Fatlips, Farts, and F-Bombs.....

Hey Lifers, welcome back. I know it's been awhile so lets get right to it.

We finished up the baseball All-Star season here at the Palace. The boy really loved playing toward the end of the season and was a little disappointed that it had to end. This even after he took a pop fly off his grill that left him looking like this.

He was pretty tough about it though, and only cried a little bit even with a lot of blood. I think it hurt me and his mom just as much as it hurt him. 

Speaking of getting hurt. I learned recently that you are not allowed to fart in Target. Not that I would or anything, and I'm still sticking to my theory that it was one of the clowns and they just didn't want to confess. But once the DW caught wind of it you would have thought we were caught spray painting nudie pictures in the school hallway. Not that I'd do that either, but man did we receive a stern talking to. Apparently those types of shenanigans should be saved for Wall-Mart, not Target. Who knew? It didn't really matter to me because I just wanted to get  home and watch the Notre Dame game anyway.

Speaking of Notre Dame, yes we're only four games in and already I'm filled with disappointment. I mentioned on the eve of the season, on Facebook, that it was because of my uncle that I was such a big fan of the Fighting Irish, so I should probably blame him for my Facebook tirade after the loss to Michigan right? Yeeeaaah, I had one of those moments when a "friend" posted something about Michigan won, and blah, blah, blah, BS, BS, BS. And I may have snapped a bit with a few F-bombs, insulted his mom, called his dad a cross dresser and threatened to burn his house down. OK, I didn't really go that far, but it wasn't one of my better moments. 

Speaking of not one of my better moments. In an effort to lose a little weight and get back into shape, I've been doing a little running and stretching in the last couple of weeks. Nothing to extreme, but you have to start somewhere right? So this morning as I was stretching my legs, I pulled something in my upper calf and have been in pain all day. Now I ask you, who hurts themselves stretching? I mean aren't you supposed to pull something while your exercising? Bench pressing 400 pounds or legging out the last mile of your 15 bizzillion k? Not getting ready to. And here's the thing, I wasn't even getting ready to do anything, I was just stretching to stretch. WTH?

 

All in a Day in the Life....

I Almost Cried...

I hope you have a son who acts just like you when you grow up.

I can not tell you how many times I heard this from my mother when I was a teenager. Little did I know she actually had the power to speak directly with God to make it happen. 

Getting Hit

I was destined to be great. It was my dream. Nothing could stop me, that is until I caught a baseball in my chest off the bat of Patrick Sullivan. I remember the pain that shot through my little body. I had never felt that type of pain in my seven years of life. I struggled to breathe, and despite the feeling that my chest had collapsed, I picked up the ball and threw it to first base half-hearted. Coaches ran to my side to make sure I was OK. I almost cried. Tears welled up in my eyes and my bottom lip started to quiver. Taking deep breaths I attempted to gain my composure. Soon the pain of that baseball bouncing off my chest would leave my body and take with it my dream of ever becoming a big league star. 

I played baseball the following season, but the pitches were faster, and balls hit harder and I feared more than anything, of getting hit again. It wasn't long after that I hung up my cleats for a while. I was no longer confident. 

Confidence is Key

Confidence is hard for me to teach my son. Maybe because of my own insecurities, both growing up and now, but I think it's important. Self confident people are more likely to stand up for what they believe in. They're more likely to take risks to achieve goals, and not get stuck in a comfort zone fearing failure.

Some thirty years later I stand on a  dusty baseball diamond and see a little boy who lacks confidence, and fears my same pain. My mothers' wish had come true, although I don't believe this is what she had in mind. He too caught one in the chest a few weeks ago and has been scared every since. He continues to play the game but struggles with confidence now that the pitches are faster and hits are harder, and I hate this for him.  

It's For the Kids

I'm beginning to wonder if youth sports are really for the kids as they say. Or were they created for overbearing parents? I want my son to play and excel at sports I won't lie. I want to see the smirk on his face as he runs down the court after scoring a basket, or watch his eyes light up at the crack of his bat. I want these things for him. Because he gets joy from them, and they build his confidence. But, it's also because he's my son and I want him to be as great as I thought I could have been. I want him to conquer my fears. 

I almost cried

It's hard to see the ones we care so much about hurt. Sitting in an empty dugout I have to tell him he won't be playing in this game. Not because he's defiant, a bad teammate or doesn't listen to his coaches. Not because he's late or misses practice or broke team rules. No, it's because he lacks the confidence to be great. Because the kids in front of him are playing better right now and only so many kids can play at a time. I  kneel down and speak only to him. My eyes meet his, and I speak in a low voice so that only he can hear me. I know it's going to hurt just as much, if not more, than when that ball hit him. Upon hearing the news I see his eyes well up with tears and his bottom lip starts to quiver as he looks down to the ground. I almost cried. I explain to him that we have more kids than positions available and sometimes we have to sit the bench. He struggles to understand the reasoning and mumbles under his breath about how it's not fair. He fights back tears. I fight back tears. 

There's no Crying in Baseball

Tom Hanks said in the movie A League of Their Own, that there's no crying in baseball. But try telling that to a parent who has to watch their child strike out, or not get to play, or gets hurt during a game. At the end of the day I get that it's just baseball, and there will be many more heartaches down the road. I get that there are far more bigger problems in the world. But he's my boy and he's destined for greatness. 

What does Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, and Hostage have in common????

So have you seen the preview for this new movie Hostage? Check out this picture. Pretty creepy huh? The plot summary is "A man deals with the personal tragedy of his family's death by living at the vacation cabin that they last stayed at. He soon discovers he's not alone." You can go check out the trailer if you'd like.









So what does Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, and this movie Hostage have in common?

Absolutely nothing. Which is exactly why the DW can't understand why the local theater would run this trailer right before watching these two family friendly movies. On two separate days mind you. 

I gotta say, epic fail Regal Entertainment and Great Escape Movie Theater. Please expect a call soon from my DW, and she's not happy.