A little R & R after a long, hot project

When one is totally focused on one goal, it's hard to remember that other parts of your life go on too. We discovered that this week with the mad rush to finish the Science Fair project. Wednesday, after school, ZBoy came home ready to do nothing more than relax before his baseball game.

Guess what, ZBoy? There's still spelling and math to do!



The other homework got done with token grumbling (must have seemed easy after the last couple of days!), and by the time he was done, it was time to get ready for baseball!

Like anything else, too much of one thing isn't good, and Darling Man grew up in a family obsessed with baseball. His dad was a little league coach, his brothers both played avidly, and my husband played reluctantly. It was fun at first, and then the pressure was on - be GOOD at it; win; you could get a scholarship; you could go pro. Darling Man was pretty good. He played catcher for years before finally deciding that baseball wasn't for him and telling everyone else that that's the way it was. He moved on to football, then more artistic pursuits like painting and music.

So it was with some trepidation that he agreed when ZBoy asked if he could play baseball. We have gone out of our way to make sure he knows that it is ONLY A GAME. It's something you do for fun. If it's not fun, there is no point.



He plays outfield a lot. At first he wanted to be in one of the glamour spots - pitcher or catcher. And found out very quickly that neither one was for him. He's a big picture kind of guy, and outfield suits him quite well. Occasionally, he does play second or third base, and does okay, but he seems to shine out there in the farthest reaches, surrounded by grass and sky and chainlink fence.



The batting is coming along, thanks to sessions in Uncle Joe's batting cage. Last week he actually had two hits in a game and made it as far as third base before the last out of the inning was called. One day, he'll actually cross home plate!

The high fives after the game may be his favorite part. Social little kid. And he is genuine when he tells the kids on the other team that it was a good game and that he enjoyed playing.

I think this look pretty much says it all.

Of course, there is the after-game stop for dinner at a fine fast food eatery. Since the games end at 7:30, we usually just hit the drive-thru. While sitting there waiting for our order last Wednesday, I looked up and noticed this:

Now what am I supposed to do?

More later - lots to tell, including an update on MY LIFE IS A MESS!