April 22, 2009
I will name him Rainbow Sparklepants
Actual phone call with my mother.
Her: Hello! Where are you?
Me: At the grocery. We need food that is not pizza.
Her: Good idea. Daddy is getting a FedEx package ready to send you, for your birthday.
Me: Yay!
Her: You’ll have to sign for it.
Me: It’s a puppy!
Her: Daddy says to tell you it’s a pony.
Me: Even better! I always wanted a pony — who knew I would have to wait until my 40s to get one?
Her: Right. Are you going to be home in the morning?
Me: If there’s a pony coming, yes I will be.
Her: Okay, Daddy is going to have them deliver this before 10:00 am. You’ll have to sign for the pony.
Me: Of course.
Her: Put him in the backyard. Then call Rita and tell her to bring the kids over.
Me: Right.
Her: Daddy says he loves you.
Me: I love him too!
Her: Call us when the pony gets there.
Me: OH I WILL.
April 18, 2009
take me out to the ball park (and bring me a beer, please)
My kids are playing baseball this season, for the first time ever. I have to admit that I’m not much of a baseball fan; it’s just too slow for me. I prefer basketball, which might explain why we have two hoops in our backyard.
Last year we opted out of baseball; soccer and basketball had worn us down, and we lived in fear that the kids might actually like baseball, or be good at it, and then we would be stuck going to eight games a week for the next ten years.
In other words, we would turn into Chris and Rob.
But this year, the boys’ friends were all playing baseball and we’re all about the running around and the making friends, so we signed them up. And then Henry decided he didn’t really want to play and I killed him gave him a pep talk because you’re signed up, son, and we’re going to see it through! But I was secretly hoping he would hate baseball and I would only have ONE kid playing next year.
(Because we knew Charlie was going to love t-ball. He’s like that.)
Our first three games were rained out, thank god, because that gave the kids an extra couple of weeks to practice, but last night, despite a weather forcast that included the words “100% chance of rain” we finally played a game. Two, in fact.
And dammit if it wasn’t fun.
Charlie put his uniform on at 3:45 for a 7:00 game; he couldn’t wait to get out on the field. For a variety of reasons (including second grade track practice) I missed most of his game, but I got to see him play two innings of third base, which was so cute it nearly killed me.
This is Wade coaching Charlie’s team; this particular moment was actually one of the high points of his evening. He had Dugout Duty last night, which meant he had to keep track of the batting order AND keep the kids from going berserk while they waited to hit. At one point he came over to where my friend Julie and I were sitting and said, “This is like teaching kindergarten! OH WAIT IT IS KINDERGARTEN!” Julie had spent the entire week subbing in the kindergarten class, so she was feeling for him.
But she did not offer to help in the dugout. Hell no.
I have to admit to you all that I was worried about Henry. Not for any good reason — his coach has told me probably four times recently how well he’s playing, but still, I was worried. I worried that he would step in front of the pitching machine and get beaned or trip over first base or get smacked in the face with the ball. Or possibly all three.
He proved me wrong, in every possible way, thank god. He had two base hits, a single and a double, and did really well in the field. And he payed attention and knew what was where for the entire hour and a half of the game.
It was awesome.
Wade was much more relaxed during the second game; apparently coaching kids who don’t scream constantly or pig pile each other in the dugout or arm wrestle between innings is a lot simpler than, well, coaching kids who do. But it was still a long night.
Henry’s team lost, 7 - 4, but they played one hell of a game. The little kid game was so cute it made my ovaries hurt, but those big boys were awesome. I don’t know who was more hepped up after the game, the kids or the parents, but we were all giddy and jumping around.
And that was just the first game.
April 16, 2009
Dorothy Parker would have loved Twitter
This morning, NPR’s Morning Edition did a piece on the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White. The piece ended with this quote from Dorothy Parker: “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.”
Moments after the piece aired, my brother texted me to say: “I heard this and thought of you.”
But of course.
April 15, 2009
grace in small things: twenty three (back in time edition)
Somehow I skipped #23 in this series when it was numerically appropriate, but that’s fine today because what I’m thankful for just now are things that have been here for a while. Those are the things we take for granted most often, you know.
1. The shift dress, with a cardigan and flats and pearls.
2. Twinings English Breakfast tea, with milk and sugar.
3. Reeses Peanut Butter eggs, right out of the fridge.
4. Girlfriends. Always.
5. The collected works of Jane Austen (although now they’re on my iPhone rather than in a big clunky book).
I’m also finding grace in the huge outpouring of love and support for Shana and her family. If you would like to help, you can go here for more information.
