We signed the boys up for Spring Baseball this year and we were all set the spend our early summer at the ballpark. Ethan's age group didn't have enough kids sign up, so they cancelled it and sent us a refund. I was sad about that, but also a little relieved when the reality of how many nights we would be spending at the park started to become clear. Everly is perfectly happy to play in the dirt with sticks, but the others were a little more restless.
Actually, it's pretty nice.
Most nights I spent my time negotiating with the girls how much time we could spend at the playground, half watching them play while trying to catch a glimpse of when Mat is up to bat. Eventually I would insist we go back and watch and they would be off to catch fireflies and draw in the dust.
Mat's team had a rough start....and a bumpy middle. They didn't win a game in, like, forever. BUT! There were cool kids and they built a great feeling of support and acceptance for each other and I was consistently proud of how they handled themselves through disappointment and stressful situations. I could see Mat learning the game and reaching out to his teammates. I could also see his self confidence grow as he went out there to try over and over.
Many times, Mark was the only one able to attend a game (he was assistant coach) because we had conflicting activities with the other kids.
So imagine how excited he was to come home and tell us that he had made the winning run and been given the game ball for the first game the team ever won!!! It made me cry!
Yay Strikers!!
Still have that baseball! Not gonna get rid of it either.
ReplyDelete