Wednesday, June 8, 2011

A new sport

I received an email about a month ago about middle school softball. I was confused when I read the part that said something about "you are receiving this because your daughter has expressed interest in being on the team."

What? MY daughter? The same child who, at 4-yrs-old, wandered around the ball field asking if she could come in now? The one who sat in the outfield picking flowers? The one who tried like hell to quit the season early because "It's HOT, Mommy!"?

OK - Just checking.

I have to be honest when I say I wanted her to back out. I wanted her to quit before it began. The Husband was in favor (but had his doubts), and I wanted her to say, "No, Mommy, I don't want to go." It would make my life easier. And, really, it is about me!

So, Monday night was the first practice. It was a lovely 90+ degree evening as we headed to the field. It was the kind of evening where breathing made one sweat. I warned the mom in charge that The Girl hadn't played ball since she was 4 and that I wasn't sure she could even catch one. She was using The Boy's old baseball glove. I refused to spend money on a sport she was *trying out* to see if she liked. No cleats, no bat, no helmet: nothing! She wore shorts, a t-shirt, sneakers, and the above mentioned glove.

Well, was I in for a treat. The Girl can catch. And throw. And run. And, the best part? SHE'S NOT AFRAID OF THE BALL!

I suppose this is a good time to mention that I played was on a softball team when I was younger. I sucked. I was deathly afraid of the ball and closed my eyes whenever it came near. We even have a photo of me in my catcher gear (what was I thinking?!) where my eyes are closed and if you look closely, you can see the ball is actually bouncing OUT of my mitt! But I digress...

The Girl...she's not afraid. At all. The coach even threatened to throw a ball at her. She stood there showing him she knew it'd hurt for a bit, but not for long and she'd be OK. Wow!

After the long and sweaty practice, The Girl came off the field with a huge grin. "I LOVE IT!" she said. To be honest, I'm proud of her and thrilled she loves it. She will now have to juggle cheerleading and softball throughout the fall. We know the football games are Saturdays so there should be no conflicts there, but she'll have to worry about practices. She'll manage. She always finds a way!

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