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.

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.