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Colin had a great first year of T-Ball. I loved watching him play, and watching Shane coach him.
Colin is just one of those kids who is extremely gifted in the area of sports. It seems that whatever he does, he is pretty good at it--already. I am very grateful that the Lord has blessed him with a talent like this....however, Shane and I are working very hard right now to try to find a balance between 'exposing him to lots of different things' and keeping our sanity.
I will admit: T-Ball season was difficult on me. And it was only six weeks long.
For many years now, I have been a cook-dinner-and-we-all-sit-down-together-as-a-family-to-eat-our-meal kind of mom. I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why this concept was so difficult for so many people.
Ha. Boy, do I now.
Between Shane's softball games, Colin's T-Ball games, Wednesday night and Sunday church, there were rarely nights that we were home during the dinner hour(s).
Which meant either:
1. starting dinner at 3:30 so we could eat by 4:15 and make it out the door in a mad rush by 5 to get to a game that started at 5:45
or
2. let my children practically starve at the ballpark and eat at 8 or 8:30 when we got home.
Option one didn't make me happy. I mean, who wants to start dinner when the kids are napping?
Option two, for reasons I don't think I have to explain, didn't make the kids happy.
So, we settled for as many crock pot meals as I could muster....some small snacks at later games {feeding them just enough to keep them from starving or feeding them just enough to ruin their appetites for dinner is a thin line to walk, letmetellyou)....and sometimes.....
.....cold cereal for dinner.
Oh--please don't judge. No no no no nooo. Please. If you haven't done it yet--you will.
It will make you feel like Mother-of-the-Year, too. Guaranteed.
*sigh*
And, quite possibly, if I have one more person say anything along the lines of, "Yeah! And you only have one in sports right now...." or "Just wait! It only gets worse!!" I think I shall have to slug them I may have to politely smile, bite my tongue, and walk away. Again.
It. Is. Hard!! I am only just beginning this new phase of life, and I am already somewhat discouraged.
Any suggestions from parents who have walked this road? How do you balance letting your child grow in their talents vs. keeping family unity--i.e., not being 'out on the road' four out of five week nights? Am I just destined for a life at the ball park/gym/soccer fields for the next 18 years? I'd really like to hear any constructive ideas anyone may have on this!
So.....back to sweet Colin. It really was a wonderful season and he certainly did excel at this new sport. Here are a few highlights spanning over several weeks of games!
{One of my favorite pics of this season}
Colin and his 'best buddy', Colden.
Yes, they are the same age...and yes, Colden is that tall!
Someone decided to dump water on his head before the game! *grin*
Tom and Sherry (our neighbors) headed out to see some of the games!
{Boy, will this make a six-year-old's night!)
Getting ready to bat...
Swing and a hit!
I know I sound biased and all--but this kid can hit!
No need for the 'T' at all this season, and he even collected two in-the-park home runs!
On third, getting ready to head home
Getting ready to field again
Sweet Lola girl slept through some of the games!
Daddy always, always practiced batting and catching with Cam and E after each game.
It was, by far, their favorite part of the T-ball season!
Fielding
You're outta there!
{Love. Him.}
Grandma MJ was a fixture at most of the games!
Getting ready to catch one!
Another hit
Col and Landon
In the dugout getting some instructions from Daddy
~another shot of Lola sleeping 'cause she's sooooooo sweet~
Tourney and Trophy Day!!
Running, ball in glove, to tag out a runner at home!
Checking with Daddy {a very important part of the learning process!}
So, so thankful for Shane and his ability and willingness to teach his sons.
I *luv* you babe.
I love this shot. So, so true to each one's character!
Typical E Ry.
Always hanging in the dugout and getting into every piece of
batting gear/catching mitts/protective equipment he can find.
My sweet little guy!
Heading out as a team to shake hands and collect trophies!
Notice Cameron and Ethan are right in the middle of the line, not to be left out!
End of the year team picture (minus Colden--we missed you buddy!)
Such a proud trophy owner--he's getting quite the little
We are so proud of you for the wonderful T-Ball season you had!!
We love you buddy!
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8 comments:
Love the pics! Here is my tip from my family growing up...my dad coached basketball, and I played until 10th grade, mom was at times the cheerleading coach, so we were at the gym most nights (sonic's brown bag special on tuesdays was a hit :)) anyway we would do family breakfasts together EVERY day. That was our family meal! We could chat about the day before, talk about the day ahead, have devotions, whatever. We always had a hot breakfast, nothing too fancy, but it was warm! My mom and dad taught school so we were all up at the same time etc, and that is what worked for us. Not sure if they did this when we were really young, but I am pretty sure! I plan to do it as much as I can because I think that will work for us too! Hope this tip helps! Love you friend, miss you, might need a phone chat soon...I AM LOSING MY MIND here :)
ps - love the sling, tell me more, I know I will need one for Crosby!
So sweet. I love those pic's of him. I too am SO NERVOUS about this stage. We are going to be starting Reese in some things soon and I have said the same thing to people who have multiple children in sports and who are literally at a game 6 days a week. Um... NO THANK YOU! But then again I don't want to squash what could be an awesome talent. I am hoping for some wisdom before we start on this journey too. We are only doing one thing per season for sure. I don't want to be doing 2 sports per season--Craziness for sure. A lot of prayer is what we need (for wisdom and sanity). Love you guys. Hoping to see you yet this summer.
Ok, remember what you said about bursting with pride?. Yeah, so honestly and seriously, my heart is about to explode! He is such a little man!!! So sweet. Gah. It's too much.
As far as activities go, Sam has SERIOUS social anxiety. It's been a huge learning process for me as I was in every activity from birth! So we take things really slow anyway. Also we live in the boonies, and on tops of that we're dorks who homeschool. So this basically means I'm NO help! None. :-)
But my prayers are with you mama. You done well.
Well done Col!
YAY Colin! I'm glad I got to witness some of his baseball skills IRL. He will definitely be quite the athlete!
As for the dinner/being busy/sometimes eating cereal for dinner thing....no judging going on here! Been there, done that. One year, Bubber was in baseball and soccer, and Bug was in softball, soccer, and dance. All at the same time. YUCKY. That was the year I decided it would be a 1 sport/activity per person per season rule at our house. It's worked very well. However, there are still days when we're not home at dinner and/or we're all going in different directions as well! And YES, you will be doing the crazy sports schedule for at LEAST the next 18 years. :)
One idea for dinners that *might* work would be packing sandwiches to take to the ballpark? That way you could all eat together, but not have to worry about preparing dinner and cleaning up before you get out the door. You could even make hot sandwich type stuff (like strombolis) and pack them up so they stay warm, if you wanted to.
Oh, and if you make a hot meal that requires mozzarella cheese, use fresh mozzarella cheese balls if you can. OH.MY.WORD. When hot, they transform into hot little cheesy bits of heaven. They would be awesome in a stromboli!
And now I'm hungy. Dang it.
err...that would be hungRy.
*sigh* I'm so not ready for this. Props to you. Still, I'm soooo not ready.
You're definitely an "ALL STAR" in my book Col!
Love you buddy!!!
Gma Jane
Ok, I'll let you learn what it's like to have 2 or more in a sport/activity at a time....Don't hit me!
I think the hot breakfast idea is a wonderful idea if your hubs is home in the morning. But, I was thinking the same as someone said above, take a sack lunch/dinner and eat at the park together.
I grew up on a farm. Sometimes Mom made hamburgers and wrapped them in foil and we ate dinner together on the back of a pick-up truck at the field. Those kinds of meals make great memories too and can still be healthy and wholesom. Today, they make lots of great traveling type carriers so while it's a pain to pack things up, it would mean eating a little closer to normal time.
You're creative. I look forward to reading how you handle it!
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