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May 2001
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May was empty. Or maybe it just seemed that way after April.
Wait! I’ve already used that line.
Baseball. It’s baseball time of year. If the boys aren’t
playing or practicing with their little league teams (five times a week
between them), then they’re playing whiffle ball in the back yard, playing
baseball computer games, or (grump) playing baseball inside the house.
Normally a voracious reader, Bradley now resents the suggestion he needs
to spend time reading if he is engaged in any of the above activities.
Douglas is into baseball because that’s all he sees his brother doing,
and he emulates his big brother. Even Dad isn’t immune: he wastes
countless evenings watching the Padres on cable when he should be doing
something more productive. Only Kristi seems immune. |
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Nostalgic remembrance from Keith: when I was a boy, my brother
and I used to play football in the long upstairs hallway and in the backyard.
Brad and Doug are now doing this with baseball. Of course you have
to come up with all sorts of rules variations to allow for the playing
surface and single team player, but every brother combination in history,
from Keith and Ken, to Brad and Doug, are quite adept at this. Their
indoor version of baseball involves running the downstairs circle that
every house designer puts in to give kids this very opportunity: starting
in the family room, run to the front door (first base), through the living
room and kitchen, and back to home plate (any magazine will do) in front
of the fire place in the family room. They hit with their hands,
clutched together, and the ball is a "splash" ball, a light foam ball wrapped
in cloth, originally intended as a pool toy. The game seems relatively
benign (so far, the only casualties have been knocked over picture frames);
the real damage is to parents’ nerves and ears. |
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Did I mention that in addition to playing, Brad also umpires and announces/commentates?
He is the only umpire he's never had an issue with... Occasionally, Douglas
takes issue (as all younger brothers must do against older brothers). "Okay,
then I automatically win" is his usual refrain when frustrated by his brother's
grandiose fantasies. Mom and Dad try to move and suggest another game in
before the fur starts flying. But play baseball is all Brad seemingly can
do, so he manipulates his little brother (who is quite capable of doing
other things), and soon they are at it again, accompanied by Brad's
play-by-play.
The boys had lots of extracurricular activities this spring. When after
school chess completed for the year, Douglas started up after school karate
again. No sooner had Brad completed the Geography Olympiad than he joined
the Math Olympiad team. So again he spent an hour after school one
day each week studying with his team for the Olympiad. Brad had some
really great field trips this spring. His class spent a day on the
"floating lab," a research boat that went out to a kelp bed and pulled
sea creatures out for the kids. Brad, voted biggest show off
by his class, was rewarded with a live lobster placed on his head.
If that wasn't enough sea creatures, they also went to the Scripps Institute
of Oceanography Birch
Aquarium. The class was then able to put all they learned to
the test with a final field trip to the Poway pool. |
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Mother's Day started out at church, with a song by the Cherub Choir
(kindergartners). It had a spoken bit at the beginning (something
along the lines of "We want to thank all our moms.") in which each child
had a stand-alone sentence. Douglas had the last sentence.
When he finished, the audience laughed and oohed at the cute little speeches
by everyone. Doug, sometimes a little overly sensitive, thought everyone
was laughing at him (since he had the last part), and proceeded to sulk
and frown throughout the entire following song.
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After that inauspicious beginning, Mother's day did get better. After
church we drove up Highway 101 along the coast enjoying the beautiful day.
Traditionally, we eat lunch on the lagoon in Cardiff at Las
Olas, surely the last sit down restaurant on the So Cal Coast where
you can get a table without reservations on Mother's Day. As long
as you arrive by 11:00 am, which we do. This year Las Olas out-did
themselves, handing out free roses to moms. As you can see by the
picture, Bradley acquired it quickly.
We continued a drive up the coast, something we do rarely in the mini
van and not since Brad was in a car seat in the convertible.
Really, we don't make proper use of our resources. The boys really
really wanted to stop at a beach, so eventually we did, allowing them to
cavort in their decidedly none beach attire. They started throwing
rocks into the water, imagining some sort of baseball game. |
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Brad has been attending Wednesday night rehearsals at church for four
months. The youth of the church, from first grade through junior
high, practiced the musical, which took the place of the sermon for both
services on Sunday, May 20th. It was a real feat for both Brad
and his mom to juggle baseball practices and games with musical rehearsals
and dress rehearsals and cast parties. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Chrysanne came
to watch, along with cousins Quinn and Kelsy.
Doug stayed for the play, and then the rest of the service. It
was his first time ever staying for the whole service, so I got to explain
the collection plates and communion to him. I realized too late there
was no explaining to him that he couldn't have any of the "snack" being
passed down the pew. As the congregation was in silent reflection,
a lone extremely disgruntled voice complained (very loudly), "THAT'S NOT
FAIR!" |
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Doug and I did not stay for communion in second service. We left immediately
after the play, and went out to the playground to play with cousin Quinn.
We finished the month as we began, with baseball. With nothing
else special going over Memorial Day ("Dad, you need to put out the American
flag" - Doug) Weekend, we went to the Padres game on Sunday the 27th.
Made sure we sat in the right
seats. Ran into great aunt Betty and George (by design). Caught the
Pads at the beginning of their decent from tied for first in the West to
the cellar. Baseball fever has just about run its course. Signed
the boys up for fall soccer. |
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Overheard lately:
Doug, after his baseball game with a mouth full of an after
game snack: "They don't get snack in the majors, do they?"
Doug, when shimmying between couch and family room wall to get
indoor baseball: "Mom, don't try this at home."
Doug, out of the blue in the car: "If a man and a girl have
a baby but the man doesn't marry the girl and then another man marries
the girl, who is the baby's father?"
Doug, cleaning up milk he spilled: "I don't just wipe up the
spill, I spread it around." |
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Reading List:
The Wind in the Door (Brad)
Carolina Moon (Kristi)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Keith to Doug) |
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