First softball practice...

bt before I get to that....

I am SO mad at myself for not checking the hours for the VV library! I am soooo dumb! I KNOW they don't open until 12 on Mondays, yet I drive down there at 10:30 anyway. I should have just dropped in on my friend who lives right around the corner (LOL) but we didn't. We went to Target and the bread store instead.

We made MAJOR cleaning progress today - my room looks so nice! Before we left for the park, I made dinner and Hongo's lunch for tomorrow. Hey, I am settling back into my routine! I actually get stuff done!

So, today was practice. I knew what I wanted to get accomplished, but I didn't think it would be so quick. I let the girls go at 5:30. You know - NO parents came out to help. Kids did, but I need some adults!!! I am learning the girls' names pretty quickly, too.
The cop dad (Mr SA) sat away from all the other parents and then when I let the girls go, he bailed quickly while I talked to the parents of the newer girls.
I will be honest - I am totally impressed with the skill of this team. There are only a couple of not so great girls, but they still have potential. I really thought I was doomed when I saw all those first-timer hands go up.
Hongo arrived to help out, but we were already cleaning up. He wanted to meet SA, I think. He asked where he was and asked if Mr SA gave me attitude. I told him no, but I was honestly surprised that he sat his rear end on the bleachers instead of helping . Isn't that how its supposed to go? Ya help a fellow brother's wife out? Hmmm...guess not - maybe that is someother profession I am thinking about.

Mr SA's daughter hit a ball right back at me (I was pitching) It hit me on the thigh, and you could hear the parents gasp. The girl was so upset! I told her not to worry about it, really. I'll live. I lived through much worse when I was an actual player. Like when we were playing parents against kids and my coach drilled one right into my hip. I had a bruise the size of a softball for at least 3 weeks. 30 something males hit harder than 9 year old girls.

In a nutshell, practice went pretty well.

In this installment of Dad Memories, I will tell two short stories about how my dad was SOOOOO embarrassing.

One time, we were at a JC Penney. We were looking for some shoes, and it was just me and Dad. He yelled "Kim - ya gotta come look at these ugly shoes! Who would buy THESE?" First of all - he's yelling and I was NOT that far away. Second, there was a lady standing next to me with THOSE shoes in her hand, ready to buy. I'm brown, but I sure turned red that day. That was always one of his favorite stories to tell - the day his daughter turned red, and he knew that she had hit the teens.

This second one, its about softball.

No one ever saw my dad unless it was a Saturday game. He worked the swing shift - 2-11pm M-F On Saturdays, my dad would show up at the ball field, with a chair and his little cooler (with Bud in it) and a red plastic cup. Alcohol was not permitted at the field, but when you put it in a red cup with some ice, Bud becomes ginger ale.

Anyway, one game my dad was just yelling and cheering (that was the thing- he always cheered no matter whose kid it was) and one of the girls got up and said "Who the heck is that guy over there? He won't shut up!"
Um, yeah - that's my dad. He never shuts up - he just gets louder.
After that game, my dad was suddenly cool because he always believed in our team, and in us. "Kim, is your dad coming to the game today?" is what girls would ask, and I couldn't figure out why they wanted him there. He would coach me during the game and throw signs of which pitches I should throw - and I knew he meant well, but I already had my own gameplan.

That kind of parallels the way our last 7 years of relationship went. He wanted to stand on the sidelines and tell me what to do to make my life better, but I already had my gameplan that was working just fine.