Tonight marked our final baseball party in a series of 54 events spanning four months. Signing-up for baseball is essentially taking on a second, part-time job. Even when you consider that there is no mandatory San Luis Snack Shack Duty.
Nate’s Team, Cal Poly Red, celebrated the end of the season tonight with a game of kids versus parents, followed by a round of kickball and a water balloon fight. I don’t know when I’ve laughed so much.
Unfortunately Jacob’s team, the Hooks, got knocked out of the playoffs by the Grasshoppers last weekend. Jakey enjoyed the season and got on base most times he was at bat. His strength is speed. He had his team calling him Bob the entire season… but that’s a story for another blog.
It was probably for the best as all of us, except Nate, were a bit worn-out from baseball four nights a week. Nate is still up for hours of catch and practicing his swing on the baseball tetherball practice pole. This week we found out Grandma never learned to use a mitt. And she’s not about to start now…
There was one game at Sinsheimer where I shivered on the sidelines, right through the dinner hour, famished from a light lunch and what seemed to be an interminable number of innings.
Two other families with impeccable foresight and enviable planning laid out a beautiful, fluffy picnic blanket. There were chips, salsa and guacamole as the first course. Then, then they unveiled a lovingly wrapped basket of piping hot taquitos. I don’t know what was served as the third course, I had to get up and move behind the other team’s dugout to escape the mouth-watering torture…
At that moment I actually missed the Snack Shack. In a moment of ravenous weakness, I almost regretted writing Nacho Cheese, The Shack, Keeping Kosher, Dirty Jobs, and Home Stretch. An entire body of work criticizing plasticized dairy. Years of lamenting my Saturdays hocking inedible junk food and, in an instant, my food snobbery evaporated and I would have emptied my wallet for a paper boat of salty, stale chips and orange cheese…
Nate the Great received his trophy today with great pride and an admirable solemnity during Coach Matthew’s team speech. He was recognized for his two home runs and gained a reputation as a big hitter. There’s definitely a little spring in his step. I’m just bummed we missed his second homer while we were out of town for our anniversary weekend.
I’m told it was so exciting, he passed his teammate at second before rounding third and bringing it home. That’s my boy.