Every year around Christmastime we buy those gingerbread house/train building kits. It's a nice activity that produces lots of mess, lots of candy, and lots of fun. I'm usually on deadline Monday and Tuesday and I had this crazy idea I'd bring them out for the kids last Monday so they could entertain themselves while I worked. It was crazy because these things are too complicated for a Nobel Prize winning scientist let alone a couple of kids and a frazzled parent. Anyway, I had to help a little more than was ideal. Emily, laughing: "How long have you been a parent?"
Job 1 was outfitting them in a couple of my old T-shirts, because these things are messy. They wear them well.
Job 2 was holding pieces of gingerbread -- house walls, sides of trains, etc. -- while they smeared icing all over everything to glue them together. I've got a bone to pick with whoever decided putting icing/frosting in plastic bags was a good idea. In theory maybe, in practice not so much.
So we were all wearing icing, but ultimately the structures got built. At that point I was able to withdraw and get some work done, and they decorated on their own. Came to find out that Kate is a whiz at gingerbread decorating.
Every two minutes I'd hear Jack praise something that Kate had done. And he wasn't just being nice to his younger sister -- he was actually impressed. I would chime in with the occasional question. Like:
You're letting Kate decorate Santa Claus? "Yes, because her Mrs. Claus is amazing." Or, "How did it go from a big lump of green to THAT?" And "Seriously Kate. You should decorate gingerbread houses for a living. You're like Leonardo DaVinci."
Structures got finished. Kate: "I'm going to go wash my hands for the 100th time!" (Frosting very messy and sticky.) Jack: "There!" He drew a face on his Rudolph with a toothpick. Kate used a marker to draw a train track for her gingerbread train on a piece of cardboard. Houses were built. We all ate candy.
Maybe the appeal of these things is that they create beautiful and messy structures. Maybe it's that they spent 2 hours doing them and I get a little bit of work done. But I think the best thing is to hear them working together, brother and sister, partners in construction. They'll outgrow these things eventually, but not this year.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Sunday, November 06, 2016
Random haven't posted in a while post
Blog is better when I write more regularly. I am getting older and forget things. But even a collection of stuff that happened recently that I'm already starting to forget is better than nothing. Right? Right?
On Thursday I chaperoned Kate's class field trip to the Bruce Museum. It was a last-minute favor for someone who couldn't go, and it was a day that worked for me. I told Kate I'd be doing it on Wednesday night and her face lit up and she said "Yay!" That was nice.
Most of it was pretty easy; not like a field trip to the zoo or a play in New York City where there were scores of people milling around and I had to do headcounts every 2 minutes. The Bruce Museum is this quaint little spot in Greenwich that I've been to a few times, always on class trips with the kids (I think I went with one of their preschool classes way back when). It's filled with interesting information that I suppose nobody spends much time thinking about in this Internet age. But the class sat dutifully listening to information about Native Americans and what they ate and where they lived and it was kind of cool.
At various points we got in little groups and answered questions on worksheets together. Kate and her friends volunteered answers, I wrote them down. Then we did a tour of a "small scale" exhibit where artists had made miniature landscapes. Then we went into a little classroom where the kids made mini landscapes on paper with markers and little figures. This was where the chaperones did the most, tearing off pieces of tape and helping with folding and the like. We finished the projects, Kate was very proud of hers. I hugged her goodbye and she went back to her school until I picked her up an hour later.
On Saturday afternoon we had a family portrait taken. It was the first time in a few years we'd had that done and considering the effort that went in to it (mostly Emily) it's not surprising. Everyone had to get their haircut and styled. (Yes everyone! No jokes please.) Clothes had to be purchased, tried on, modeled and replaced. People had to shave (me). Nose hairs had to be trimmed (uh, could be anyone). The weather was nice and we went to nearby Crawford Park to meet the photographer, who snapped a hundred pictures and I'm confident we'll get one or two good ones. I'm sure when I see the ones of the kids I will cry, in a good way, and do the same years into the future.
Last Sunday morning was Jack's last Fall Travel baseball game. I write a lot about Jack's baseball team so I didn't feel it was required to write much about this one. But all day afterward I felt the fact that it was something ending. He turns 12 next year (gah!) and so next Fall he'll be considered too old for Little League. Maybe he'll play baseball (and it is a maybe; he'll need to try out and make a team, probably with a lot of older players, and it's more expensive, and whatever the case he'll have different teammates and different coaches -- not including me. It will all be different. So us getting up on a Sunday morning and going off to an October baseball game and me making out the lineup and being in the dugout watching him joke around with his friends and pitch and get a big hit or not (He did all those things)...those Fall days have come and they were awesome. And now they're gone, living on only in our ever hazy memories.
And this blog, like everything else. I'll try to write more often.
On Thursday I chaperoned Kate's class field trip to the Bruce Museum. It was a last-minute favor for someone who couldn't go, and it was a day that worked for me. I told Kate I'd be doing it on Wednesday night and her face lit up and she said "Yay!" That was nice.
Most of it was pretty easy; not like a field trip to the zoo or a play in New York City where there were scores of people milling around and I had to do headcounts every 2 minutes. The Bruce Museum is this quaint little spot in Greenwich that I've been to a few times, always on class trips with the kids (I think I went with one of their preschool classes way back when). It's filled with interesting information that I suppose nobody spends much time thinking about in this Internet age. But the class sat dutifully listening to information about Native Americans and what they ate and where they lived and it was kind of cool.
At various points we got in little groups and answered questions on worksheets together. Kate and her friends volunteered answers, I wrote them down. Then we did a tour of a "small scale" exhibit where artists had made miniature landscapes. Then we went into a little classroom where the kids made mini landscapes on paper with markers and little figures. This was where the chaperones did the most, tearing off pieces of tape and helping with folding and the like. We finished the projects, Kate was very proud of hers. I hugged her goodbye and she went back to her school until I picked her up an hour later.
On Saturday afternoon we had a family portrait taken. It was the first time in a few years we'd had that done and considering the effort that went in to it (mostly Emily) it's not surprising. Everyone had to get their haircut and styled. (Yes everyone! No jokes please.) Clothes had to be purchased, tried on, modeled and replaced. People had to shave (me). Nose hairs had to be trimmed (uh, could be anyone). The weather was nice and we went to nearby Crawford Park to meet the photographer, who snapped a hundred pictures and I'm confident we'll get one or two good ones. I'm sure when I see the ones of the kids I will cry, in a good way, and do the same years into the future.
Last Sunday morning was Jack's last Fall Travel baseball game. I write a lot about Jack's baseball team so I didn't feel it was required to write much about this one. But all day afterward I felt the fact that it was something ending. He turns 12 next year (gah!) and so next Fall he'll be considered too old for Little League. Maybe he'll play baseball (and it is a maybe; he'll need to try out and make a team, probably with a lot of older players, and it's more expensive, and whatever the case he'll have different teammates and different coaches -- not including me. It will all be different. So us getting up on a Sunday morning and going off to an October baseball game and me making out the lineup and being in the dugout watching him joke around with his friends and pitch and get a big hit or not (He did all those things)...those Fall days have come and they were awesome. And now they're gone, living on only in our ever hazy memories.
And this blog, like everything else. I'll try to write more often.
Sunday, October 09, 2016
Comic Con
We went to the New York Comic Convention today. It was Jack's third time, I think, and Kate's first. I think I went once on my own back in the day, but now it's a me and the kids thing. The negative is that I don't actually get to search for things for myself like I used to. The positive is that's it's way more fun.
First off, we dressed up. Haven't done that before. The kids got us into this great cartoon show, Gravity Falls, and the primary characters were a cranky old uncle and his niece and nephew. So I was Grunkle Stan and they were the kids, Dipper and Mabel. The costumes -- full credit to Emily for scouring up the proper clothes for the kids, although we did have Jack's hat already -- were perfect. So our day was repeatedly peppered with compliments and requests for pictures, which was cool, and the kids did a great job of posing and smiling appropriately.
I had my doubts about how Kate would do with it, because it's essentially 10 hours straight of walking around crowded, narrow passageways at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, bumping into people, squeezing by people, stopping at booths and then starting up again. Lines are long for food, bathrooms, panels, exhibits. But she did great. Minimal complaining, as long as rested and snacked on occasion. She was suitably awed by all the costumes and exhibit, and the people. She was a trooper. My legs and feet were killing me by the end, and she was probably beat too, but was fine about it all.
Our first stop was a Gravity Falls panel, which was a long line and a few hundred of us in a large theater/conference room where the show creators were going to talk about the show, and a cool tie-in book that Jack had recently bought. Jack ate it up; the creators were funny and there were lots of tidbits and I'd look over and see him just rapt with attention and laughing at their jokes. At the end they gave some words of wisdom/advice, with one of the best ones being, "Don't be afraid to be weird, because you'll find people who love you for it."
After that it was basically 7 hours of walking around the show floor. Highlights:
- We ran into a group of 7 or 8 other people dressed as Gravity Falls characters and got a bunch of pictures. This was only after going to the wrong place for an autograph session, and then finally ending up at the right place. And the timing worked out great, because that picture was a highlight.
- We got big pretzels, a pizza, sprite, and ice cream. Yeah, that was our lunch and snack extravaganza.
- We did a Harry Potter-related "Fantastic Beasts" thing where the kids got to wave a wand and cast a spell, and little video clips were made of them doing it.
- We saw a whole bunch of great costumes, including myriad other Dippers, Mabels and Stans. Lost characters, Game of Thrones characters, and of course tons of superheroes. Lots of photo ops, lots of friendly people.
- Found the publisher of these Zita the Spacegirl graphic novels we'd been buying for Kate. They didn't have those books, but they did have other books by the same author and the writer/artist of a similar type of children's book. We bought a copy, and she autographed it for Kate and drew a little picture of the character on the title page in front of us. Cool, and Kate was impressed, polite, respectful.
- Guy stopped us for a picture. After he took it he said to Jack, "Is this your Dad? You guys are lucky." Nice to hear.
We walked to the Con from the car in a light drizzle but didn't get too wet. Walked back in near-darkness, but felt light.
First off, we dressed up. Haven't done that before. The kids got us into this great cartoon show, Gravity Falls, and the primary characters were a cranky old uncle and his niece and nephew. So I was Grunkle Stan and they were the kids, Dipper and Mabel. The costumes -- full credit to Emily for scouring up the proper clothes for the kids, although we did have Jack's hat already -- were perfect. So our day was repeatedly peppered with compliments and requests for pictures, which was cool, and the kids did a great job of posing and smiling appropriately.
I had my doubts about how Kate would do with it, because it's essentially 10 hours straight of walking around crowded, narrow passageways at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, bumping into people, squeezing by people, stopping at booths and then starting up again. Lines are long for food, bathrooms, panels, exhibits. But she did great. Minimal complaining, as long as rested and snacked on occasion. She was suitably awed by all the costumes and exhibit, and the people. She was a trooper. My legs and feet were killing me by the end, and she was probably beat too, but was fine about it all.
Our first stop was a Gravity Falls panel, which was a long line and a few hundred of us in a large theater/conference room where the show creators were going to talk about the show, and a cool tie-in book that Jack had recently bought. Jack ate it up; the creators were funny and there were lots of tidbits and I'd look over and see him just rapt with attention and laughing at their jokes. At the end they gave some words of wisdom/advice, with one of the best ones being, "Don't be afraid to be weird, because you'll find people who love you for it."
After that it was basically 7 hours of walking around the show floor. Highlights:
- We ran into a group of 7 or 8 other people dressed as Gravity Falls characters and got a bunch of pictures. This was only after going to the wrong place for an autograph session, and then finally ending up at the right place. And the timing worked out great, because that picture was a highlight.
- We got big pretzels, a pizza, sprite, and ice cream. Yeah, that was our lunch and snack extravaganza.
- We did a Harry Potter-related "Fantastic Beasts" thing where the kids got to wave a wand and cast a spell, and little video clips were made of them doing it.
- We saw a whole bunch of great costumes, including myriad other Dippers, Mabels and Stans. Lost characters, Game of Thrones characters, and of course tons of superheroes. Lots of photo ops, lots of friendly people.
- Found the publisher of these Zita the Spacegirl graphic novels we'd been buying for Kate. They didn't have those books, but they did have other books by the same author and the writer/artist of a similar type of children's book. We bought a copy, and she autographed it for Kate and drew a little picture of the character on the title page in front of us. Cool, and Kate was impressed, polite, respectful.
- Guy stopped us for a picture. After he took it he said to Jack, "Is this your Dad? You guys are lucky." Nice to hear.
We walked to the Con from the car in a light drizzle but didn't get too wet. Walked back in near-darkness, but felt light.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Traditions
Took the kids to the beach yesterday. It's a nice, quiet one in Greenwich, that we used to frequent when we were renting in Connecticut. It's too expensive and there are too many hoops to jump through getting parking passes and such to go to all the time, but we still go once a year in the last week of Summer vacation. It's become a tradition. I probably write a blog about it every year at this time, too.
Traditions are important, I like to say, and I mean it. They are to me. I think they are to Jack and Kate, too, more so every year.
We bundle into the car with all of our beach stuff: pails and shovels, paddle ball games, boogie boards. Stop at Dunkin' Donuts for iced coffee and donuts. Jump through the hoops for beach passes (they moved the location of where you get them! Grr.). Same, same, same.
On the way along the shore to the beach, we drive by a private beach. Do you want to get out here, Jack? As I've asked for about 5-6 years now, I imagine. He says Yes. We laugh.
Walking out onto the beach, it's high tide, which is perfect. As the day goes on, we'll get more and more beach. So we start out walking out into the water, swimming a little. When we get deep, Kate clings to me. Then each one clings to one of my arms and I walk, them trailing along, floating on their backs beside me. We do this for a little while, then head back to the towels.
The water starts to recede. The beach gets bigger, and the water there is gets shallower. Jack and Kate walk through it together, holding their nets. They find rocks, shells, hermit crabs. They find these clear, squishy silver dollar type things. They feel weird and we have no idea what they are. Somebody suggests jellyfish, and we dismiss it, because they can be held. Jack theorizes they are Jigglyfish, which is something he invented at the Cape to fool or scare Kate. We ask a lifeguard. They ARE jellyfish, just a kind that doesn't sting. We name them Jigglyfish.
They play together in the water, tackling each other without causing damage. Sometimes this ends up with whining, fighting, or minor injury. Not today. Their laughs and smiles are big and real, and I wish I could photograph them forever, but I'm in the water and I've made that mistake with my phone in the past. I take pictures with my mind and hope I never forget them.
Jack and I play paddleball. We reach 20. He says we should try for 30. We eventually get there, and he sends the 30th soaring into the water in triumph. We take a 10-minute break and he says, let's beat 30. We reach 55 and are very proud.
Kate and I make a sandcastle. Jack works on building a dock and a boat off the edge of the moat. If I make a castle that doesn't meet Kate's demanding standards, she squishes it into oblivion. We make tower after tower until we get three that are acceptable. We decorate with seaweed and shells. We include a few hermit crabs, which we later liberate so they can scuttle back into the ocean.
We go buy lunch, dropping $30 on a burger, hotdog, chicken nuggets, and as always more french fries than any human being could possibly consume at a sitting. Jack insists on mozzarella sticks, I say no, and he reminds me that I always say no and he always says "But we always get them!" so we get them. So we get them. And they're pretty good. Food just tastes better at the beach.
After lunch, Jack and Kate play Giant in the water. I'm a little hazy on the rules of this game, but it involves taking big, slow-motion steps. The water is very shallow as the tide goes out so it works well. I take pictures from afar, wanting to show it but not wanting to get close enough to intrude.
Kate makes a friend, a little girl about her age, and they swim together and capture and release hermit crabs. When they were younger, it was usually Jack who made friends, some boy to play baseball with. Now the beach kids are younger, and my kids are older. He and I swim and play with a ball in the water.
Soon (too soon?) it's 5 p.m., and we're sun-cooked and water-logged. I actually think we could stay even longer, but it's time to go. We pack up and stumble out to the car to drive home. I don't turn and wave goodbye to the beach; I don't really want to say goodbye.
Just, See you next year.
Traditions are important, I like to say, and I mean it. They are to me. I think they are to Jack and Kate, too, more so every year.
We bundle into the car with all of our beach stuff: pails and shovels, paddle ball games, boogie boards. Stop at Dunkin' Donuts for iced coffee and donuts. Jump through the hoops for beach passes (they moved the location of where you get them! Grr.). Same, same, same.
On the way along the shore to the beach, we drive by a private beach. Do you want to get out here, Jack? As I've asked for about 5-6 years now, I imagine. He says Yes. We laugh.
Walking out onto the beach, it's high tide, which is perfect. As the day goes on, we'll get more and more beach. So we start out walking out into the water, swimming a little. When we get deep, Kate clings to me. Then each one clings to one of my arms and I walk, them trailing along, floating on their backs beside me. We do this for a little while, then head back to the towels.
The water starts to recede. The beach gets bigger, and the water there is gets shallower. Jack and Kate walk through it together, holding their nets. They find rocks, shells, hermit crabs. They find these clear, squishy silver dollar type things. They feel weird and we have no idea what they are. Somebody suggests jellyfish, and we dismiss it, because they can be held. Jack theorizes they are Jigglyfish, which is something he invented at the Cape to fool or scare Kate. We ask a lifeguard. They ARE jellyfish, just a kind that doesn't sting. We name them Jigglyfish.
They play together in the water, tackling each other without causing damage. Sometimes this ends up with whining, fighting, or minor injury. Not today. Their laughs and smiles are big and real, and I wish I could photograph them forever, but I'm in the water and I've made that mistake with my phone in the past. I take pictures with my mind and hope I never forget them.
Jack and I play paddleball. We reach 20. He says we should try for 30. We eventually get there, and he sends the 30th soaring into the water in triumph. We take a 10-minute break and he says, let's beat 30. We reach 55 and are very proud.
Kate and I make a sandcastle. Jack works on building a dock and a boat off the edge of the moat. If I make a castle that doesn't meet Kate's demanding standards, she squishes it into oblivion. We make tower after tower until we get three that are acceptable. We decorate with seaweed and shells. We include a few hermit crabs, which we later liberate so they can scuttle back into the ocean.
We go buy lunch, dropping $30 on a burger, hotdog, chicken nuggets, and as always more french fries than any human being could possibly consume at a sitting. Jack insists on mozzarella sticks, I say no, and he reminds me that I always say no and he always says "But we always get them!" so we get them. So we get them. And they're pretty good. Food just tastes better at the beach.
After lunch, Jack and Kate play Giant in the water. I'm a little hazy on the rules of this game, but it involves taking big, slow-motion steps. The water is very shallow as the tide goes out so it works well. I take pictures from afar, wanting to show it but not wanting to get close enough to intrude.
Kate makes a friend, a little girl about her age, and they swim together and capture and release hermit crabs. When they were younger, it was usually Jack who made friends, some boy to play baseball with. Now the beach kids are younger, and my kids are older. He and I swim and play with a ball in the water.
Soon (too soon?) it's 5 p.m., and we're sun-cooked and water-logged. I actually think we could stay even longer, but it's time to go. We pack up and stumble out to the car to drive home. I don't turn and wave goodbye to the beach; I don't really want to say goodbye.
Just, See you next year.
Tuesday, August 09, 2016
Hall of Fame trip
Brett Favre was to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. By coincidence, the weekend would coincide with my birthday, and the end of the Summer travel baseball season. So what better time to do a Father-son road trip out to Ohio for induction weekend and the annual preseason football game? We booked the trip, and hit the road last Friday morning.
FRIDAY
It's a 7.5 hour drive, so we got an early start. Jack had his Pokemon Go app open so he could catch Pokemon on the way. We turned around 5 minutes in because we had forgotten Little Brett Favre Headliner action figure. Neither one of us thought it silly to go back. An hour into the drive we hit Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast. Two hours into the drive we played our first road sign alphabet game. Three hours in Jack tried to take his first nap. Four hours in, it occurred we were going to drive fairly close to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the site of the Little League Baseball World Series. So we made a side trip. "Next year we'll be playing here!" said Jack optimistically; his 12-year-old team would be competing for a spot. Uh, well hey, you never know.
We had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. If all BWW's were this friendly, comfortable, and quick and attentive with service, not to mention the excellent food, we'd go there all the time. Sadly Port Chester's version has awful service no matter when you go, and the wings are usually hit or miss too. But it was a highlight of our first day.
We checked into our hotel after the 9-hour drive (including side trip) and immediately hit the pool. Funny: We saw a picture of the pool near the elevator that showed a huge basketball hoop at the side. Getting to the actual pool, there was a tiny floating hoop about a quarter of regulation size. "Hoop not shown to scale," I explained to Jack, and we laughed about that for the rest of the weekend. He caught a Pokemon which he named Not to Scale. That said we had a great time in the pool playing with that little basketball hoop.
Went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse, Jack's first time there. Since steak is his favorite meal, by far, it was a treat. And the steaks were fantastic. Since it was my actual birthday and we were both starving and very happy with the food, it was about the best birthday dinner I could have asked for. Free ice cream for dessert!
SATURDAY
We woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and headed into Canton. Some rigamarole associated with being able to park (had to park at nearby fairground and catch shuttle to Hall of Fame, which was fine). A lot of cool exhibits, including booths honoring various players (Peyton Manning, to Jack's excitement, plus all the Hall of Fame inductees), a tour of the history of the NFL (earliest footballs, leather helmets, gear, uniforms, etc.), and interactive exhibits where you could pretend you were getting playcalls in your helmets or reviewing an instant replay play and the like. Things where you get a sense of how huge players are (Jack is basically the size of Jerome Bettis' leg) and compare your hand to a quarterback's massive mitt. We did this for several hours until our feet were ready to fall off.
Went to the Fan Fest outside the stadium. Here, you could get free football cards, power drinks, and other cheesy memorabilia (including cheeseheads!) and throw a football through a target and so forth. It was about 90 degrees so we spent plenty of money on water and whatnot. Went through various giftshops buying T-shirts, Broncos footballs, etc. Watched a movie in a theatre that rotated, focusing on Super Bowl 50. A highlight for Broncos fan Jack. Eventually it was time to enter the stadium for the induction ceremony, so we guzzled our free caffeine drinks (Yowza!) and filed in.
Through some fortunate accident/security oversight, we were able to get down on the field itself. There was a stage set up for NFL Network and we saw some past Hall of Fame inductees being interviewed. Suddenly another star showed up: Peyton Manning! Jack was thrilled. We got pretty close to him, but he wasn't signing autographs or anything. Jack waved his Broncos hat at him and considered throwing it to him. I advised against it.
We met former Packers running back Ahman Green and I got a picture of Jack with him. I told him that he and Favre were a great fantasy football combo. He smiled politely and edged sideways to get away from me.
The induction ceremony lasted well past 11 p.m., and naturally the one most of us were there for -- Favre -- spoke last. But really great, emotional speeches. Jack got a little tired/had to go to the bathroom near the end but stuck it out. Then it was a mob scene getting out of there, and it was after 12:30 when we finally got back to the hotel. Tired but happy.
SUNDAY
Since we'd done the Hall of Fame the previous day, we didn't have to rush. Slept in, went back to the hotel pool for more basketball, had lunch at Denny's. At the faigrounds parking, there was a gift shop set up with Hall of Fame merchandise. Jack had some cash and sent me away; I knew he wanted to buy me a birthday present. His taste runs to the colorful/garrish/over the top, so I didn't know what to expect. He came up a few minutes later with his hands behind his back. Took my hat off my head, put another one on. It was a FAVRE hat that said Canton, Ohio and had his number and the Hall of Fame logo. Not bad at all and a birthday present I will forever cherish.
Back at the Hall in the afternoon, we went through the exhibits again. And saw the Super Bowl 50 video. Sat at a table and had a Gatorade (Jack) and beer (me) at the Fan Fest area.
We saw people lined up in a red carpet area where players were being interviewed. Jack being small was able to squeeze through crowds and, to his excitement, touch Jerry Rice's gold jacket as he walked by. Later, Brett Favre walked through the crowd. I tried to get up high to catch a glimpse and get a photo, without success. Jack weaved through the crowd and returned a minute later. Did you get a picture, I asked, not expecting much. He showed me what he got; it looked like he was about 10 feet away from the new Hall of Famer. Incredible!
It was finally time to enter the stadium, so we did, excited to see an NFL game. But as we sat in our seats, a rumor started rippling through the crowd/texts/Twitter that the game had been cancelled. The paint used on the field had created an unsafe playing surface. It was so tough to believe a screwup like that could happen that we didn't believe it at first. But we had Internet access and soon it was official.
I was bummed, naturally, not only for me but for Jack. He was kind of dumbfounded and sad. "It's not fair," was a common refrain. We sat there with our memorabilia for a game that wasn't going to happen and were kind of in shock.
As challenging parenting moments go, it was one of them. We'd spent the weekend enjoying ourselves but also really looking forward to the game. They brought the players and teams out, interviewed the Hall of Fame inductees including Favre at midfield, fired T-shirts into the stands, had cheerleaders do little routines, yada yada. We hung out for a while, then left.
But on the way back to the hotel I said to Jack, you know, OK. It's disappointing. We wanted to see a football game, and we're not going to. But we've had a great weekend together, and this was just 2 hours of it that didn't go the way we wanted. Let's talk about the fun stuff we did.
So we talked about the Hall of Fame and all the different exhibits. The stuff we saw and experienced, players we got close to. The speeches, the meals, the memorabilia. Swimming in the pool together. Tossing his newly bought Broncos football around the parking lot of the Fairgrounds. All the Favre jerseys. Outback Steakhouse. The Little League World Series field. Jack plugging his phone into the car audio system so he could play his current favorite song, "Sail," every hour on the hour. The drive. The trip.
At the end we were smiling again. We drove back to the hotel, stopping for food from Wendy's. Went to sleep weary, happy.
And drove back home with stories and memories from a great Father-Son trip.
FRIDAY
It's a 7.5 hour drive, so we got an early start. Jack had his Pokemon Go app open so he could catch Pokemon on the way. We turned around 5 minutes in because we had forgotten Little Brett Favre Headliner action figure. Neither one of us thought it silly to go back. An hour into the drive we hit Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast. Two hours into the drive we played our first road sign alphabet game. Three hours in Jack tried to take his first nap. Four hours in, it occurred we were going to drive fairly close to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the site of the Little League Baseball World Series. So we made a side trip. "Next year we'll be playing here!" said Jack optimistically; his 12-year-old team would be competing for a spot. Uh, well hey, you never know.
We had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. If all BWW's were this friendly, comfortable, and quick and attentive with service, not to mention the excellent food, we'd go there all the time. Sadly Port Chester's version has awful service no matter when you go, and the wings are usually hit or miss too. But it was a highlight of our first day.
We checked into our hotel after the 9-hour drive (including side trip) and immediately hit the pool. Funny: We saw a picture of the pool near the elevator that showed a huge basketball hoop at the side. Getting to the actual pool, there was a tiny floating hoop about a quarter of regulation size. "Hoop not shown to scale," I explained to Jack, and we laughed about that for the rest of the weekend. He caught a Pokemon which he named Not to Scale. That said we had a great time in the pool playing with that little basketball hoop.
Went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse, Jack's first time there. Since steak is his favorite meal, by far, it was a treat. And the steaks were fantastic. Since it was my actual birthday and we were both starving and very happy with the food, it was about the best birthday dinner I could have asked for. Free ice cream for dessert!
SATURDAY
We woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and headed into Canton. Some rigamarole associated with being able to park (had to park at nearby fairground and catch shuttle to Hall of Fame, which was fine). A lot of cool exhibits, including booths honoring various players (Peyton Manning, to Jack's excitement, plus all the Hall of Fame inductees), a tour of the history of the NFL (earliest footballs, leather helmets, gear, uniforms, etc.), and interactive exhibits where you could pretend you were getting playcalls in your helmets or reviewing an instant replay play and the like. Things where you get a sense of how huge players are (Jack is basically the size of Jerome Bettis' leg) and compare your hand to a quarterback's massive mitt. We did this for several hours until our feet were ready to fall off.
Went to the Fan Fest outside the stadium. Here, you could get free football cards, power drinks, and other cheesy memorabilia (including cheeseheads!) and throw a football through a target and so forth. It was about 90 degrees so we spent plenty of money on water and whatnot. Went through various giftshops buying T-shirts, Broncos footballs, etc. Watched a movie in a theatre that rotated, focusing on Super Bowl 50. A highlight for Broncos fan Jack. Eventually it was time to enter the stadium for the induction ceremony, so we guzzled our free caffeine drinks (Yowza!) and filed in.
Through some fortunate accident/security oversight, we were able to get down on the field itself. There was a stage set up for NFL Network and we saw some past Hall of Fame inductees being interviewed. Suddenly another star showed up: Peyton Manning! Jack was thrilled. We got pretty close to him, but he wasn't signing autographs or anything. Jack waved his Broncos hat at him and considered throwing it to him. I advised against it.
We met former Packers running back Ahman Green and I got a picture of Jack with him. I told him that he and Favre were a great fantasy football combo. He smiled politely and edged sideways to get away from me.
The induction ceremony lasted well past 11 p.m., and naturally the one most of us were there for -- Favre -- spoke last. But really great, emotional speeches. Jack got a little tired/had to go to the bathroom near the end but stuck it out. Then it was a mob scene getting out of there, and it was after 12:30 when we finally got back to the hotel. Tired but happy.
SUNDAY
Since we'd done the Hall of Fame the previous day, we didn't have to rush. Slept in, went back to the hotel pool for more basketball, had lunch at Denny's. At the faigrounds parking, there was a gift shop set up with Hall of Fame merchandise. Jack had some cash and sent me away; I knew he wanted to buy me a birthday present. His taste runs to the colorful/garrish/over the top, so I didn't know what to expect. He came up a few minutes later with his hands behind his back. Took my hat off my head, put another one on. It was a FAVRE hat that said Canton, Ohio and had his number and the Hall of Fame logo. Not bad at all and a birthday present I will forever cherish.
Back at the Hall in the afternoon, we went through the exhibits again. And saw the Super Bowl 50 video. Sat at a table and had a Gatorade (Jack) and beer (me) at the Fan Fest area.
We saw people lined up in a red carpet area where players were being interviewed. Jack being small was able to squeeze through crowds and, to his excitement, touch Jerry Rice's gold jacket as he walked by. Later, Brett Favre walked through the crowd. I tried to get up high to catch a glimpse and get a photo, without success. Jack weaved through the crowd and returned a minute later. Did you get a picture, I asked, not expecting much. He showed me what he got; it looked like he was about 10 feet away from the new Hall of Famer. Incredible!
It was finally time to enter the stadium, so we did, excited to see an NFL game. But as we sat in our seats, a rumor started rippling through the crowd/texts/Twitter that the game had been cancelled. The paint used on the field had created an unsafe playing surface. It was so tough to believe a screwup like that could happen that we didn't believe it at first. But we had Internet access and soon it was official.
I was bummed, naturally, not only for me but for Jack. He was kind of dumbfounded and sad. "It's not fair," was a common refrain. We sat there with our memorabilia for a game that wasn't going to happen and were kind of in shock.
As challenging parenting moments go, it was one of them. We'd spent the weekend enjoying ourselves but also really looking forward to the game. They brought the players and teams out, interviewed the Hall of Fame inductees including Favre at midfield, fired T-shirts into the stands, had cheerleaders do little routines, yada yada. We hung out for a while, then left.
But on the way back to the hotel I said to Jack, you know, OK. It's disappointing. We wanted to see a football game, and we're not going to. But we've had a great weekend together, and this was just 2 hours of it that didn't go the way we wanted. Let's talk about the fun stuff we did.
So we talked about the Hall of Fame and all the different exhibits. The stuff we saw and experienced, players we got close to. The speeches, the meals, the memorabilia. Swimming in the pool together. Tossing his newly bought Broncos football around the parking lot of the Fairgrounds. All the Favre jerseys. Outback Steakhouse. The Little League World Series field. Jack plugging his phone into the car audio system so he could play his current favorite song, "Sail," every hour on the hour. The drive. The trip.
At the end we were smiling again. We drove back to the hotel, stopping for food from Wendy's. Went to sleep weary, happy.
And drove back home with stories and memories from a great Father-Son trip.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
The Moon
Jack had a nice baseball game last night. Three good at-bats with hard-hit balls, a great catch of a sinking fly in right to end the game, nearly a force out at a second on a liner hit to him in center. Good game, got praise from the coaches during and after, good to see. All smiles in the post game huddle.
So we were walking back to the car afterward, it was about 10 p.m. The game had started at 8, it was under the lights. I put a hand on his shoulder, stopped him, said, Nice game tonight, Jack.
And he looked at me and said thanks, and then he looked past me.
"Dad!" Yes, I asked. "Look at the moon!"
We both looked up at it. Full, or very nearly. It was a really nice moon.
Looked another minute. Then started walking again.
So we were walking back to the car afterward, it was about 10 p.m. The game had started at 8, it was under the lights. I put a hand on his shoulder, stopped him, said, Nice game tonight, Jack.
And he looked at me and said thanks, and then he looked past me.
"Dad!" Yes, I asked. "Look at the moon!"
We both looked up at it. Full, or very nearly. It was a really nice moon.
Looked another minute. Then started walking again.
Saturday, July 02, 2016
When baseball isn't fun
Jack loves baseball, except when he doesn't. That's when he's struggling, which he is right now.
It doesn't take much. A slight change in stance, or swing. Hands too high, bat too low, balance slightly off. And then hits become strikeouts. Line drives go foul. Little things. And then he's struggling, beating himself up about it, falling in the lineup, and pressing even more.
Last night he had a rough night at the plate, and was pretty much despondent in the (winning) huddle. The ball hasn't been finding him in the field, either, so he doesn't feel like he's contributing at all. Quite a change from just a few weeks ago, when he was hitting as well as or better than anyone on the team and catching everything hit into his area code. That's how quickly things can turn.
He got a ride home with Emily after the game, while Kate and I got home a minute or two earlier. They were still in the car after a few minutes, so I went out to find him in tears. They were out a little while longer, then he finally got out, hat jammed down low over his face to obscure how upset he was.
Emily gave me tidbits a little later. "I've been struggling for three years...baseball is my life and I'm not any good at it!" Stuff that breaks your heart.
We went in the back yard and hit pitches into a screen. I'm not sure how much good it did because he was so upset, but I guess he burned off some frustration. Today we'll go out there and practice again, and then he'll play a double header. Get 5-6 more at-bats, hopefully get 2-3 hits, and suddenly the sun will shine a little brighter.
Watching him be so upset and frustrated, lying awake myself feeling bad for him, I wonder if it's worth it. A great talented kid miserable because he's not hitting a baseball as well as he was a month ago. If he gets some hits today, he'll feel great. But he's the same kid either way. He loves baseball, but being a player is just one of the many things he is.
I don't know the answer. He loves it, it's what he wants to do, so we'll keep doing it until he can't anymore. As Emily says, 3 or 5 or 10 years from now, he won't remember the bad stuff. He'll remember the tournaments, running around hotel pools with all his friends, the hits, the wins, and the fun. Not the tears.
We'll remember all of it. I sit here debating it in my mind, and decide that I know it will be worth it. The bad moments, heart-rending as they are, disappear quickly when the great moments come. Those are awesome, as good as I can remember anything being. Seeing him happy, celebrating with his friends, yelling happily from second base, holding up a game ball. As good as it gets. Worth the tough moments along the way. Even if at certain times I'm not so sure.
It doesn't take much. A slight change in stance, or swing. Hands too high, bat too low, balance slightly off. And then hits become strikeouts. Line drives go foul. Little things. And then he's struggling, beating himself up about it, falling in the lineup, and pressing even more.
Last night he had a rough night at the plate, and was pretty much despondent in the (winning) huddle. The ball hasn't been finding him in the field, either, so he doesn't feel like he's contributing at all. Quite a change from just a few weeks ago, when he was hitting as well as or better than anyone on the team and catching everything hit into his area code. That's how quickly things can turn.
He got a ride home with Emily after the game, while Kate and I got home a minute or two earlier. They were still in the car after a few minutes, so I went out to find him in tears. They were out a little while longer, then he finally got out, hat jammed down low over his face to obscure how upset he was.
Emily gave me tidbits a little later. "I've been struggling for three years...baseball is my life and I'm not any good at it!" Stuff that breaks your heart.
We went in the back yard and hit pitches into a screen. I'm not sure how much good it did because he was so upset, but I guess he burned off some frustration. Today we'll go out there and practice again, and then he'll play a double header. Get 5-6 more at-bats, hopefully get 2-3 hits, and suddenly the sun will shine a little brighter.
Watching him be so upset and frustrated, lying awake myself feeling bad for him, I wonder if it's worth it. A great talented kid miserable because he's not hitting a baseball as well as he was a month ago. If he gets some hits today, he'll feel great. But he's the same kid either way. He loves baseball, but being a player is just one of the many things he is.
I don't know the answer. He loves it, it's what he wants to do, so we'll keep doing it until he can't anymore. As Emily says, 3 or 5 or 10 years from now, he won't remember the bad stuff. He'll remember the tournaments, running around hotel pools with all his friends, the hits, the wins, and the fun. Not the tears.
We'll remember all of it. I sit here debating it in my mind, and decide that I know it will be worth it. The bad moments, heart-rending as they are, disappear quickly when the great moments come. Those are awesome, as good as I can remember anything being. Seeing him happy, celebrating with his friends, yelling happily from second base, holding up a game ball. As good as it gets. Worth the tough moments along the way. Even if at certain times I'm not so sure.
Friday, June 17, 2016
postseason baseball
Jack and Kate's spring little league baseball teams finished up play Wednesday night. Both lost in the championship game, but it wasn't as depressing as you might think. Kate's team, which I coach, had won the championship a year ago, and Jack was one of the stars of that team. Considering the players we lost, and how bad we seemed during a midseason losing streak, it was pretty impressive to battle back and win two playoff games to get to the title game. There, against a favored opponent, we lost a tight 10-9 contest, battling back twice from deficits, including tying it up with 2 outs in the 9th. The postgame huddle speech of being proud of everyone was the easiest speech ever.
As I've written before, at times the game was a little too much for Kate. She struggled to hit at times. The fielding pace was too much for her for much of. The team was comprised of 8-10 year olds, and she's 8, so even if she was one of the best 8 year-olds, it would be hard for her to keep up.
But the moments when she did make plays -- part of a relay to cut down a kid at home, once, and throwing home for another out after a grounder to her in the infield -- were particularly enjoyable, for her and for me. I was happy for her. And when she had a big hit in the semifinal to start a rally in our 11-7 win, she stood on first base smiling about it. Afterward one of the other coaches said to me, "I was so happy for her. She'll remember that hit for a long time." It was just nice to hear.
As for Jack, he had a great season, emerging as the best outfielder on his new team (comprised of mostly 12-year-olds) and a steady, every-inning performer. His spring included a breakout travel tournament on Memorial Day weekend where he hit as well as anyone on the team and made play after play in the outfield, surprising even us with his level of play. All weekend I had people coming up to me talking about Jack. It was remarkable and unexpected and I barely knew how to respond, beyond, Thank you. He's worked hard on his game for years. It's paying off, and all I can say is, I'm really happy for him. He loves to play.
But the season ended, and the next night the fields, where we'd spent so much of our spring, would be quiet.
Then I got a text from a friend and fellow coach on Jack's summer travel team. "Dan and I are going to the park for some batting practice." See you there, I said.
It was a peaceful, warm and slightly humid evening. Fields were empty, except for us. My friend pitching, Jack and the other kid taking turns hitting, me and the other kid shagging hits. Crack, crack, crack. Before I knew it, we'd been out there for more than an hour; sky was getting darker, it was time to go. We packed up our stuff and walked back home.
Baseball season was over, and it was starting up again.
As I've written before, at times the game was a little too much for Kate. She struggled to hit at times. The fielding pace was too much for her for much of. The team was comprised of 8-10 year olds, and she's 8, so even if she was one of the best 8 year-olds, it would be hard for her to keep up.
But the moments when she did make plays -- part of a relay to cut down a kid at home, once, and throwing home for another out after a grounder to her in the infield -- were particularly enjoyable, for her and for me. I was happy for her. And when she had a big hit in the semifinal to start a rally in our 11-7 win, she stood on first base smiling about it. Afterward one of the other coaches said to me, "I was so happy for her. She'll remember that hit for a long time." It was just nice to hear.
As for Jack, he had a great season, emerging as the best outfielder on his new team (comprised of mostly 12-year-olds) and a steady, every-inning performer. His spring included a breakout travel tournament on Memorial Day weekend where he hit as well as anyone on the team and made play after play in the outfield, surprising even us with his level of play. All weekend I had people coming up to me talking about Jack. It was remarkable and unexpected and I barely knew how to respond, beyond, Thank you. He's worked hard on his game for years. It's paying off, and all I can say is, I'm really happy for him. He loves to play.
But the season ended, and the next night the fields, where we'd spent so much of our spring, would be quiet.
Then I got a text from a friend and fellow coach on Jack's summer travel team. "Dan and I are going to the park for some batting practice." See you there, I said.
It was a peaceful, warm and slightly humid evening. Fields were empty, except for us. My friend pitching, Jack and the other kid taking turns hitting, me and the other kid shagging hits. Crack, crack, crack. Before I knew it, we'd been out there for more than an hour; sky was getting darker, it was time to go. We packed up our stuff and walked back home.
Baseball season was over, and it was starting up again.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Bunch of different things
- Jack doesn't always sleep well. He goes through stretches where on many nights he comes in due to a bad dream...or sleepwalking and not completely aware he's there...or having something akin to night terrors where he's really afraid of something and talking nonsense. Kind of scary at times. We're working on changing routines into more of a calming before-bed time. No going straight from TV or phone activities to bed. We go up, read for 10 minutes, talk in bed for a little while after that, then say good night. It seems to help.
- It's been a pretty good Majors (11 and 12 year olds) baseball season for Jack. In the first game of the season, he happened to be in centerfield for an inning. A flare was hit to shallow center with two men on base in a close game. He sprinted in, dove, and made a rolling catch to save 1 or 2 runs. Caught another ball that game, too. After the game Coach said, "Well, we've found our new centerfielder." He's played there ever since, every inning. Maybe I wrote about this before.
Anyway, now at the start of each inning he lopes out to center, jogging peacefully, confident and calm. Nice to see; it's like he's been there all his life. His travel coach said to me last night, I saw him last week when a high fly was hit to him out there. He came in and camped under it like it was nothing at all.
- I think he likes a girl in his grade. She plays baseball too. He doesn't want to talk about it so we give him space. And smile about it behind his back.
- Kate's Minors team had lost several games in a row. It's a young team, we're not as good as we seemed to be earlier in the year. Lost Saturday on a walk-off two-out, two-run single. Brutal. Kids were getting down, maybe pressing a bit.
Last night we played a game, and things weren't going well early. Down 4-0 after three. Two runs scored on a two-out error. We missed a chance at some runs on a missed call. Just not going our way.
In the fourth inning this kid named Johnny, Kate's grade, was at 2nd base. I try to give everyone one inning in the infield, because everyone wants to play there, even though outfielders are kind of important too, even at Kate's level (8-10-year-olds). But whatever, he was at 2nd, and at one point, right after I told him to move a few steps to his left, a line drive was hit to him. He caught it, a little surprised himself I think, then made a heady play to throw to first and turn a double play. It was great; several teammates in the immediate area, including Kate, mobbed him and celebrated happily. Guys, I said, there are only two outs.
We finished the inning, scored 2 runs to make it 4-2, then added 5 in the last inning and won 7-4. Couple of big two-out hits (including a Kate hit), couple more nice defensive plays. Kids celebrated like they'd won the World Series, and I didn't mind, because it was nice seeing them happy. Just a nice night, for Kate, for her teammates. For Jack too, who was there helping out and used the term "We" at the postgame huddle. Hey, it was his team last year.
It's not always great, but it is when it is.
- It's been a pretty good Majors (11 and 12 year olds) baseball season for Jack. In the first game of the season, he happened to be in centerfield for an inning. A flare was hit to shallow center with two men on base in a close game. He sprinted in, dove, and made a rolling catch to save 1 or 2 runs. Caught another ball that game, too. After the game Coach said, "Well, we've found our new centerfielder." He's played there ever since, every inning. Maybe I wrote about this before.
Anyway, now at the start of each inning he lopes out to center, jogging peacefully, confident and calm. Nice to see; it's like he's been there all his life. His travel coach said to me last night, I saw him last week when a high fly was hit to him out there. He came in and camped under it like it was nothing at all.
- I think he likes a girl in his grade. She plays baseball too. He doesn't want to talk about it so we give him space. And smile about it behind his back.
- Kate's Minors team had lost several games in a row. It's a young team, we're not as good as we seemed to be earlier in the year. Lost Saturday on a walk-off two-out, two-run single. Brutal. Kids were getting down, maybe pressing a bit.
Last night we played a game, and things weren't going well early. Down 4-0 after three. Two runs scored on a two-out error. We missed a chance at some runs on a missed call. Just not going our way.
In the fourth inning this kid named Johnny, Kate's grade, was at 2nd base. I try to give everyone one inning in the infield, because everyone wants to play there, even though outfielders are kind of important too, even at Kate's level (8-10-year-olds). But whatever, he was at 2nd, and at one point, right after I told him to move a few steps to his left, a line drive was hit to him. He caught it, a little surprised himself I think, then made a heady play to throw to first and turn a double play. It was great; several teammates in the immediate area, including Kate, mobbed him and celebrated happily. Guys, I said, there are only two outs.
We finished the inning, scored 2 runs to make it 4-2, then added 5 in the last inning and won 7-4. Couple of big two-out hits (including a Kate hit), couple more nice defensive plays. Kids celebrated like they'd won the World Series, and I didn't mind, because it was nice seeing them happy. Just a nice night, for Kate, for her teammates. For Jack too, who was there helping out and used the term "We" at the postgame huddle. Hey, it was his team last year.
It's not always great, but it is when it is.
Monday, May 09, 2016
Mother's Day
Mother's Day traditionally or at least in theory begins with breakfast in bed, but there are often problems with that. For one thing Emily gets up earlier than everyone else. But the kids encouraged her to get back into bed and gathered up the cards they'd be bringing them. Jack had wanted to make coffee, which I of course had made about an hour earlier, but instead made an English muffin. Unfortunately it fell through the toaster rack and started a small fire at the bottom of it, so breakfast in bed was scrapped.
Emily did get coffee, though, and thoughtful handmade cards and gifts from the kids. It's heartening how they approach the day, really trying to make it special for her. There are hiccups along the way, usually involving kids complaining about something or other, but their hearts are usually in the right places.
I got donuts and they were enjoyed by all. We then went out car shopping, test driving what will possibly be our next car, the Honda Pilot. (Kate: "Can it fly?" No, but that would be pretty cool.) The kids at auto dealers are kind of amusing, sitting in every car and discovering all the various whistles and bells. Kate found a secret compartment from the back seat to the trunk in one and I had a brief moment of worry that she'd get stuck in a car and we'd end up having to take it apart to get her out. Nope!
After car-shopping we came back home and played some baseball in the backyard. It was a sunny day unlike we've had in weeks, it seems, so we played some catch and practiced hitting. There are usually ups and downs, say if Kate is struggling, and Jack and I both give her advice, and she starts to get frustrated. We started playing running bases, a baseball-related game that both Jack and Kate really enjoy, but Kate only likes the running part of it, and gets pouty if she's doing the other part. It being Mother's Day, Emily obviously didn't care for that, and we wrapped up the game abruptly, telling Kate exactly why.
Kate, realizing her error, apologized. More; she drew a picture for Jack with little sad faces saying she was sorry. Sweet.
They played catch with each other, at one time catching an impressive 19 in a row. They developed a game on the largely forgotten playground swingset, using chalk to write notes, game titles, and descriptions. They climbed up on the roof together and planned and talked. An hour later, they were still out there, talking and playing together. The best Mother's Day present of all.
Emily did get coffee, though, and thoughtful handmade cards and gifts from the kids. It's heartening how they approach the day, really trying to make it special for her. There are hiccups along the way, usually involving kids complaining about something or other, but their hearts are usually in the right places.
I got donuts and they were enjoyed by all. We then went out car shopping, test driving what will possibly be our next car, the Honda Pilot. (Kate: "Can it fly?" No, but that would be pretty cool.) The kids at auto dealers are kind of amusing, sitting in every car and discovering all the various whistles and bells. Kate found a secret compartment from the back seat to the trunk in one and I had a brief moment of worry that she'd get stuck in a car and we'd end up having to take it apart to get her out. Nope!
After car-shopping we came back home and played some baseball in the backyard. It was a sunny day unlike we've had in weeks, it seems, so we played some catch and practiced hitting. There are usually ups and downs, say if Kate is struggling, and Jack and I both give her advice, and she starts to get frustrated. We started playing running bases, a baseball-related game that both Jack and Kate really enjoy, but Kate only likes the running part of it, and gets pouty if she's doing the other part. It being Mother's Day, Emily obviously didn't care for that, and we wrapped up the game abruptly, telling Kate exactly why.
Kate, realizing her error, apologized. More; she drew a picture for Jack with little sad faces saying she was sorry. Sweet.
They played catch with each other, at one time catching an impressive 19 in a row. They developed a game on the largely forgotten playground swingset, using chalk to write notes, game titles, and descriptions. They climbed up on the roof together and planned and talked. An hour later, they were still out there, talking and playing together. The best Mother's Day present of all.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Opening Day
Opening Day of the Little League season. Kind of been a lot of snow and rain and cold for the last month, so it was a little unfamiliar to wake up this morning to perfectly blue skies and sunshine. We had slightly later schedules for our games -- Jack with his Majors team, Kate with her Minors team -- so we had breakfast, guzzled coffee, and headed over to the fields at a leisurely pace.
Lot of hurry up and waiting for a while. We had to be there 90 minutes before game time for team pictures, just in case they took a while, but they actually didn't take long, so there was plenty of waiting. And since there were games on the fields, we couldn't practice or anything. Bought Jack a hot dog, had one myself. Kate showed up, bought her a soda. Went back and forth between being one place or another for pictures and trying to keep kids from falling out of trees.
Jack's team won, 5-1. He struck out in his only at-bat, but made a diving catch on a shallow fly ball to center with runners at 2nd and 3rd and one out that saved two runs. Next batter struck out and Jack, amped up, charged off the field, and I saw one of his coaches, also fired up, meet up with him to give him a big clap on the back.
Emily, unfortunately, had gone home to get a jacket and missed the play. She came back and I told her about it, standing with another Mom, and she said, You're messing with me, right? Took a few more tries before she believed us. So the rest of the day when people came up to her and said, great catch! She had to say, yeah, I missed it...
One of his other coaches walked near me later and said, helluva catch. I saw Jack later and he said, "At the meeting afterward, Coach said, I learned a lot about the team today. And I also think we've found our new centerfielder."
Right after his game ended, Kate's began. It was her first Minors game and my first as her head coach. I knew the team has some good players from last season, but I wasn't sure what I'd get from the younger kids. And I didn't know how Kate would do in the field or at the place. I pitch to her in the backyard and the batting cages, but it's not nearly as fast as the pitching machine, just soft toss really, and I was afraid she'd have a hard time making contact.
First half of the first inning, we threw the ball around and the infield and gave up 2 runs. Bottom half, we scored 5, and pretty much kept on hitting the rest of the game in a blowout win. But that wasn't the best part.
First time up, Kate swung and missed twice, and then got a base hit on a hard ground ball up the middle. Stood at first base beaming, proud of herself. Second time up, another ground ball single. Not sure where it was hit. Third time up, another ground single. Maybe this was a well-placed infield single, I don't even know, I was sort of giddy for her by this point. A three-hit game for Kate.
After the win, out in the outfield, I couldn't think of anything bad to say. Told the kids I was proud of the way they hit the ball, ran the bases, and made plays in the field. Snuck a couple of glances at Kate, who had a big smile on her face. Then we pulled up the bases, raked up the field, gathered up happy kids, and headed home.
We burned off the rest of the day with TV baseball and ordering takeout. I sent the kids up for showers, Jack first and Kate second. I heard Jack, upstairs, doing play by play for Kate's.
"Now showering.....Number five....Kate.....Richardsonnnnnnn!!!"
Lot of hurry up and waiting for a while. We had to be there 90 minutes before game time for team pictures, just in case they took a while, but they actually didn't take long, so there was plenty of waiting. And since there were games on the fields, we couldn't practice or anything. Bought Jack a hot dog, had one myself. Kate showed up, bought her a soda. Went back and forth between being one place or another for pictures and trying to keep kids from falling out of trees.
Jack's team won, 5-1. He struck out in his only at-bat, but made a diving catch on a shallow fly ball to center with runners at 2nd and 3rd and one out that saved two runs. Next batter struck out and Jack, amped up, charged off the field, and I saw one of his coaches, also fired up, meet up with him to give him a big clap on the back.
Emily, unfortunately, had gone home to get a jacket and missed the play. She came back and I told her about it, standing with another Mom, and she said, You're messing with me, right? Took a few more tries before she believed us. So the rest of the day when people came up to her and said, great catch! She had to say, yeah, I missed it...
One of his other coaches walked near me later and said, helluva catch. I saw Jack later and he said, "At the meeting afterward, Coach said, I learned a lot about the team today. And I also think we've found our new centerfielder."
Right after his game ended, Kate's began. It was her first Minors game and my first as her head coach. I knew the team has some good players from last season, but I wasn't sure what I'd get from the younger kids. And I didn't know how Kate would do in the field or at the place. I pitch to her in the backyard and the batting cages, but it's not nearly as fast as the pitching machine, just soft toss really, and I was afraid she'd have a hard time making contact.
First half of the first inning, we threw the ball around and the infield and gave up 2 runs. Bottom half, we scored 5, and pretty much kept on hitting the rest of the game in a blowout win. But that wasn't the best part.
First time up, Kate swung and missed twice, and then got a base hit on a hard ground ball up the middle. Stood at first base beaming, proud of herself. Second time up, another ground ball single. Not sure where it was hit. Third time up, another ground single. Maybe this was a well-placed infield single, I don't even know, I was sort of giddy for her by this point. A three-hit game for Kate.
After the win, out in the outfield, I couldn't think of anything bad to say. Told the kids I was proud of the way they hit the ball, ran the bases, and made plays in the field. Snuck a couple of glances at Kate, who had a big smile on her face. Then we pulled up the bases, raked up the field, gathered up happy kids, and headed home.
We burned off the rest of the day with TV baseball and ordering takeout. I sent the kids up for showers, Jack first and Kate second. I heard Jack, upstairs, doing play by play for Kate's.
"Now showering.....Number five....Kate.....Richardsonnnnnnn!!!"
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Baseball with Jack and Kate
Baseball practices have started. I'm the head coach of Kate's team this year, and Jack is essentially an assistant coach, since he's come to both practices so far and helped out. This is a little weird because several kids on the team are in Jack's grade and were his teammates last year. But because he's a little older and better at baseball, he's moved up a level and they've stayed to be joined by his younger sister moving up a level.
Yesterday was our first outdoors practice. It's going to be a challenging year for Kate, and me as her head coach, since a lot of the kids on the team are close to Jack in age and ability. But so far, so good. One of her friends is on the team, which helps (it's the age and level when a lot of girls start to drop out and it becomes a snowball effect -- girls drop out because their friends drop out, and so on and so forth), and there's mostly pretty good kids on it, some of whom know Kate a little, and were on the team a year ago.
Kate, from us playing in the back yard, is better at throwing, catching and hitting than she was a year ago. Plenty of room for improvement, which is true of everyone. Mostly I want two things: for her to try all the time, and for her to enjoy herself.
And she is. She'll do the right things in the fielding drills. Every once in a while she'll squawk about something or act like it's a big deal (or gripe about some minor ache or pain). But she generally does it with a smile; she's been having fun.
Jack, as an assistant coach, gets a little full of himself sometimes. He offers instruction which is way above the level most of the kids are ready for. And of course, he wants to show by doing: "Let me hit one?" That kind of thing. But he's been gamely playing first base while the kids are throwing the ball all over the place, loping to get this one, diving for that, without complaint.
Yesterday, at the end of practice, Jack pitched to some of the kids when my other assistant coach had to leave early. Kate, who'd got a hit off the other coach, came up and I could see her putting a pout on her face: "Jack's going to throw too hard. Jack's going to hit me." For a few pitches she stood as a statue, saying they were too high or too hard, while Jack threw both good and bad pitches and gaped at me in protest when Kate didn't swing. (Jack, that was too high. Jack, just keep pitching.) I went up to Kate and said, Kate, you can hit these. Just get in your good stance and put a good swing on it. And he threw one and she swung and hit it, and it was a slow roller that thank heavens stayed fair. And she got to first, and smiled, and Jack pitched to the next kid.
Practice ended with smiles all around. They played a little on the playground while we waited for other parents to collect their kids, and we got in the car just before rain and lightning started that would have cancelled practice immediately; lucky. Picked up a pizza, ate it at home, and the kids danced around the kitchen to their favorite song these days. Jack's always happy after baseball practice. Kate, I don't always see that, so it was really nice that she was. Made me proud.
There will be tough days coaching Kate and this team, I'm realistic about it. But for one night it was pretty awesome. Looking forward to playing ball.
Yesterday was our first outdoors practice. It's going to be a challenging year for Kate, and me as her head coach, since a lot of the kids on the team are close to Jack in age and ability. But so far, so good. One of her friends is on the team, which helps (it's the age and level when a lot of girls start to drop out and it becomes a snowball effect -- girls drop out because their friends drop out, and so on and so forth), and there's mostly pretty good kids on it, some of whom know Kate a little, and were on the team a year ago.
Kate, from us playing in the back yard, is better at throwing, catching and hitting than she was a year ago. Plenty of room for improvement, which is true of everyone. Mostly I want two things: for her to try all the time, and for her to enjoy herself.
And she is. She'll do the right things in the fielding drills. Every once in a while she'll squawk about something or act like it's a big deal (or gripe about some minor ache or pain). But she generally does it with a smile; she's been having fun.
Jack, as an assistant coach, gets a little full of himself sometimes. He offers instruction which is way above the level most of the kids are ready for. And of course, he wants to show by doing: "Let me hit one?" That kind of thing. But he's been gamely playing first base while the kids are throwing the ball all over the place, loping to get this one, diving for that, without complaint.
Yesterday, at the end of practice, Jack pitched to some of the kids when my other assistant coach had to leave early. Kate, who'd got a hit off the other coach, came up and I could see her putting a pout on her face: "Jack's going to throw too hard. Jack's going to hit me." For a few pitches she stood as a statue, saying they were too high or too hard, while Jack threw both good and bad pitches and gaped at me in protest when Kate didn't swing. (Jack, that was too high. Jack, just keep pitching.) I went up to Kate and said, Kate, you can hit these. Just get in your good stance and put a good swing on it. And he threw one and she swung and hit it, and it was a slow roller that thank heavens stayed fair. And she got to first, and smiled, and Jack pitched to the next kid.
Practice ended with smiles all around. They played a little on the playground while we waited for other parents to collect their kids, and we got in the car just before rain and lightning started that would have cancelled practice immediately; lucky. Picked up a pizza, ate it at home, and the kids danced around the kitchen to their favorite song these days. Jack's always happy after baseball practice. Kate, I don't always see that, so it was really nice that she was. Made me proud.
There will be tough days coaching Kate and this team, I'm realistic about it. But for one night it was pretty awesome. Looking forward to playing ball.
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Disney
Went to Disney last week. We'd gone a couple of years ago and had so much fun; just had to go another time before the kids got older, Jack was in middle school, and such a trip away would be less feasible. So we went ahead and did it.
A couple of days were better the first trip. The newness of it all. The fact that our weather at Universal wasn't quite as good this time. On the other hand, we didn't make some of the mistakes we made the first time, and no doubt Universal was way less crowded with the lesser weather. We got to do all the rides we wanted to do, AND got to do them more often because the lines weren't as long. And when we went back to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, Kate asked at the counter if our waiter from that trip, a colorful, charismatic guy named Vegas, was working. And he was. We were seated in his section, he charmed the kids again, and I seriously thought about getting a picture with him before we left. But that one we'll just have to keep in our minds.
Our best Disney day was Thursday, our second one in Magic Kingdom. Started at Chef Mickey's, where the food was just ordinary but the character meetings were fantastic. Goofy got the whole room swinging their napkins and clapping, us included. Minnie was as beautiful and charming as a giant mouse could possibly be. Mickey and Donald and Pluto gave and received big hugs all around. It was awesome.
After breakfast it was off to the park, where we began by standing in an hour-long ride for the Mine Train. Too long, but a great ride and so worth it. Then it was off to another roller coaster, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and a ride the kids were more into than us, Buzz Lightyear, where basically you're just trying to shoot things with lasers. Strangely addictive though, and while Kate got frustrated at times, when she had a good game, she was very excited. Those rides pretty much consumed the morning, and after lunch, we did them all again.
This was the night we were going to stay at Disney to watch a nighttime electric musical parade and maybe fireworks. They had them every night, but it made for a long day if we'd been there early, as we were. But our plan was to go back to our hotel to relax for a little, then return for the night show.
Trying to leave the park, we were delayed -- by another parade! In front of us, were dancers, and a huge dragon (the one from Sleeping Beauty) and other dancing, singing Disney characters. We rode a boat home, relaxed for an hour, watched a hilarious episode of Gravity Falls, then went back to the park for hotdogs (the baseball-themed Casey's, Jack "helped" by getting way more ketchup than any hotdog needed) and the parade.
It ended, and it was 8 p.m. Two years ago, we'd have just gone home -- did just go home. But this time we said, hmm, let's see how long the lines are at our favorite rides. And they weren't too bad. So as darkness fell (staved off by all the lighting) we ran about the park doing rides. Buzz, the Barnstormer, and more, after which Kate would say "Again! Again!" And then we rode the People Mover around the park, which was basically a train that went across the top of all the different rides. And then, as we ran from ride to ride, the fireworks started. And the Speedway was zooming off to the edge of the noise.
We ran from ride to ride as fireworks crashed overhead and park music played and Kate said "Again." Did this until around 9, but it seemed like forever. And then it was time to go.
Walking home, after catching the monorail to our hotel, I said to Kate -- neither she nor Jack will ever admit to being tired -- "You look like you'll admit to being tired." A little glassy-eyed, she said, slowly "I am tired." And that was the end of the day.
A couple of days were better the first trip. The newness of it all. The fact that our weather at Universal wasn't quite as good this time. On the other hand, we didn't make some of the mistakes we made the first time, and no doubt Universal was way less crowded with the lesser weather. We got to do all the rides we wanted to do, AND got to do them more often because the lines weren't as long. And when we went back to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, Kate asked at the counter if our waiter from that trip, a colorful, charismatic guy named Vegas, was working. And he was. We were seated in his section, he charmed the kids again, and I seriously thought about getting a picture with him before we left. But that one we'll just have to keep in our minds.
Our best Disney day was Thursday, our second one in Magic Kingdom. Started at Chef Mickey's, where the food was just ordinary but the character meetings were fantastic. Goofy got the whole room swinging their napkins and clapping, us included. Minnie was as beautiful and charming as a giant mouse could possibly be. Mickey and Donald and Pluto gave and received big hugs all around. It was awesome.
After breakfast it was off to the park, where we began by standing in an hour-long ride for the Mine Train. Too long, but a great ride and so worth it. Then it was off to another roller coaster, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and a ride the kids were more into than us, Buzz Lightyear, where basically you're just trying to shoot things with lasers. Strangely addictive though, and while Kate got frustrated at times, when she had a good game, she was very excited. Those rides pretty much consumed the morning, and after lunch, we did them all again.
This was the night we were going to stay at Disney to watch a nighttime electric musical parade and maybe fireworks. They had them every night, but it made for a long day if we'd been there early, as we were. But our plan was to go back to our hotel to relax for a little, then return for the night show.
Trying to leave the park, we were delayed -- by another parade! In front of us, were dancers, and a huge dragon (the one from Sleeping Beauty) and other dancing, singing Disney characters. We rode a boat home, relaxed for an hour, watched a hilarious episode of Gravity Falls, then went back to the park for hotdogs (the baseball-themed Casey's, Jack "helped" by getting way more ketchup than any hotdog needed) and the parade.
It ended, and it was 8 p.m. Two years ago, we'd have just gone home -- did just go home. But this time we said, hmm, let's see how long the lines are at our favorite rides. And they weren't too bad. So as darkness fell (staved off by all the lighting) we ran about the park doing rides. Buzz, the Barnstormer, and more, after which Kate would say "Again! Again!" And then we rode the People Mover around the park, which was basically a train that went across the top of all the different rides. And then, as we ran from ride to ride, the fireworks started. And the Speedway was zooming off to the edge of the noise.
We ran from ride to ride as fireworks crashed overhead and park music played and Kate said "Again." Did this until around 9, but it seemed like forever. And then it was time to go.
Walking home, after catching the monorail to our hotel, I said to Kate -- neither she nor Jack will ever admit to being tired -- "You look like you'll admit to being tired." A little glassy-eyed, she said, slowly "I am tired." And that was the end of the day.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
sports day
It was a Saturday morning like many others. Woke up, wrote a column, had breakfast.
But Jack had an away basketball game, so I headed out to Taco Bell to get him a quick lunch before he left. And Kate had a home basketball game, so I made her a quesadilla before we left. And then they both had indoor tryouts for the upcoming baseball season in the afternoon, so it would be a two-sport day for them.
Kate isn't fully getting basketball just yet. She likes to try to shoot the ball in practice and in our driveway, so that's good. But she might not fully grasp the game concept. Like that she needs to fight for the ball, and try to get between the other team's player and the ball, and try to stop the other player from shooting. The games go fairly quickly -- this one took maybe 45 minutes -- which is good, since a lot of it is spent quietly or encouragingly trying to get Kate to go for the ball, or get open, or have more of a sense of what to do. It's her first year playing and we're cutting her plenty of slack as long as she's merely hustling and running and trying. But the highlights are a fairly low bar. In this game she went for a rebound that bounced near her, caught a pass from a player standing near her, and then passed it to another player a few seconds later without incident. So, good! She's working on it. I try to impress upon her the need to be more aggressive, and hope it takes eventually.
Jack's team won its first game. There have been about eight or nine, with one close loss and a whole lot of blowouts. I missed it, but enjoyed it vicariously through texts from Emily. He made his first basket! Had a steal, an assist, and a rebound. Later he said to me, "I had a quadruple single!" Funny. Pictures afterward showed a smiling, happy team, which is always good to see (and unprecedented in the basketball arena).
I took Kate to her baseball tryouts. It's possible she's reaching a little high in trying out for Minors, but the alternative is a year in Rookie where she'd be one of the oldest players (and kids as much as two years younger than her, some nearly three). Plenty of her friends will be in Minors, and I'd likely be one of her coaches, so that would be good. We practiced some the past few weeks in the yard (as weather permitted) and the basement. She didn't always do great, but she tried, and that's what I told her about tryouts: Hustle. Try hard. Do your best.
And she did. I saw her hit pretty well (one of the observing coaches said to me, She stands like Jack!), field a few ground balls, run hard. She struggled with popups, and I knew she would, but she tried. And most of the kids struggled with those, in part because they just don't see many of them in games (and it's even harder doing it an indoor facility). But she didn't look lost out there, and maybe she makes it. Afterward she was tired and not sure how she did, but I told her I was proud of her.
Then came Jack's tryouts. Jack back in his baseball uniform with all of his friends struck me as taller somehow than I remembered. He looked older, more confident, happy. I was just a little taken aback. He hit well. Fielded most of the ground balls hit to him cleanly. Dropped a popup, which was unlike him, and I could tell he was bummed about it. Said he got a late start on the running. Overall he did fine and I wasn't sure why he was bummed afterward. Turned out he wanted to have the best tryout, as he thought it would get him onto the team he most wanted to be on. I explained that it wouldn't necessarily work that way, and we talked it out in the car on the way home. And he said, "Oh." Brightened. "Then, never mind." He's like that, can put stuff behind him quickly.
I told them both I was proud of them, we ordered a pizza which was fantastic, and everyone went to bed. It had been a day.
But Jack had an away basketball game, so I headed out to Taco Bell to get him a quick lunch before he left. And Kate had a home basketball game, so I made her a quesadilla before we left. And then they both had indoor tryouts for the upcoming baseball season in the afternoon, so it would be a two-sport day for them.
Kate isn't fully getting basketball just yet. She likes to try to shoot the ball in practice and in our driveway, so that's good. But she might not fully grasp the game concept. Like that she needs to fight for the ball, and try to get between the other team's player and the ball, and try to stop the other player from shooting. The games go fairly quickly -- this one took maybe 45 minutes -- which is good, since a lot of it is spent quietly or encouragingly trying to get Kate to go for the ball, or get open, or have more of a sense of what to do. It's her first year playing and we're cutting her plenty of slack as long as she's merely hustling and running and trying. But the highlights are a fairly low bar. In this game she went for a rebound that bounced near her, caught a pass from a player standing near her, and then passed it to another player a few seconds later without incident. So, good! She's working on it. I try to impress upon her the need to be more aggressive, and hope it takes eventually.
Jack's team won its first game. There have been about eight or nine, with one close loss and a whole lot of blowouts. I missed it, but enjoyed it vicariously through texts from Emily. He made his first basket! Had a steal, an assist, and a rebound. Later he said to me, "I had a quadruple single!" Funny. Pictures afterward showed a smiling, happy team, which is always good to see (and unprecedented in the basketball arena).
I took Kate to her baseball tryouts. It's possible she's reaching a little high in trying out for Minors, but the alternative is a year in Rookie where she'd be one of the oldest players (and kids as much as two years younger than her, some nearly three). Plenty of her friends will be in Minors, and I'd likely be one of her coaches, so that would be good. We practiced some the past few weeks in the yard (as weather permitted) and the basement. She didn't always do great, but she tried, and that's what I told her about tryouts: Hustle. Try hard. Do your best.
And she did. I saw her hit pretty well (one of the observing coaches said to me, She stands like Jack!), field a few ground balls, run hard. She struggled with popups, and I knew she would, but she tried. And most of the kids struggled with those, in part because they just don't see many of them in games (and it's even harder doing it an indoor facility). But she didn't look lost out there, and maybe she makes it. Afterward she was tired and not sure how she did, but I told her I was proud of her.
Then came Jack's tryouts. Jack back in his baseball uniform with all of his friends struck me as taller somehow than I remembered. He looked older, more confident, happy. I was just a little taken aback. He hit well. Fielded most of the ground balls hit to him cleanly. Dropped a popup, which was unlike him, and I could tell he was bummed about it. Said he got a late start on the running. Overall he did fine and I wasn't sure why he was bummed afterward. Turned out he wanted to have the best tryout, as he thought it would get him onto the team he most wanted to be on. I explained that it wouldn't necessarily work that way, and we talked it out in the car on the way home. And he said, "Oh." Brightened. "Then, never mind." He's like that, can put stuff behind him quickly.
I told them both I was proud of them, we ordered a pizza which was fantastic, and everyone went to bed. It had been a day.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Pizza place
Kate and Jack both had basketball games tonight, and afterward I was gong to pick up pizza and calzones at a nearby Italian place. The plan was for both kids to go home with Emily, but Kate wanted to come with me to get the food. Ok, I said.
We parked and went in to this little, just-opened place that didn't even have menus on the wall yet. I said I wanted two slices of pizza and two calzones. I thought the order was done, but Kate used her elbows to lift herself up on the counter and piped up, "Do you have garlic balls?" The guy said, Yes, we do. So we got an order of those, too.
We stood waiting for a few minutes, Kate pointing out different things. "Those garlic balls look REALLY GOOD," she said. And: "Is that a stack of dough? Daddy, look, it's a stack of dough!"
I noticed a penny on the floor and pointe it out to her. She said, "Ooh" and picked it up. Amused, the guy behind the counter said, was it Heads or Tails? She paused. "Uh. I think it was heads?" That's good luck, he said. She sand the lucky penny song, then made up another one.
"Penny, penny, went to the store, to buy a jacket to keep her warm." She was pleased with this one and sang it a few times.
Sitting at a table waiting for food, she said, "Do you want to play rock, paper, scissors?" I said, no...lets do Math Facts. So I quizzed her on multiplication tables, and she did pretty well. Then she invented a game with the salt and pepper shaker and ketchup bottle on the table. Salt and pepper were kids and the ketchup was the Daddy. She talked for them with little voices, the kids playing outside and talking about what to do, the Dad supervising. We did this for a few minutes, and then our food was ready.
We drove home, and a Taylor Swift song was on the radio and Kate knew all the words. And when it ended, she sang her made-up song about the penny, going to the store.
We parked and went in to this little, just-opened place that didn't even have menus on the wall yet. I said I wanted two slices of pizza and two calzones. I thought the order was done, but Kate used her elbows to lift herself up on the counter and piped up, "Do you have garlic balls?" The guy said, Yes, we do. So we got an order of those, too.
We stood waiting for a few minutes, Kate pointing out different things. "Those garlic balls look REALLY GOOD," she said. And: "Is that a stack of dough? Daddy, look, it's a stack of dough!"
I noticed a penny on the floor and pointe it out to her. She said, "Ooh" and picked it up. Amused, the guy behind the counter said, was it Heads or Tails? She paused. "Uh. I think it was heads?" That's good luck, he said. She sand the lucky penny song, then made up another one.
"Penny, penny, went to the store, to buy a jacket to keep her warm." She was pleased with this one and sang it a few times.
Sitting at a table waiting for food, she said, "Do you want to play rock, paper, scissors?" I said, no...lets do Math Facts. So I quizzed her on multiplication tables, and she did pretty well. Then she invented a game with the salt and pepper shaker and ketchup bottle on the table. Salt and pepper were kids and the ketchup was the Daddy. She talked for them with little voices, the kids playing outside and talking about what to do, the Dad supervising. We did this for a few minutes, and then our food was ready.
We drove home, and a Taylor Swift song was on the radio and Kate knew all the words. And when it ended, she sang her made-up song about the penny, going to the store.
Wednesday, January 06, 2016
Vermont
We went to Vermont to see Nana and Baba after Christmas. Drove up on New Years Eve and brought a lasagna, champagne, and Sprite for the kids. Once in Vermont, there was snow, our first of the winter. (Leaving for home, Jack wanted to pack some in the car. Sorry, Jack, it's not going to make it back. But we tried.)
Got there and opened presents, and there was plenty of great stuff but mostly I want to talk about this awesome L.L. Bean hooded sweatshirt that I shall never take off.
We got ready for dinner, with Kate eager to help out setting the table and doing things for Nana. Fascinated by little things I was used to but had taken for granted. "You have a drawer for napkins?!" That kind of thing.
We all watched a little of the Nickelodeon New Years Countdown special, and the Dick Clark Rockin New Years Eve special, and the Walking Dead marathon. OK, we all didn't watch that.
Tucked the kids into bed later than normal, it was New Year's Eve after all. I think they slept well that night, I slept not quite enough; up too late, up too early. But it was a low-key New Year's Day planned, even more so because Emily was sick.
One thing the kids love to do is, at it occurs to me now, what I used to love to do. Walk around in the woods behind the house, climbing on the giant rocks, climbing over fallen trees, creating and inventing forts and hideouts and secret bases. We found tracks of deer, and rabbits, and other creatures presumably. I found old pieces of the swing set from the flat place, and remembered playing games up there. It always seemed so much higher and further from the house, and maybe it was, and maybe it seemed that way to them. But I could always look down and see the house, from afar looking exactly the same as it ever did.
We found walking sticks and trudged around in the snow. Kate shouted that she was killing guards ("I killed 600!") and Jack staked out different territories as the base and the medical center and other facilities. We did this for about an hour, and then it was cold and time to go in.
Went out to eat dinner at Black Rock, as we always do. Had steak and pasta with butter, and both kids ordered Shirley Temples to drink. I don't know when this started or who ordered it first. I think they like the idea more than the actual drink.
At home, Kate and Nana read Ant and Bee books for about half an hour. Listening to them, I realized that Ant and Bee were kind of similar to Frog and Toad. Probably not as funny -- how could they be? -- but similar. Kate read, then Nana read, then Kate read again. Jack messed around with a Solitaire Chess game he got for Christmas; Baba sat on the rug beside and watched and offered advice.
I dug into old games and played them with the kids. Jack Straws, even though the device to pick the straws up was broken. This card game I used to play all the time with Robin and Scott ("Because she wanted... To Steal the Diamonds!"). Fortunately, they took right to it, and we all read the cards and finished the whole game. Kate didn't quite get it right; when she got the "Steal the Diamonds" card she didn't want to give it up, thinking you win by being the one who stole the diamonds. She's the same way in Hearts, now that I think about it.
We went to bed, got up for pancakes as always, packed up the car. Jack and Kate coaxed Emily up into the woods for round 2 of exploring, walking sticks at the ready. I knocked snow off the roof over the front steps. And then we piled into car and came back home.
Got there and opened presents, and there was plenty of great stuff but mostly I want to talk about this awesome L.L. Bean hooded sweatshirt that I shall never take off.
We got ready for dinner, with Kate eager to help out setting the table and doing things for Nana. Fascinated by little things I was used to but had taken for granted. "You have a drawer for napkins?!" That kind of thing.
We all watched a little of the Nickelodeon New Years Countdown special, and the Dick Clark Rockin New Years Eve special, and the Walking Dead marathon. OK, we all didn't watch that.
Tucked the kids into bed later than normal, it was New Year's Eve after all. I think they slept well that night, I slept not quite enough; up too late, up too early. But it was a low-key New Year's Day planned, even more so because Emily was sick.
One thing the kids love to do is, at it occurs to me now, what I used to love to do. Walk around in the woods behind the house, climbing on the giant rocks, climbing over fallen trees, creating and inventing forts and hideouts and secret bases. We found tracks of deer, and rabbits, and other creatures presumably. I found old pieces of the swing set from the flat place, and remembered playing games up there. It always seemed so much higher and further from the house, and maybe it was, and maybe it seemed that way to them. But I could always look down and see the house, from afar looking exactly the same as it ever did.
We found walking sticks and trudged around in the snow. Kate shouted that she was killing guards ("I killed 600!") and Jack staked out different territories as the base and the medical center and other facilities. We did this for about an hour, and then it was cold and time to go in.
Went out to eat dinner at Black Rock, as we always do. Had steak and pasta with butter, and both kids ordered Shirley Temples to drink. I don't know when this started or who ordered it first. I think they like the idea more than the actual drink.
At home, Kate and Nana read Ant and Bee books for about half an hour. Listening to them, I realized that Ant and Bee were kind of similar to Frog and Toad. Probably not as funny -- how could they be? -- but similar. Kate read, then Nana read, then Kate read again. Jack messed around with a Solitaire Chess game he got for Christmas; Baba sat on the rug beside and watched and offered advice.
I dug into old games and played them with the kids. Jack Straws, even though the device to pick the straws up was broken. This card game I used to play all the time with Robin and Scott ("Because she wanted... To Steal the Diamonds!"). Fortunately, they took right to it, and we all read the cards and finished the whole game. Kate didn't quite get it right; when she got the "Steal the Diamonds" card she didn't want to give it up, thinking you win by being the one who stole the diamonds. She's the same way in Hearts, now that I think about it.
We went to bed, got up for pancakes as always, packed up the car. Jack and Kate coaxed Emily up into the woods for round 2 of exploring, walking sticks at the ready. I knocked snow off the roof over the front steps. And then we piled into car and came back home.
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