Baseball Memories

That happened, and it opened the floodgates of reminiscing about my baseball past.

Once the cold winds of April blew themselves out, and that last gasp of snowfall melted, all thoughts turned to baseball. 

Where I grew up, we didn't have a soccer league to play in during summer and from May to late July, we ruled the baseball diamonds. It was a gathering place, a social event. Parents would meet and visit whilst us kids played ball starting with Mosquito all the way up to PeeWee.

I have many vivid memories of playing summer ball; My first game, where I earned the nickname 'Boomer.' Being part of many provincial teams and travelling the province. Our second baseman, Clay, always relaying messages to me from the coach because I couldn't hear all that well. One of our pitchers, Eric, throwing a perfect game. The last game with the only coach I had known at that point and feeling so disappointed we didn't win one for the Gipper. The odd way I would hold my bat: flat across my shoulders, hiding my face from the pitcher. The last season I played where we one the league championship.

I still smell the grass sometimes, and feel the shale under my cleats. I hear the snap of the baseball hitting my glove and the sharp ping of the aluminum bat when it struck the ball.

I mostly remember the teams we had, and the fun that we all had together. I never was one of the "cool kids" growing up, but being a part of the teams we had always gave me things in common with  everyone else.

And now, with P-Man growing older, it has occured to me that I really want him to build these kinds of memories too. I really want him to be a part of something that, no matter how well they ever did, he and his team-mates/castmates/group stood up together and faced all obstacles head one and never quit.

I want him to learn teamwork, perseverance, comraderie, and achievement.

And selfishly, I want to drive him to practises, sit in the stands and watch a part of me build the memories he will take with him for the rest of his life.

For now, GO JAYS. My butt is firmly planted on the bandwagon.

All Of The Cake

I have a bad habit of complaining about the time I spend with my son.

Not in a bad way, mind you, just complaining that I don't feel like I spend enough time, enough QUALITY time, with him every morning before I drop him off.

Our morning unfolds like this:

630-700 am - My little guy will whisper in my ear; "Daddy, are you awake?" or "Daddy, open your eyes." or "Daddy, GET UP!" At which point, I will grumpily roll over and pretend I didn't hear him, which initiates physical contact, mostly in the form of hand pulling or face slapping.

730-900 am - Breakfast, Paw Patrol, playtime, both of us in our underwear, usually. I will then mosey upstairs to take a shower, leaving him to watch Paw Patrol, and me hoping he is not wrecking something expensive downstairs.

930 am - This is usually the time we get our butts in gear and get ourselves out of the house.

Now, I start work at 1100 am, which isn't bad, but I do have to admit, that 930 - 1015 is not the most amount of time to do fun stuff together, so usually it's to a park for a bit.

Most days, I'll get home, and the squirt is in bed or near ready for bed, so I really need to take advantage of that time I have.

I know that my situation is not unique.  So many parent, especially shift working parents probably feel like they don't spend enough time with their children. I can't imagine the sacrifice of a soldier deployed, of an oil field worker, a long haul trucker, anything that keeps people away from their childeren for extended periods of time. I shouldn't complain, but I do.

I fall into the trap of needing to make every moment we have together a golden moment.

If we aren't doing some amazing things, did I fail?

Is just going to the park good enough? Probably, but I sometimes think we could be doing more!

Ive watched some youtube videos of some parents making videos with their kids. I tried that today, and boy, did I feel like I was completely unengaged in what was going on. Maybe that's a thing to do when he's older, but for right now, not so much.

I think I just need to calm down and understand that whatever time we have with our kids, moments, hours, days, if there are mostly smiles and laughter, it makes up for the time we don't have.