A League of Her Own

Meredith has started playing softball this spring, and Matt is beside himself with excitement. He is helping to coach the team, and loves to practice with her. I know that this is the stage of childhood that he envisioned when he thought of having children, so I am happy for him that we are finally here. Mere is in an 8 and under league, with 6-8 year olds, and is playing with Madelyn Frans. (Madelyn is Kyle and Rhea's daughter, Kyle and Matt went to school together from 5th grade on, and used to play baseball together, so it is fun to watch them relive their "glory days" as they teach their daughters.)

I have little to no knowledge about ANY sport, I have always found them boring, largely because they all seem to require one skill I was born without: Hand-eye coordination! Once again, this is an area where Matt and I can balance each other out, because for every game I tune out, he can tell you the final score, the last time that team won, and other random facts about them, for football, baseball and basketball. It's not a skill that I envy, but I am happy that he knows that stuff because at least our kids stand a chance of being athletic!

The team was thrown together at the last minute, and there was an aspect at the first meeting that excited me...Uniforms! The moms (and Matt and one other dad) all went shopping for them together, and we decided on cute little pleated skorts, pink t-shirts and black knee socks. Matt and Kyle are both against the decision to let the girls wear black skorts or shorts, they feel that pants and a traditional uniform are more appropriate. That's what happens when you let the moms choose the clothes! Their team chose the Wildcats as their name, and all of the girls look so cute in their uniforms! Unfortunately they are all at about the same skill level I am. It's fun to watch them when they are aware of what's happening though, they play their little hearts out. And there is still some of that childhood classic of standing in the field, playing in the dirt and admiring the grass while the game is happening, which is amusing, if not productive.

We have had 2 games this week, and we lost both of them, but I would like to see the birth certificates for the other girls, because I am pretty sure they have to be much older than our team. Our first girl up to bat was literally only a head taller than the catcher's waist! Meredith said tonight "I'm tired and just frustrated. Every time we play, the other team beats us." We talked about experience and practice and the fact that they are all trying their best, and this is just for fun. I am actually in awe of the fact that she seems to know what is going on! I am proud of her, she is starting to pay attention and I think by next year she will be taking this very seriously.

Nathan has a great time running all over the place while we are "watching" the games. He picked up handfuls of dirt and tossed them in the air, ran under the bulletin board 87 times, played cars, tried to climb the fence, ran into the dugout twice, tried to tip a trash can over once and made it over to the t-ball field behind us before I caught him because I foolishly wore flip flops. (Rookie mistake.) And all of that was in the first 30 minutes while they were warming up!

It should be a good way to introduce Meredith to competitive sports, help her bond with Matt over a common interest, and get some cute pictures, which is my favorite part! And the kids and I definitely wear ourselves out during the games, so we should all sleep well for the next few months.