Bud loves baseball. My darling husband loves baseball. The laborador retriever loves baseball. I, on the other hand...well, I love the Boston Red Sox when they are doing well (and end up doing well...which, for most of their history, is generally not the case). I played T-ball for one season and that was about all of my baseball experience. I switched to more exciting (to me) activities like horse-back riding and tennis.
Last summer, my darling husband staked out a part of one of the horse pastures for the Chobani baseball field (Chobani, the Greek yogurt brand, is headquartered the next town over). The boys would go out there and play every evening, and they convinced me that it would be fun. Every so often I would join them. They stuck me in the "field" which encompassed playing first base, second base, and the outfield concurrently. I got pretty good at fielding, and my arm isn't half bad either. The problem was, I didn't have my own glove. I would use Bud's when he was batting (which was most of the time), and then I would switch to my husband's left handed glove (which means I wear it on my right hand!?) when he was batting (which meant I got pretty good at throwing with my left hand as well). For my birthday this year, I asked for a baseball mitt from Bud, and he got me one. I'm actually quite excited about it!
My darling husband loves, loves, LOVES Little League Opening Day (he's coached Bud's team for the past five years). He loves the pictures, the parade, the mayhem! Bud is of course a big fan as well. I, on the other hand, get a little overwhelmed with 400 elementary school kids swarming around in complete chaos! This is why I taught middle school. You can reason with middle schoolers. This is also why I continually bow down and kiss the feet of any elementary school teacher! I try to avoid all the hoopla and just show up for the actual game to cheer Bud on.
This year, however, my darling husband was called away from his Opening Day Duties rather suddenly. I had to pinch-hit so to speak. I was genuinely happy to help out although my mind set was "it's only a few hours...you can do anything for a few hours". So I jumped right into the fray and the chaos. Except... there wasn't any fray or chaos. I had built up Opening Day in my mind to be this overly dramatic, complicated whirlwind. But, careful planning had paid off and everything ran smoothly and was very enjoyable. The field was decked out with the traditional balloons and bunting. All the teams assembled on the in-field and the Masters of Ceremonies said a few words and thanked the sponsors. The jazz quartet from the high school played the National Anthem. Then one of the players threw out the first pitch to open up the season. I was assisting with concessions, and with the help of four or five teenagers and a Little League Board member we were able to take care of everybody's needs. It was all very simple. I took some time to soak up the activity and thought how this is what Bud is going to remember--a family-oriented, fun celebration of America's favorite past time. When he's a dad or an uncle, he's going to remember marching in the Little League parade every year, chatting with his buddies, swinging the bat, and hearing the crowd cheer him on. A lot of preparation goes into making Opening Day what it is. It's not fancy or extravagant, but it's so meaningful. And when so much hard work goes behind the scenes by dozens of volunteers who all respect one another, it turns out to be a wonderful, time-honored, and cherished tradition for so many of our children.
So, good luck Phillies. May you play well during the 2012 Season of Little League Baseball!
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