Summer baseball has been a point of discussion in our home for several months now with the debate being if we let Jake try out for All Stars ( a 3.5 week commitment but a very intense one) or just let him play summer ball- less intense and less competitive. In the end we pretty much left it up to Jake. We told him that if we let him do All Stars it would mean making a choice to give up some other stuff. With practices almost every evening we wanted to be sure that he knew what it meant: fewer trips to the pool, fewer nights bouncing on the tramp, fewer play dates with friends. It also affected the first three weeks of summer: we haven't been able to take the boat out yet or go camping (although, to be fair, we probably wouldn't have done either of these things yet anyway due to the fact that we still haven't even finished moving in completely!). In the end Jake decided to try All Stars and the first 10 days has been crazy busy.
We had a tournament last weekend with games on Thursday, Friday, and all day Saturday. Tanner and I went on Thursday night while Faith stayed with Nana. It was a beautiful night- a perfect evening for baseball. The boys won and played again on Friday. We sat out that game, letting Brian and Jake go alone, then decided to do the "marathon day" on Saturday. We were at the field from 11-7. Although a lot of it was fun and the kids had a great time with their bubbles and balls that we brought along, it was also a lot of work on my part keeping them entertained, taking them back and forth to the porta potty and snack shack, etc... Tanner really enjoys the games, but Faith doesn't have much interest in them so she is a little trickier. The team played two games- winning the first and losing the second. The loss of the second meant that they were out of the tournament so there was no baseball on Sunday (I have to admit to being a little bit relieved that we wouldn't be at the ballpark again on Sunday!).
We decided to let Faith choose a family activity for Sunday, being as she has had to be a major trooper through all this baseball. She decided to go to the zoo. So Sunday we headed out to breakfast at a new place downtown where we sat outdoors and even enjoyed a mimosa before heading to Zoo Boise. We laid down the rules up front: Although we could walk through the gift shop there would be absolutely NO buying new "guys"!!!. She agreed and we all really enjoyed our morning with the monkeys, giraffes, and tigers. That afternoon we went to the pool together and that evening had a Family Movie Night. Even though it was a lot to fit into one Sunday, it all sort of just happened and it was really fun.
I have been lamenting our loss of "Family Time" lately and realized just tonight that up until this point we have done almost everything as a team. Even the grocery store used to be a family affair and we all went to everyone's games and events. Lately though, with the kids getting older and their needs/interests being more diverse it has been more of a "divide and conquer" kind of thing. Brian will take Jake to baseball while I take Faith and Tanner to the park, or Brian stays home with Faith while I take Tanner and Jake to football camp, etc... I kind of miss the days of being able to do it all together. Actually.... I really miss it. It's not the same, and I miss being with Brian and with whichever child/children I am not with on the weekend and/or evenings. It is yet another sign that our family is growing, the kids are getting older, and we are moving onto another stage in life. (And, as most of you know or remember: I am not good with change so I am having a difficult time with it right now!).
Still, we have lots of great family stuff planned. This weekend is the Camp Out at the Green with our big tent, smores, movie at dusk outside, and a campfire. The next weekend will be another baseball tournament, and the weekend after that we have a boat trip on the calendar. Summer just always seems to go by so quickly... and there is never enough days in the season or hours in each day to do everything we want. At one of the tournament games last weekend an older gentleman (he was probably 75) looked at me with the two little kids and said, "You know this goes way too fast... enjoy it while you can. I was with my dad last year when he died at age 95 and I asked him, 'What surprised you most about life?' and he said, 'The brevity of it, Son, the brevity'. I know you may not see it right now, but you really will miss this!". Then he patted Faith and Tanner on the head and walked away. A good reminder and one I'd do well to remember on those days/ nights when I want to throw in the towel and sell them all to the highest bidder :)
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