More Baseball

 We're not a travel baseball family.  

In fact, I dislike just about everything that travel sports represent.  

Yet.  Here we are.  

Nate earned a spot on the 12U tournament team for GVAA this summer.  So we're spending 5 weekends at local-ish  tournaments cheering him on.  It's wonderful - it truly is.  I cannot say enough wonderful things about the coaching staff, the kids playing, the parents and how the players have become a team.  

And it's unsustainable all Fall, Spring and Summer.  I don't see how 2 parent families with more than two children can handle having kids in travel sports.  Don't get me started on the dangers of being a single sport athlete as a pre-teen...it's the logistics.  The cost, the time, the travel, the incidentals, the schedule, and the world revolving around sport....I just don't think we can pull it off...and I'm not sure we want to.  

Nate is a baller.  He's good.  He hit a home run in the tourney this weekend that put a hole in the outfield screen and I"m not sure has landed yet.  He's fast, a good fielder, smart and invested in the game.  He was selected as MVP by the other team for 2/4 games this weekend.  That he's grown at least 6" in the past year and is strong as an ox doesn't hurt, either.  It would be great if he chose to go to public school (virtually) and would be able to play high school baseball.  He'd love it.  But I'm not sure travel ball is our thing.  

That all being said...this kid loves baseball.  So we shall see.  

Baseball Season

 After having completely discouraging experiences with the past 2 years of Benjamin's baseball coaches, I decided it was time to put my coaching hat back on.  I was hesitant.  I'm already Mom and Teacher to my kids.  How would Ben react to have me be "Coach", too?  He reacted in the best possible way when I told him, saying, "Well, Mom.  It's about time.  I'm the only kid you haven't coached yet.  It's only fair."  

Not that he's keeping score.  

It's hard.  It's a lot of organization, communication, learning, planning, redirecting and patience.  Other priorities have to be put on the back burner.  Much of the season, I felt like I was barely hanging on and only just keeping up with all of my necessary responsibilities.  There wasn't enough room to breathe or enough time to simply be.  The older I get, the more difficult life on high speed cruise control becomes. We decided after Fall Ball that this would be my last season coaching.  Because of the imbalance and because Ben needs a teacher / coach that isn't Mom.  

 But.  Let.  Me.  Tell.  You.  

The group of boys this spring was amazing.  They weren't the most athletic or the smartest ballplayers.  They didn't always get along.  To describe them as "high energy" is the grossest of understatements.  But somehow - together - these boys made a team so much greater than the sum of its parts.  It was a privilege to witness it unfold.   Baseball can be slow and the goal was to have each player MOVING and knowing what their job was with every play - regardless of where they were playing.  Players were expected to play every position it was safe for them to play.  SIX parents showed up to help with our first practice!  With so many hands, it was so much easier to keeps stations rotating and maximal learning to happen.  The first part of the season was slow.  The learning curve was steep.  To learn one position is difficult.  To learn 9 is really difficult.  I think because the boys were always playing different positions and they were always in motion, there wasn't time to get bored.  Unlike previous seasons, we were able to put focus on the outfield and let them know how important they really are - because EVERYONE was out there at some time!  One of my favorite things to do was to give "The Outfield Talk".  That was, to take the right fielder aside and answer the questions - What's in front of you?  (the infield) and What's behind you? (the fence) - and then tell the fielder that their job was crucial.  The ball can get past the infielders because the outfield is ready to back them up.  The ball CANNOT get past them on the ground because there is no one else there.  It's up to them to stop everything.  If the ball goes over their heads in the air, it's the pitcher's fault!  :)  Every time they come out of the outfield they should be exhausted because they have to be backing up every single play - and - be still my beating heart - by the end of the season that was happening.  

Somehow, these kids put their skills & knowledge into motion.  It was a sight to behold.  And then this happened

See that GVAA shout out for the B level?  Yep.  That's us!  :)

So now it's okay that I hang up the coaching hat for the near future.  And that's okay.  Everything has a season.  I think when I grow up, I'm going to Coach 10u again, though.  :)  

Summer

“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.”

-LM Montgomery. 

AaThat is why it’s hard to write things down. It’s glorious to go back and read about past antics, though. And they continue…

We’re in week 14 of active kitchen renovation. That’s after the foundation was poured and building started in January. It’s good to see things come together…and I’m grateful for the opt-out of cooking for the duration of the baseball season. 😊

It’s at the point now when I’ll believe we have a new kitchen when it’s complete.  Which will still be a few more weeks. Our diet has been comprised of $7/dozen Saturday morning bagels from Safeway, cereal in paper bowls, grilled veggies and a plethora of sandwiches. There was a week we went through seven loaves of bread, 2.5 pounds of cream cheese and a quart of both jelly and peanut butter. 

The new kitchen is beautiful. We went out of our comfort zone with the wall color and the countertop. But wow. 

Progress. It’s all about progress. Also, having patience sucks. 🤣

St Patrick’s Day.

 18. 

This is the 18th year we’ve taken St Patrick’s Day pictures as a family. 

That’s still sinking in. 
We started here. 

 And now we’re here. 

Worcester, Maryland, Oklahoma and back again to Maryland. 

What a long, strange, blessed trip it is. 

So.

 I cant keep up. So I’m not going to try. 

Life is full. Dance, church, Christian Formation, scouts, basketball, work, school, being. 

Yeah. It’s all there. 

But now I’m in school, too. 😊. In a certificate program at the McGrath Institute at Notre Dame. 

Yeah. 

THAT Notre Dame. I pinch myself every time I log in and the logo come up. I’m working on classes in Church history and aiming for a certificate in Sacred Scripture and/or Catholic Doctrine.  Currently I’m taking “Catholic History in the High to Late Middle Ages”.  Which seems like a snoozer…but oh my gosh …Pope Gregory VII is so ballsy, Pope Urban II has the gift of having you eat poo & making it taste good, Frederick of Barbarossa drown in a stream, Eleanor of Aquitaine married her cousin, became the Queen of France, went on a Crusade, slept with her uncle, got an annulment for cosanguity, married her other cousin (who she was more related to than the other one) and then became Queen of England. Sooo…ummm…yeah…Lest we think humanity is on the decline…we can rest assured that humanity has been a certifiable dumpster fire since the dawn of time. 

It’s fun!  

My Life in a Nutshell

 My 10 year old just requested to purchase Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” so “I can overthrow the neighborhood government “.

So…that’s how it’s going today. 

Appomattox Court House

 Did you know if “court house” is in a town name in Virginia that if it’s 2 words, as in Court House, it’s a town. If it’s one word….it’s an actual court house. Who knew?  

We finally adventured down to Appomattox Court House, VA. Like so many other places, after watching “The Civil War” eleventy billion times - we wanted to go see Wilmer McLean’s front parlor and where the arms were stacked for ourselves. Also, like all the rest of our National Parks, it did not disappoint. 

Since the kids weren’t interested in the Junior Ranger Badges, I earned one for me. 😊

It was a nice day.  A day that made all the years of carting antsy, grumpy kids all over and being the subject of judgey stares from strangers.  We hiked, we learned, we listened to a whole Tom Clancy novel and then episodes of “The West Wing” on XM.  A good day for the Dork Set  . 

We’re trying to decide where our next Adventure will be. 

Christmas

 I think I’ve done it. I might have actually figured out how to blog on the phone. 

I did figure most of it out…but the pictures keep loading at the top of the posting…so sequentially nothing makes sense   But I get credit for being present, right?  

Christmas and New Years have come and gone. I’m grateful to have our first traditional New Year celebration since 2019.  It was overwhelming to consider all that has happened since our last gathering. 

We are Umbrellas. These are Our People. In sunshine and storms. And I am grateful. 

Christmas was nice. It hit me like a brick that Caroline will be a senior in high school next year. There never will be the same Christmas twice…