Mighty Kelsey

We went to the softball state tournament in Crossville this weekend with Kelsey's 10U fastpitch team. There were 14 teams in the tourney from all over the state and Joe just really wasn't sure how the Explosion was going to do. Last year, the 8u coach pitch tourney was stacked and we came home 0-2 in that double elimination tourney. It was a short (and not so sweet) trip.

This year, Joe had higher hopes. In the week leading up to the tourney, the girls had done great in practice, looked very polished and ready to compete. He felt we might actually show up. Well, the first game was bright and early (8:00 a.m.) Saturday morning. The girls were sluggish and unmotivated. Some had driven from K-town early in the a.m., opting not to stay over at the luxurious Holiday Inn Express we bedded down in the previous night. So our play was definitely NOT polished and we lost 8-0. Fortunately for us, that game was just a pool game. So we dusted ourselves off and proceeded to the double elimination part of the tourney.

We won the first game handily, playing against a little team out of Macon County, TN. After an hour and a half rain delay, we came out Saturday night for our second game in the double elimination round. We lost and dropped to the losers' bracket. On Sunday morning we knew that any loss would send us packing back home, so we were hopeful we could pull out just one win at least. Going to the finals of the tourney would mean winning 7 games in a row and we weren't sure there were any miracles that big, so we were taking baby steps, thinking small.

Our first game Sunday started out to look like another train wreck. We were down 8-3 and things weren't looking good. Then things took a turn and we were tied late in the game. The opposing team went up by 1 going into the last inning and things were a little tense in the stands. We tied the game up in the top of the last inning and held them scoreless, so we headed into extra innings.

Many times in softball, extra innings means going into international rules. That means the team batting places a runner on second base to start the inning, thus expediting the scoring process and (hopefully) ending the game as quickly as possible. So we went to international rules as the storm clouds rolled in. We scored pretty quickly to start off the inning and then something weird happened. We started to hit and hit and hit and hit and hit. It was like the dam broke loose and all of these hits that we had not been able to squeeze out in days past all came rushing out at once.

I would also like to say that the same could be said of Kelsey's bat. All year she has shown great potential at the plate, strong as an ox and a quick bat. But she has never really connected well enough to show just how strong she really is. However, this past weekend, it was like her bat decided it was going to come alive. She hit and hit and hit. The only time she didn't hit was when she walked. She was really on her game.

So when her turn to bat came during the international rules part of the game, I was hoping she would grab the opportunity to add a couple of RBIs to her stats in the scorebook. There were runners at second and third when she came up. She got set in the box, crouched position, hands back. The pitcher threw the ball and Kelsey hit a shot down the third base line, past the third baseman, past the left fielder, to the fence. When the realization hit me that maybe, just maybe she had hit it far enough to go all the way, my heart started pumping and my mouth started cheering, "Go, go, go!" She was running and running as fast as her big ol' feet could take her, picking up speed as she rounded second (Those of you that know her know I am exaggerating the speed part of it, but she was moving pretty well!). She was coming up on third and I saw the left fielder come up with the ball and I thought, "She's gonna get a triple." Then I saw Joe make that big ol' "Head For Home" circular motion with his arm and start to skip toward home, leading her down the line. She rounded third and Joe was hollering, "Get Down!" as she neared the catcher, but the play wasn't as close as he thought and she crossed the plate standing up. HOMERUN!!!!!

I'm not sure if I jumped up and down or if I screamed or if I just ran wildly toward the dugout to greet her, but I saw her teammates come, all 11 of them, and make a circle around her, squealing and giggling and high-fiving her. She came rushing in to the dugout, a big grin plastered on her mouth with her face all flushed and her humidity-enhanced curls hanging out of her ponytail. I gave her a big ol' hug and said, "Kelsey, you did it!" She said, "Yeah, but I was so mad when I got up there and the bases weren't loaded! It coulda been a grand slam!" That's my girl!

We went on to win that game, but we lost the next one. So we handed out medals, packed up the gear, took the team to Dairy Queen for a promised ice cream treat from the coach and watched as the girls giggled and laughed and shoved each other's faces into ice cream sundaes. We took pictures, hugged and said the end-of-the-season good-byes. We ended up 7th out of 14 teams, a big accomplishment for our mostly 9 year old team. Not a bad way to go out. And it ended with ice cream. What more could you ask for?

If you're wondering if I had any documentation of the big hit, I didn't. I had packed up my camera earlier in the day because we were not doing well and, being a former softballer myself, I do have some superstitions about stuff. I put away the camera and we started doing better. So I left it in the bag. I had the camera and the video camera with me, but both were sound asleep in their carriers during the big event. But in my mind, I have it tucked away securely under "Mom's Proud Moments" right next to first words, walking, learning to ride a bike, learning to read and all the other milestones I have witnessed. It is a moment that she will not forget and one that I will cherish being a part of forever. There aren't a whole lot of times where you get to experience pure joy or witness it on the face of your child, but, lucky for me, I was there to see it. It was a blessing.

Till next time...

~Peace

Long Time Gone!

Has it really been almost a MONTH since I've updated? Geez, guys, it's not for lack of activity around here -- That's for sure. I've got oodles of pictures stored up and I'm going to update those later this weekend, but I'm just saying a quick hello before I head out for a softball tourney this weekend. I just thought if I didn't update while I had all this junk in my head it might be another month before I got around to it. So let's get started!

First, Joey's high school baseball season has mercifully ended. He ended up getting in at least an inning a game for most of the remainder of the season. A small victory, but a victory all the same. So summer season has started and life is back to normal. We're gearing up for trips to Mt. Juliet, Kingsport, East Cobb and Charleston with his team this summer. Then we've got our annual Daytona family trip coming up. We're storing up our dough for a trip to the Daytona Beach Kennel Club. "Give me the straight trifecta, 7-1-4, please, ma'am!"

The girls have a week and a half of school left and we're preparing for end of the year luau parties, final report cards and fun day at school. It's hard to believe we're moving to 4th and 2nd grades next year. Little Syd is not so little anymore and Kelsey has grown so much this year she's wearing women's size shoes and junior-sized clothing. Time marches on.

They both did great grade-wise this year, no Bs on either report card. They tested great on their standardized tests (not that I have any love for those things -- I could write a book about the loathing I have for them.), with Kelsey testing at Post-high school in several subjects and Sydney testing at a sixth grade level in a couple of things. Whether that's truly accurate or not, who knows, but I do know that they are learning and progressing tremendously in their studies. I'm glad I'm able to have a hand in that actually. Watching their academic progress has been one of the greatest experiences I've ever had.

In other news, Kelsey had her first pitching outing last month and did pretty well. She got out of the first inning with no runs, walking the first two batters. Batter #1 got thrown out trying to steal second and Batter #2 got called out for leaving the base too early (a little help from Blue, thank you very much). Then she was down in the count 3-0 on Batter #3, but came back and fired 3 right down the middle! Inning over! Woohoo! Now, in the second inning, things didn't run quite as smoothly, but it was exciting nonetheless. Let's see. With control issues, she threw a few behind the batters' backs and hit one in the head. Her dad brought in another pitcher soon after, but all-in-all, for a first time ever outing, she did great. I'm hoping to post some video on Vimeo later in the week, so I'll let you know when I get around to that.

Sydney had her spring musical May 1 at the co-op. I usually dread the spring musical simply because it's the typical, boring, school program. It's hot in the auditorium, crowded and you can't hear anything for all the babies fussing and crying all around the room. Kel missed out on this production because she had a softball game. (As is custom, I let her decide which event she preferred to attend, and she (BIG SHOCKER) chose to play ball.) Anyhoo, Syd had two songs in this production, one with the 1st and 2nd grade classes and one during the big finale with the entire school on stage. It was such a great little show this year! It was very upbeat and the music was contemporary Christian, so the kids danced and did sign language and it was beautiful. It was a very simplistic performance with minimal set design. The kids were dressed in khaki bottoms and spring colors on top, so it looked like a bunch of Easter eggs up on stage!

I have to say it was very enjoyable and Syd also came out of her shell this year and actually did the hand motions. For those of you in attendance last year, you will remember it was a little like the episode of the Brady Bunch where they went on the TV show as the group, "The Silver Platters", to perform a song and one of them froze up -- Was it Jan? (If you know the answer to this one, please leave it in the comment section below!) Anyway, Syd was kinda like that last year, but this year she was loosey-goosey and really enjoyed herself. I'm hoping to upload that on Vimeo this week, too.

We also took a quick trip to Pigeon Forge for our annual cabin vacation. It was tons of fun (even though it was Rod Run weekend and driving on the main drag was IMPOSSIBLE!). The cabin had a hot tub, two video game machines, foosball, air hockey, pinball, a jukebox and a pool table. So the kids -- Dad included -- had a ball! We visited the Gatlinburg Aquarium on Friday and then we invited the fam up on Saturday for a cookout. The girls got in the hot tub with their cousins after we ate burgers and horsed around for about an hour. Then after the family was leaving, we were stalked by a peacock for the remainder of our trip. It was beautiful, but kinda creepy, too. Evidently it was mating season for the little guy and he spent most of Saturday night squawking right outside the cabin -- Joe was thrilled, let me tell 'ya! Then on Sunday morning as we were getting up and getting ready to come home, Mr. Peacock was sitting perched on our front porch! AAAHHH! Anybody who knows me knows how much I fear birds, so it was not a big treat for me. Neither was the big pile of hmmm, how can I put this delicately, bird stuff he left on the front porch! I've got pics of all the festivities and I will upload those to the blog later this week.

Well, kids, I think that's all for now -- I know you're thanking the Good Lord that the babbling is ending! Kel's got three games today and it's time to get ponytails pulled up, Under Armour donned and cleats laced. If any of you have a 9 year old, you know this is not a quick process. So I gotta run. I hope everybody is healthy, allergy-free and in a good place. I'm hoping once school is out I'll be more attentive to the blog. There are lots of things coming up!

Finally, tomorrow is Mother's Day. I don't have a whole lot to say about that except I am thankful I still have a mother, two grandmothers, a mother-in-law and two sweet aunts (not to mention many friends) who are still around to share this experience with me. We will gather tomorrow at Mom's house as we always do, having sub sandwiches and chips and cookies and we will laugh and poke fun and enjoy the day. While I always say my idea of the perfect Mom's Day is laying in my comfy PJs all day watching movies and napping, I have to say I am so fortunate to still have so many mothers (this phrase is open to interpretation!!) to spend my day with tomorrow. Being a mom has been the greatest challenge of my life, but also the greatest privilege. I never regret for a single moment making the choice to be one. I am richer for having done so. So for all the moms reading this, Happy, Happy Mother's Day!

~Peace