So I played some softball tonight. We’ve played in the fall and the spring for several years now (except for the one season the manager forgot to send in the registration on time). I enjoy playing. We’re in the playoffs. Usually, we’d be done by now, but the weather has not cooperated on a number of Tuesday nights this fall. We won the first game tonight and lost the second. The second time in the double-elimination playoffs that we’ve had to do this. I’ve learned something over the course of the 2 doubleheaders this season. I am really getting old. Not only does my body not want to play two games in one night, but it makes me pay the next two days following. So I am not looking forward to the pain I will be in tomorrow and Thursday (over-the-counter pain relievers only go so far!).
Not only was tonight the last softball game of the season, but it was also the last one I’ll play in my 30s. By the time the spring season rolls around, I will have crossed that threshold of the big 4-0. “They” say that 40 is the new 30. But I remember when I was 30. I was still playing 90-minute soccer matches then. These softball games last an hour, and one hour leads to a day-and-a-half recovery that I never had at 30 after soccer. So “they” are liars!
I don’t have any real issues with the prospect of turning 40. I know my body has issues with it, but my mind likes to think that I am still 18 at times. (I’m not proud of that necessarily, but at least something in me is trying to defy the passage of time.)
At 40, I’ll have a 4-year-old. When my Dad was 40, I was graduating from high school. I think that is just the era we live in. I know so many parents who are older. In fact, I went to K-Man’s fall party last week at school, and the majority of the parents in the room would remember the 70s and 80s from personal experience, not from the History Channel or some decades music special on VH1. (In fact, they know that the “VH” in VH1 stands for “Video Hits” and that the channel once played videos 24-7.) Many times at Kee’s activities, I am more surprised when the parents are in their 20s. All that to say that I think K-Man is helping keep us young. Even when my body may want to rebel, I can push through it to watch him enjoy himself with some activity.
So I may be nearing the end of my 30s, but I ain’t dead yet!
November 4, 2009 | Categories: K-Man, NaBloPoMo, soccer, softball | Leave a comment
Several posts back I promised some photos from
Keegan’s first haircut. One of the drawbacks to using 35mm film instead of a digital camera is that it takes a while to finish a roll of film, get it developed and upload the pictures on the not-free CD that
Wolf Camera provides with the pictures. The upside of 35mm film is that you usually capture pictures from a number of events. And I get to pass on that bounty to you today.
Here we are outside Bob’s Barber Shop:
Uhh, what exactly are you planning to do with that thing?
Check out that fro!!
My future’s so bright, I got to wear shades!
Keegan is constantly on the move. And he has a full mouth of teeth — the better to smile with.
A few weeks ago, Keegan started school. He goes to Jen’s-free-Wednesday-morning preschool at a nearby church. He really seems to enjoy it. He’s been three weeks now, and we have three pieces of art to show for it. By Christmas, we should be able to wallpaper the guest room with his original works. Fine by me. Here’s K-Man on his first day of school with the bag the school made us buy to carry all of his artwork.
You may recall my previous posts about playing softball. Well, the pants must have worked. Our firm team won the league playoffs. It’s got to be the pants. Here’s Keegan with the trophy.
September 28, 2007 | Categories: K-Man, softball | 6 Comments
One of the great things about having a child is getting the kid to do funny or cute things. Any parent will tell you they’ve taught their kid something to do to make the parent’s friends laugh or ooh and ahh about how adorable the kid is. Any parent who denies training their kid to do cute stuff is lying to you. We’ve taught Keegan to do the high five, but what kid doesn’t do that? It’s almost cliché at this point.
The other night. Jen brought
Keegan to my softball game and left him with me so she and a friend could go watch the Cincinnati Bengals secondary make Joey Harrington look like Dan
Marino. We went for the proverbial post-game pizza at a nearby
Mellow Mushroom. I sat K-Man in between me and a fellow attorney I work with, Josh. Josh was kind enough to share the crackers that came with his salad with
Keegan to help tie him over until the pizza arrived. I think the gesture endeared Josh to
Keegan because a little while later,
Keegan was giving Josh a little pat on the back like “
Thanks for the crackers old man. That was very cool of you because I was a little hungry and the pizza isn’t coming for a while.” That evolved into me getting
Keegan to give Josh five. Everyone ooh-ed and
ahh-ed on cue. Josh though decided to shake things up a bit and tried to teach K-Man the
fist pound. Josh would put his fist out there waiting for
Keegan to pound back.
Keegan recognized that Josh was extending the fist as a friendly gesture, but the only way
Keegan knew to reply was with the high five. So the fist got high-
fived. Looked a little awkward like when one guy goes to shake hands with someone he kind of knows, and the other guy comes in with the full-on hug. Whoa dude, that was awkward.
Josh was very patient with K-Man though. He curled up Kee’s fingers to make a tiny, Kiwi-sized fist and then gently tapped his fist to Kee’s. Then the lesson continued. Kee kept trying to high five Josh’s fist. And each time, Josh would patiently ball up Kee’s hand and show him again. It didn’t look like Keegan was catching on. So I gave Kee a sip of his lemonade, and the table conversation moved on. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Keegan held out his fist to Josh. And Josh responded in kind. Then Kee held out his fist to me. I pounded back. Then he extended the fist across the table. Methodically moving around until everyone had the chance to pound it out (as the kids like to say). Then he started over. And around and around we went. I took a picture of one of the many fist pounds with my cell phone. Here’s the result of that:
It was great to watch Keegan figure out what was going on. To process what Josh was teaching him and what his response was supposed to be. To learn that what he knew (the high five) was not what was needed here. There was something else to use in this situation. Fist = fist. Open hand = high five. Got it. Not only had he learned what to do in the situation, but he figured out that he could initiate this ritual. So the next time you see this 20-month-old boy, pound it out.
August 29, 2007 | Categories: boys night, K-Man, softball | 6 Comments
I know you have been waiting for the update on the infamous baseball-pants-wearing old man playing softball. Well, we played last night . . . and I wore the pants. First, I was somewhat surprised at how comfortable the pants were. Second, the pants worked. In the second inning, I charged a short fly ball and slid in an effort to reach the ball. I slide the same way whether I am sliding to make a catch or sliding into a base. When I got home at the end of the night and checked my knee, I was pleased to see that there was no fresh bleeding, no ripped scab, no new oozing and no sticky goo. All tolled, the pants proved to be a solid investment. Further, I was able to go gauze-less in the suit pants today for work.
But more importantly, I made the catch!
April 19, 2007 | Categories: no ooze, pants, softball | 1 Comment
Well, I am now “that guy.” See, I play softball in a men’s league. I played a few games with this team in the fall. The spring season is now underway. For years I’ve played softball in various leagues. To this point, I’ve always played in shorts or sweat pants. But a few weeks ago, I had to slide. The problem with sliding in shorts was that it opened a nice wound on my shin and knee. I am an attorney which requires me to wear a suit to work most days. It’s hard to wear a suit with an oozing knee and shin. I did the whole gauze bandage routine to protect the inside of my pants from the sticky mess on my leg. So last week, I decided to try sweat pants just in case I had to slide. Sure enough, the game required a slide. And not only were the sweat pants ineffective in protecting my knee, but the slide tore a hole clean through.
In my quest to solve this problem, I crossed a line that I thought I would never cross. Never say never. I went today to one of those sports mega stores . . . and bought a pair of baseball pants. I will now be “that guy” who plays softball in baseball pants. My prayer is that I don’t resort to wearing eye black or spending $200 on some new ultra-lightweight bat that makes it easier to get around on those speedy underhand tosses from the pitcher.
So the next time you see a grown man playing slow-pitch softball in baseball pants, don’t assume that he’s trying to relive his glory days by playing softball. He could simply be trying to avoid ruining his suit pants.
April 17, 2007 | Categories: skinned knees, softball | 2 Comments
DeciduousThoughts 