Baseball Story

I found this today when I was going through my "stories" folder.  It's based on an actual night at a minor league baseball game with my kids...in real life it was Spider-man night.

My daddy loves baseball.  He loves to play it with me and my brother in the backyard.  He loves to watch it on TV.  But most of all, he loves to go and watch games at the stadium.  Sometimes he goes by himself.  My mom says that is his “Daddy time.”  Sometimes he brings my brother and me with him.

I like going to the baseball stadium with Daddy.  They have yummy ice cream and cotton candy, and Daddy lets me have a soda in a big cup with a twisty straw.  

Sometimes my brother whines about not getting enough candy.  Or about not catching a foul ball.  Or about spilling his popcorn all over the people sitting in front of us.

The last time we went to a game, it was a special night.  Ultra-man was there.  He is my brother’s favorite super hero.  I don’t think it was the real Ultra-man, but I didn’t tell that to my brother.

We got there early so that my brother could get Ultra-man’s autograph before there was a big line.  We also got to have our picture taken with him.  My brother told him we had seen all of his movies, and I got to give him a hug. 

Later, after we got some snacks and found our seats, we watched Ultra-man throw out the first pitch.  My brother yelled at him to throw the ball to us, but he just threw it to the catcher.

Then the game started, and we got more snacks.  

After about two bags of popcorn and a licorice rope and a soda (with a twisty straw) we got to sing a song about buying peanuts and Cracker Jack.  That is my favorite part about baseball games.  My dad even let us get some Cracker Jack, but my brother didn’t like it, so Daddy bought us ice cream that we got to eat out of little toy baseball helmets.

After the game, all the kids got to go on the field and run around the bases.  My brother ran faster than me because my stomach was too full for me to run my fastest.

When we got home, Mommy asked me who won...I didn’t know.

It sure is fun going to baseball games with my daddy!

My Home All Day Friend

I was looking at my bedroom walls the other day.  I have several pieces of art that my kids made years ago hanging in there.  They are all from several years ago...and they are kind of in the "what the heck is that" category.  Unless, of course, you are their dad and you know exactly what they are.  In one spot hang two drawings of pizzas.  Because I love pizza and my kids wanted me always have some around.  In another spot is a picture of a baseball field that my son drew.  He doesn't particularly care about baseball....but he knows I do, so he drew a field for me.

And then there is this guy:

My daughter made him for me back when she was in kindergarten and my son was starting pre-K so that I would have a friend and I wouldn't be home alone all day.

I've always had a problem throwing out my kids' art projects anyway...but this one in particular I think will stay on that wall for a long time.  

Stay-At-Home-Dad vs. the TV

On days when the kids are both at school, and I don't work, and I'm home all day, I try really hard not to turn on the TV.
Some how turing on the TV means I have given in.  
That I'll end up on the couch under a blanket eating swiss cake rolls until 3:00.

I do make exceptions for the occasional baseball game during the summer and of course college basketball in March....but for the most part, I view TV as the enemy while I am home alone during the day.

Why is that?

It's not like playing games on Facebook is any more productive than watching TV.  Or reading two pages of a book before dozing off is really all that much better.

And the even weirder thing is that when I do give in to the dark side and turn on the television....I find myself watching Spongebob or The Backyardigans.

Maybe that's why I try to stay away from the TV when I'm home alone....I've forgotten what grown-ups watch.

Calvin and Hobbes and Baseball

My 9 year old son was reading from an old Calvin and Hobbes book tonight.  He really loves reading those.  After a while he brought it to me and told me to read a couple pages that he said "started out funny...but then get sad."  It was a series of comic strips about Calvin not being interested in sports but signing up for baseball so his friends wouldn't tease him anymore.

Needless to say, it does not go well for Calvin and leads to this panel:

This one hit a nerve with me.  A couple of summers ago, I signed Andrew up to play in a baseball league.  He really didn't enjoy it very much.  A few weeks into the season he broke his arm (in a non-baseball related incident) and was very much relieved because it meant he didn't have to play baseball anymore.  I really don't want to be "that parent" that makes his kids be into sports if they don't want to be into sports.  

I love the advice Hobbes has for him...Just please yourself.  I hope my kids are trying to please themselves and not me with the activities they choose.