Baseball and Birthdays--Days 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45

On Friday, Colton and I made preparations to go to our first baseball tournament in Dewitt. I got him a new helmet, batting gloves and a new mitt. We packed everything that night so our early morning on Saturday would be as easy as possible.

Saturday morning, I got up, and Colton soon followed after his alarm woke him up. We made sure we had everything again, kissed Kim, Gabrielle and Noah goodbye, and managed to leave fairly early. The team all met at Bob Evans, we had breakfast and headed to Dewitt soon after. Once we got there we were able to practice a bit before playing our first game. Colton had been told during breakfast that he would be the first pitcher of the first game. We ended up losing that game 7-5, but Colton gave up no runs. He was pitching very well, the team came up with 5 runs early, but they couldn't hold them off the whole game.

In the second game, the hitting was much more consistant and they brought Colton in for the last out with the team up 12 to 5. No problem, right? Well, considering that when Colton wasn't pitching, he was at third on this hot muggy day, he was obviously very tired. After giving up a few runs, continuing to load the bases, and then getting down 2 balls and one strike to another batter, I told the coach he was tired, and he should pull him if he could. The next pitcher let in a a couple more runs.

The dads, myself included, were all pacing hoping for one last out and a win. I decided maybe I'd call Kim, tell her what's going on, and possibly make light of the situation a bit. I pulled the phone out of my pocket and right along with it came the small necklace Colton had given me before the game after his coach said he couldn't wear them. On the end of it is a wooden shaped fish with the name Jesus on it. It stopped me in my tracks, literally. I said a little prayer, and I knew the next batter would be out. I'm not sure why. It's not as if God loves one team more than the other, but I knew the the team would get through this and pull out this win. Within two pitches the game was over.

We all breathed a sigh of relief and went back to the hotel for a dip in the pool. It was fun, but I think it exhausted everyone the next day...

On Sunday, we got to the field a little before 10:00. We practiced for about an hour and then started over to the field. Realizing earlier I was missing church, I asked Colton to come over to me. I asked him to get down on a knee and pray with me. He did out loud, and then I did. I wonder if he had any hesitations in doing it right off of the practice area and as many kids and parents were passing us, but he didn't act like it.

In the next game, they gave up a bunch of runs early and couldn't come back. Calvin was second to pitch. His dad was a thin man. He looked like a Nascar-lovin', deer-huntin', chew-spittin, redneck sort of guy. He had one of those laughs that makes you think he's less than intelligent. Whether any of the above was true or not, he seemed like a very loving dad. While I heard one dad tell his son he was going to "beat his ***" repeatedly for misbehaving earlier, this guy talked to his son like he wouldn't lay a hand on him if his life depended on it. That was nice to see and as I sat on the bench for a bit, I noticed this man pacing behind me as his son warmed up to pitch, so I got up and asked him a question I already knew the answer to: "So you get nervous when your son gets out there to pitch?" He laughed, said "Yeah", and we started talking for a bit. Six outs later, it was Colton's turn to pitch and he came to me and said essentially exactly what I was about to say to him: "Now it's your turn to be nervous!". That got a good laugh out of everyone who heard him and it was true. He pitched well for the first few outs and that same dad (I'm horrible with names) came over to me and said my son was a good pitcher. He pitched well for his last few outs again letting in no runs the whole time and one of the dad's (Randy) mentioned how unfortunate it was to have to take him out (6 out limit). Another dad, later on wondered aloud to me why he didn't start that game since he was the best pitcher. That got me to wonder how much pride I take in Colton pitching so well.

I'm not sure.

I try not to be prideful in situations like this, but, again, give glory to God. On the other hand, I am very proud of Colton. As easy as it sound for us parents standing on the sideline, it seems like it'd be rather difficult to always "keep your pitches low" or "throw strikes" or remember to do all the little parts of your mechanics in front of a crowd and literally setting the pace of the game. He is the only one with a ball in his hand and how well he pitches many times has a direct effect on how well the team does.

I called home in between games, updated Kim and told Gabrielle happy birthday. Everyone looked dead tired by the second game, the game was called on account of the 15 run mercy rule and we headed home. We got Gabrielle some cards and some planted flowers on the way home. She seemed to like them and found a place for them up in her room. Noah seemed happy to see me and immediately wanted to go outside. Instead I had to drop Colton off at his friend's house, and take Gabrielle out to pick out a new bike for her birthday. I took him with us and while he tried to run all over the place as we chose one, we kept him in check and Gabrielle picked out a very nice one. By the time we got home, it was late, so Gabrielle went to bed, we all said our prayers and kissed good night.

Monday, Colton started his four-day baseball camp. He said he "loved it". After that, he had a game for Elba which they won. His "bubble walk" got quite a few people laughing. As ball four went by, he blew a big bubble. It popped and landed all over his chin. He was picking gum off his face all the way down to first. After the game, he went back to Noah's again and Allison came home with Gabrielle. Gabrielle is always so quiet with her friends and cousins. They sometimes play for hours and we never hear from them. I hope her imagination is growing exponentially every second she plays pretend in her room or down the stairs.

Today is Gabrielle's birthday party. It's nice to get the our families together. It's nice to see Gabrielle as the center of the attention. I've heard about many middle kids who end up getting the least amount of attention of the three kids in the house. That's going to be unlikely because she is the only girl. She got plenty of gifts. Clothes and toys and stuff to draw with and sparkly purses. A good time was had by all.