We took a little road trip this week and went to see our grandson play baseball. They live too far away for us to see too many of the games, but this was fun. His team is the eight- to ten-year-old age slot, so they are at the point where you start to see a lot of improvement. I've been to a lot of Little League games over the years, but I have never been what anyone could call a sports fan.
With five children growing up, there were years when practices, and games took a lot of time. My two boys played ball. My youngest daughter also played baseball, not softball. That was kind of unusual for the time. There weren't too many girls on the teams.
Two of my girls were gymnasts, so for years we had three practices a week, and meets all over the state for what seemed like every weekend. I enjoyed watching gymnastics. The worst part of it was that they expected nearly absolute quiet. So the moms would always sit on the bleachers barely talking. I brought a lot of craft and sewing projects to work on during those years. This was way before the time of cell phones. We wouldn't have been able to have them in the gym anyway. It was a sacred and silent place!
The ball fields were a lot more casual and laid back. All the younger kids would run around and have a great time playing and the moms would catch up on everything going on in their lives and neighborhoods. A lot of this is still the same over 40 years later. And a lot is different. Parenting styles have changed a bit over the years. Sportsmanship is still important, even though sometimes things can get a little heated. This was a good game, and I thought our team was going to win up until the last inning. It was exciting.
Most of our trips now are short ones. Neither of my husbands really liked to travel. I'm pretty sure that Jim had a 23-hour time limit. He never wanted to be gone longer than that. Once he even woke us all up at three a.m. to leave a weekend family reunion after the first evening. John's family all seemed surprised that we were spending the night away from home. I don't think he's that predictable. We have been on several one- or two-day trips around the Midwest. And who could ever forget our debacle of a honeymoon!
Lucky for me, nobody cared if I wanted to travel, so I have been on quite a few longer trips over the years. But even my love for adventure is starting to slow down. I am always, always happy to return home, no matter where I go!
WHAT I AM READING: Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
A Retelling of the Cinderella Story. Was her stepmother really that wicked or was she just misunderstood? We will find out and let you know.
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