Monday, October 1, 2012

Baseball and Little Girl Dreams

This weekend was another busy one, with J having four games.  The first two on Saturday were for the high school's fall team.  Then yesterday the TP fall team traveled about 2 1/2 hours to play against a community college team.  J was excited about that for two reasons.  First the opportunity to play against a college team was both a thrill and a challenge.  Second, this college is located in the same town as Coach C's university, which meant we'd get to see him.  He doesn't coach the team in the fall.  With the distance and his school schedule it just isn't practical.   The owner of TP takes over during the fall, and while I do think he does a wonderful job, we can't wait for Coach C's return to the field next summer.

We had a great day, that started off with breakfast with Coach C.  He had plans for the afternoon and was unable to attend the games, but we left home early so we could spend time with him beforehand.  Following our breakfast reunion, we headed over to the nearby college field so J could take batting practice and get warmed up with the team.  I'd like to report that TP blew their opponent off the field, but I'd be fibbing.  This team was quite good, and presented TP with a very big challenge.  They unfortunately lost both games.  However, the experience was a valuable one.  J himself had both good and bad aspects of his game.  His hitting was off.  He had two strikeouts, a ground out, and a fly out.  While disappointed he didn't make a better showing, he says getting the chance to face quality college pitchers was worth it.  It enabled him to see what the game is like at the next level so he can work on improving his own skills in order to be ready.  Fielding he actually did pretty good.  He played right field and first base, making some good plays at both positions.  Those fielding mechanics have come a long way  since the start of the summer when he was having his difficulties.   Our friends  K and K were able to join us with their children for the second game, making an already good day even nicer.

Of course, A was thrilled to see Coach C yesterday.  It's been about six weeks since he returned to school and she's been missing him.  She still has a huge crush on him, and is actively planning their wedding again.  I always take him a care package when we visit, so this time she wanted to get involved.  She made him a little cake in her Easy Bake Oven, frosted it, and had me pack it carefully with the other goodies we had for him.  Saturday night she was so excited we had a hard time getting her into bed, and from the moment she opened her eyes yesterday, she was full of energy and excitement.  I lost count of how many times she asked if we were almost there yet.  We beat Coach C to the restaurant by about three minutes and she anxiously kept watch for him.  He greeted her with a big bear hug and from that moment on she was attached to his hip.  She kept up a running chatter during breakfast, and was thrilled when he ate the cake she made for him and told her it was delicious.  Later on she told me that was the best part of her day.  Honestly, I don't know when this crush of hers will start to fade.  She absolutely adores Coach C and has been telling me lately that I need to let her marry him before he becomes an old man.  I just laugh and tell her she can't get married til she grows up.    Her response is usually eye rolling along with some exasperated sighing.  Maybe one of these times I should ask her when she'd like me to schedule the wedding  just to see her reaction.  Although knowing A, she might take me seriously and try to drag Coach C to the altar!    I admit watching her innocent pursuit of Coach C still makes me laugh, especially because it freaks hubby out a bit, her being his baby girl and all.  Coach C, as always, is a champion, taking it all with good humor.  After all,  A has him wrapped as tightly around her sassy little finger as she does the rest of us.  A is already asking me when we'll see Coach C again, and even though I don't have an answer for her yet, she's happily making plans and dreaming her little girl dreams.  

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