corner view~synchronicity

These two boys were born to different mothers within a month of one another. They now live in the same small town.  They both have red hair and brown eyes and are often mistaken for one another.  They met when they were babies. I saw a woman holding a baby who looked so much like my son, we both just stared at one another.  They went to preschool together.  At age nine, they are now on the same baseball team!

What a sweet friendship.  They are two peas in a pod.

i love baseball

Gary the ump

Shawn in the dugout with the Pirates 

The girls spent the night at friends' houses and so when we awoke this morning it was just Gary, Shawn and me.  Around 8:30 Gary and I took Shawn to play baseball at our local park.  We practiced throwing, fielding and hitting.  We all took turns but we let Shawn hit the longest.  He blasted quite a few balls, some into the outfield.  He also pitched to his dad, which he loves to do.  This is his first year playing on a baseball team, and he has had two practices.   I think he has found his sport.

After we had played for a couple of hours we decided to go watch a game in another field, where adult teams were warming up.  We heard they were the two best teams in the league from one of their competitors, a burly guy with curly red hair sticking out from his baseball cap.  Shawn watched the men closely, his freckled face right up to the fence.  "They are so good!" he exclaimed, as the guys threw pitches I could never dream of hitting.

Then before we left we decided to go to yet another field to let Shawn hit a few more balls.  It's hard to stop, it's so much fun.  After some time one of the players ran over to Gary.  The umpire hadn't shown up and he asked Gary if he would be willing to officiate the game.  Gary agreed and within minutes my husband was out there, "umping."  They let him stand behind the pitcher because they had no protective gear for him.  He had a blast.  The players were respectful and all good sports.  It was a great game and I so enjoyed watching.  It has been a long time since I've seen a ballgame.

In another month I will be watching my son, behind sunglasses.  And I expect when he walks to the plate for the first time, my eyes might tear up a bit.        

grandpa

Sky makes red Sauce, with a blur of Shawn

My grandfather had a saying he used to tell my dad when my dad was a young father. "Paul," he would say, "when you own a home, your work is never done. It's just one round of enjoyment after the next."
I feel the same way about family life.  But I would not have it any other way.

happy birthday annabel, 14

A parent sees and remembers a child for all that they are.  The chubby babbling inquisitive baby whose catch phrase was 'ut-oh," the quiet toddler who sat at my side happily humming to herself during playdates at the park, never leaving my side, the crooked tooth little girl, learning to read, devouring books, asking questions about the meaning of life, the preteen performing songs for me from the Sound of Music, every night for a week in her room before bed.  And then one day, it seems, you turn around for one second, and when you turn back, there she is.

A young woman.