Ah. Little League. You either love it or hate it. Me, I love it. What a fine excuse to sit outside in the fresh air with some friends and family. We eat sunflower seeds all day. We pay too much for Gatorade. We get to see our kids make new friends, and watch their playing improve.
Yes, it is a lot of work to get there day after day. It requires meal planning. I have a special "baseball bag" full of action figures, sunblock, and hand sanitizer. I have to lug our giant blanket and 2 camp chairs from the car to the field. Sometimes we have to bring the cooler.
But it's so worth it. We like to seek out some shade (though it's hard to find) and settle in for a few hours. The Little League games are in a stadium, so my younger kids can run around with all the neighborhood kids, and I can see them from where we sit. I have been known to sigh and say, "What a wonderful evening for baseball."
Here, Funny stares down the pitch.
There are things I don't like, to be certain. I don't like the upper field, where the sun beats down on us so hard that I have thought it would just be easier to die than sit there. I don't like the extra planning that goes into coordinating it all. I don't like having to miss church because of an ill-timed game. And don't get me started on T-ball. But I have seen my kids grow and improve. I have seen them gain confidence. I have taught my younger kids that we always support each other. That when one of us does something, we are all in it.
Scrappy watches Funny's game. Yes, he is sitting on an old-school score board.
There is something about kids playing baseball that is just so...suburban. So domestic. It's like there are no other problems in the world. It's just the batter and the pitcher. One of them wins, and one of them loses. Even better, whoever loses today could win tomorrow.
Goofy is delighted with his trophy.
"Man may penetrate the outer reaches of the universe, he may solve the very secret of eternity itself but for me, the ultimate human experience is to witness the flawless execution of the hit-and-run." -Branch Rickey
