I never know what I am going to write about until I sit at the key board...then a concept or event comes to mind...and...bingo....it's done....so, right now I have nothing in my head except the events of last night....
If you follow the blog, Buddy had a two day, four game road trip to the other side of the state. I dropped him off early Saturday morning and did not expect to see him until late Sunday night. Therefore, I had the 'pad' to myself. All mine! No one else was there....what to do...what to do...what to do....
I made a quick list of what needed to be done and went to work. After spending the morning grading papers, I was ready to go. The question was....go where? First, I went to a mall to purchase some pots and pans for meals. I am tired of take-out and gaining weight at a faster rate than normal. Further, I don't have my 'fat clothes' here. They remain in my home closet.
Once I bought the cheapest pots and pans available, I found the world's greatest library. It had so many books, my eyes were spinning and the rest of the weekend fell into place as I read normal books. What do I mean by normal? Normal books are books that are read by everyone else like autobiographies, self-help books, and smutty novels. And there you have it...I read all weekend and answered texts from Buddy. Father's Day was not the same since I spent it alone away from my own dad and husband, yet I will catch up with them when I go home this week.
Is that the end of my weekend...just books? Nope...it really was only beginning. Here are the events from my perspective. Buddy has not been happy with the team, coaches or his role (or lack thereof). He was very 'salty' on Saturday morning as he got out of the car and walked to the bus. I was hoping that the road trip would be successful and that he would be in a better frame of mind when he returned. After finding out that there were 3 guys and two double beds in each room, I knew that the weekend would not get any better. His college team usually had two in a room and they stayed at very nice hotels. I can only guess which hotel they stayed in. Before he left, I handed him $20.00. "What's that for?" he asked. "Extra money in case you get hungry." I replied. "Mom, they are NOT paying for meals. We have to buy them." Oh...this is not college...it's a bit 'rinky-dink'...OK, I handed him (once again) the contents of my purse excluding my emergency change by my lip gloss.
I had a bad feeling about the trip. The forecast was rain and thundershowers. Like the forecast, the kid was in a very foul mood. As Sunday took shape and I began and finished Maeve Binchey's latest book and received a few texts....5:50 pm: Just finished first game.....7:00 rain delay 8:00 rain delay 9:50: game starting 9 innings to play. My heart sank. Anyone who plays in this game will indeed be challenged by the long delay and late time. Also, a 9-inning game can take up to 3 hours to complete then they have a 3-hour trip home. And I have to pick him up around 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 am.....I can't go to sleep. I have to wait for his phone call and I can't sleep through it...not that I would, but I did not want to leave it to fate.
So, I tried to close my eyes, but couldn't sleep since I was so wired. Around 1 am, I started to watch some mindless television and was wide awake. The tenant who lives above us had a very active night and I could hear a great deal that was going on. It was not interesting enough to turn off the television. Around 2 am, I began to get some texts...bad day...I am leaving...no more...I hate it....I am going home....worst game of my life....coach hates me....and so on....What a night...or morning...however you want to call it.....I finally fell asleep and got THE call...we'll be there in 30 minutes. Since Buddy really does not have a great sense of timing, I put the sneakers on after sleeping in my clothes and left the apartment. First, however, I looked up at the apartment above us. I could not tell much but all the lights were on at 5:15 am telling me that they never went to sleep.
It was a creepy foggy ride to the pick up spot. Since I am tentative driving in the region, I was a little intimidated by the conditions. As I drove, I looked around at the other night owls to see who else was up on this nasty morning besides my neighbor. Not too many people were awake, just a truck driver or two.
Finally, the bus arrives and Buddy enters the car. To say that he was in a crazed mood would be an understatement. I did not have access to electroshock therapy or Dr Phil, so it was up to me to help him through his emotional turmoil and personal crisis. After he once again reiterated how much he hated the baseball, coach, players, state, county, weather, fields, and so on, I channeled my best Dr Phil but it sounded more like Oprah...."Don't say anything else. Once you have had a hot shower and rest, you will feel better. We'll talk about it later." I wanted to add...we never, never, never give up....but I kept that one to myself. Quitting is not an option. It may appear that the kid is spoiled, and in some ways he is. But he has very high expectations of himself and he feels that he cannot relax..ever...and therefore he works harder than most to make it. When it does not happen, he has to reformulate a new plan of action. As a young man, he is trying to get his emotions under control. This will happen with practice and age.
To end this oh-so-lengthy post, I will share what Buddy and I witnessed when we parked the car at the apartment. Keep in mind that it is 5:30 ish am...so, who is out? As I got out of the car, we could see a woman hugging another tightly in front of my building. Something was odd here....as the woman drove away, the one left on the pavement looked at us with an empty expression and weaved her way back to the building. She climbed the stairs slowly and deliberately and entered the apartment directly above us....ahhh.....that's what was going on....I said to Buddy: "I guess her daughter is going back to school and they were packing her bags..." His reply was "Mom, that was not her daughter...." hmmmm, OK.....As we watched the woman climb the stairs, we hustled into our apartment and locked the door. She looked out of it....perhaps drunk. "Mom....she was as high as a kite..." OK.....hmmm...that explains all of the nighttime movements around her apartment. This was something I really did not want to know.
Interesting...as life always is...the weekend that was to be one of the most relaxing in the summer turned out to be the most stressful and challenging. But as I previously mentioned, Buddy did not get to this level by throwing in the towel when things got rough. He bears down and works it out. I have the great fortune of being here to help him through it. These events are not typical and he has his family and friends to help him to sort it out. To achieve his goal, he has to go through rough patches...it's the only way to make it. No one said that it would be easy, 'cause if it was, anyone could do what he does. Time for some therapy...first rest, nutritional, then diversionary...would Dr Phil approve of this plan?
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