to win a championship.
To think that I've seen so many of these amazing things- out of 5-10 year old kids, is what makes it so special.
One of these days Andrew is going to look at us and say he's done playing baseball. I will be so sad. I love baseball. People who don't hang out at baseball fields, totally don't get it. Maybe they think we're weirdos. Maybe they think we're pressuring our kids and forcing them to play this insane, time consuming sport. People who do hang out at baseball fields . . . you get it. You will totally understand this post.
One time I posted this picture on Facebook.
And my friend said- "No wonder y'all can stay at a field all day!!! You are in the lap of luxury." It's true- we put tents over the bleachers and bring comfy chairs and coolers full of snacks and drinks. So that I don't have to pack this much junk every weekend, I usually put it in the back of Doug's truck the first tournament of the season and then just leave it there, so I don't have to repack it all every weekend. We have a wagon to carry the cooler and the bag of entertainment for Alexa. It's a bit of production, but so worth it.
Why? Why is this worth it?
1. The lessons Andrew has learned. He's learned teamwork. He's learning that practice actually does make perfect (or muscle memory- either way). He's learned the joy of winning and the frustration of losing. He's learned the joy of making a great play, and the frustration of sucking it up. He's learned how to deal with failure (well . . . that's a lesson still in progress). He's learning that as part of a team, he has to do what's best for the team- not for his personal glory. He's learning that he is PART of a team, not an individual player with a group of boys. He's learning that his parents will go ape **** on him, if he argues with the ump, but give a small "Good job" if he makes a good play. He's learning all the terms for male genitalia. He's learning how to encourage his teammates. He's learning the joy of being on a team and the awesomeness of when they "gel."
2. The friends we've made. Over the last 2 days, we've been at the field for about 10 hours. 10 hours in one weekend. WTH?!!!! Folks- this ain't nuthin'. We're just getting started. I've been on the field when it's over 100 degrees. I've been on the field when it was 50 degrees and windy as all get out. I've been there cheering them on at 9am and 9pm. I've been there through torrential rain storms and huge thunderstorms. Like the boys unite, the parents unite. I've been lucky enough to have been on teams, with positive parent experiences.
3. I've seen completely A-Maze-ing plays. Our first All-Star baseball season, I saw a kid make a triple play. Folks that kid was 5 years old. He had the where-with-all to know to catch the ball, tag the runner, and throw the ball to first and tag out that runner. Shut the front door. That kid was 5. I've seen kids hit the ball out of the fence. It is exciting and awesome every.single. time. Yesterday, our team was down by 2 in the last inning. One of the boys hit the ball out of the fence, with a runner on second. He tied the game. He single handedly saved the game. I've seen kids steal home, make amazing line drive, or diving catches. I've seen amazing come from behind wins to win a championship.
To think that I've seen so many of these amazing things- out of 5-10 year old kids, is what makes it so special.
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