3rd Day of Baseball

Yikes! I overslept. I didn’t pop out of bed until 5:50am. I don’t like to oversleep unless, of course, it is planned. This one wasn’t. I hadn’t prepped coffee the night before either. If I would’ve allowed it, the morning’s dysfunction could’ve torn me apart. I kept it in perspective and went about my morning as usual with my mantra being that I’m worth it! So, after making coffee, exercising, and walking Ykraps, it was already 6:25am. At that point I could’ve chosen to skip PC & meditation and instead go right for my run, but I didn’t. Instead, I went about my routine. After all, it’s a refined & meaningful routine. J I didn’t dress and leave for a run until just before 7:00am. I ran with a thin, long sleeved running shirt. It was borderline chilly – mid 50’s. I ran four miles even though it would’ve been easy to shorten it for times sake. But shortening a run for times sake has never been a good excuse. If it were, soon I would be finding other excuses. I was back from my run at 7:30am. I went ahead and started prepping my food with precision and speed. I had my food packed & breakfast eaten by 7:55am. I admittedly hurried along with my shower. However, I didn’t forget to take Mindy her bedside coffee. She appreciated it. I was ready to depart the house by 8:20am. Mindy didn’t bother getting out of bed like usual. Just as well, she needed the rest. I know that it sounds like a broken record but work was busy. I stayed focused and on task until such time that I deemed it lunch. This time I drove to the Mill Run Saturday’s to get a haircut. In a perfect world, I would’ve taken Jacob along, too. But we all know it’s not. They got me right in – just the way I like it. Stacey cut my hair. She asked about any coming trips. She knows my pattern, a haircut before travel. This time, however, the trip’s still out there a few weeks. She made quick work of my mop. I’ll bet I wasn’t there for 15 minutes. I thought about getting crickets next door, but opted not. We still need to clean the terrarium. I decided to head on back to work. I didn’t need an hour. I was back to work by 1:40pm. The afternoon sped along just like most others. I was in no special hurry to leave since Jacob had a 6:00pm ballgame just around the corner – the third in three days. I got caught up on a work related matters until 5:50pm. After getting that addressed I hustled over to the ball diamond. My Dad was just getting out of his minivan when I pulled up. He waited for me. Mindy, I could see, was already there. She was sitting next to Jimaken in the stands. I found that humorous. She joined my Dad and I once we arrived diamond-side. Jacob asked coach Rob for the same deal as Sunday. Play the outfield but no batting. The team is really beginning to gel as the season winds down. It’s truly remarkable how much they’ve improved. They’re now performing largely on instinct. Not perfect by any measure, but well just the same. Come the third inning Jacob moved to first base. The third baseman retrieved a hot grounder and then made a high throw to first base, which required Jacob to leap into the air in an attempt to catch it. Uh-oh! There he was on the ground again wincing in pain clutching at the back of his right knee. And once again, Coach Paul carried him off the field. Mindy went to his aid on the bench. Jimaken soon followed. It’s really just too bad. He rode the bench the rest of the way. Something worthy of mentioning, several of us parents have noted how differently the coaches react to and treat their own sons on the team. In almost every case, they ride them extremely hard, and in many cases deservedly so. But more often than not, it’s down right comical. There have only been a few that I would describe as embarrassing. The game ended at 7:30pm. There’s only one more regular season game, and that’s this coming Saturday. However, we learned tonight that the single elimination tournament begins Sunday. That means at least two more games. It’s a bit surprising that we don’t keep score or play players in any one position all season long but once the tournament begins we do. Not sure what’s in play there. No biggie! And just as I suspected, Jacob told his mother and I that he was through playing baseball for the year. Doesn’t want to attend the final two games. Of course, I won’t allow that to be if it’s my decision. We started and we’ll finish, even if it is from the bench resting his knee. Quitting is not a viable option. But I also understand that he’s feeling a bit dejected. Dad went his own way while Jimaken agreed to drop Jacob off at the house. Bella rode with me. Mindy was stopping at Chipotle to get dinner for all of us. She wasn’t too far behind us. We were home just five minutes before her. She had already walked Ykraps, which made my evening that much easier. Once Mindy arrived home we sat for dinner on the deck. The Chipotle was delicious but I couldn’t finish mine. That is unless I wanted to go comatose. I ate just about half of my burrito. Mindy agreed to clean-up while I watered backyard flowers. I was surprised to find all of them, pots included, dry as a bone. But come to think of it, I hadn’t watered them since Friday evening, and that was a fast watering, not a soaker. I hadn’t let anything dry out yet this year. I was disappointed that I had done so. I took a good 30 minutes watering/soaking everything. Mindy actually came out and helped drag the hose around the yard. Then, after soaking everything good, I drug out the sprinkler pump and started watering the back lawn. Of course the beds would benefit from that as well. The grass was still looking lush, and I intended to keep it that way. Mindy had the kids in bed by the time I made it back inside. I went up for the tuck. Mindy was chatting with Jacob presumably about a disparaging comment he made to me in front of his father when we got home from the game. I heard him telling Mindy that his Mamaw said something similar to him on Sunday. Geesh! After the kids were down, Mindy and I looked at photos from Sunday. While doing so, Jacob weaseled his way out of bed and downstairs. We allowed him to look at photos, too. Before heading off to bed, Mindy and I sat in the family room chatting. Come 10:30pm I pulled the plug on the sprinkler pump. Together, we headed up to bed.