Coincidence? I don't think so.....

Good morning! Last night's game was postponed because the grounds crew forgot to leave the tarp on the field and as the rains came....the field was so wet that if anyone played on it, they would have ruined the turf. With that said, a night off for all.....



And so, Tink and I joined Betty, Scooby, and Big Sis and attended the Happy Together Tour at a local venue. The bands included Gary Lewis, Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night), a member from Grand Funk Railroad, Flo and Eddie from the Turtles, and Mitch Ryder. The singers were in great form as was the audience...OK, sort of. We were by far the youngest in the place. With good, functional hip joints, we were able to get out of our seats and dance. The rest of the audience....well, they kind of sat and enjoyed the concert. There were lots of canes and many trips to the bathroom by the guests, but on the whole, it was a nice group and the music was fun. It was a great way to spend a summer evening...music...family....venue....let's do it again (as the Beach Boys would sing). Honestly, it has been years since I last attended a concert.









No, it was not the Rolling Stones....Beatles.....Beyonce....it was Flo and Eddie...and guess what? We had an amazing time, although I am not sure about Tink since she texted all night. Yet, she says that she had fun....

Speaking of our Tink....this is weird, so let's ponder this event....

On the way to the concert, Tink was chatting away about everything....and I mean everything...so, sorry...sometimes, I tune out and figuratively change the radio station in my mind (sorry Tink)....but then, she said something that has me a bit freaked....

"Mom, you know my friend K at work? She has four children and an ex-husband....their names are....." I stop listening since the names are not important.....

"Well, they have this dog that had puppies....."

"Uh huh...." sigh

"There are ten of them....." sigh...welling up a bit

"They are maltese puppies...." a few tear balls fill the eyes...stop listening....now or I am going to blubber before the concert.

"Mom, they were born last Monday and one girl looks like Diva....." Get me a tissue, stat!

"Mom, don't cry...."

So, what she was saying was that her friend has a dog that had puppies that are malteses (like Diva) and were born on the day that she died (in my pathetic arms with me filling the room with enough tears to water the plants for a week)...what the heck?

Is this a sign? Am I reading too much into this story? Is it really true? Is this a coincidence or something that I need to look into? She was a dog, for crying out loud, yet, this is way over the top even for my crazed mind.

So, let's think.....the day Diva passed, these puppies were born....one looks like Diva. I can't...I won't.....it's too soon? Or is it? Am I supposed to follow up on this and get this Diva-look alike? If I don't, will I regret it when the Diva look alike is taken by another family? Now what? I am not ready....but if I pass up on this dog, am I passing up on fate? karma? kismet? Will I look at this dog and cry because she is not Diva?

I don't want another dog...yet I do....



I don't want another dog now.....yet I do....


I don't want my heart ripped out again....yet I do....



With that said, I need to get my head examined.....I have an acupuncture appointment in an hour, so I will have Needles stick a few extra pins in my head....perhaps my brain is scrambled.....now what?



Stay tuned....

Peace!

In the line up

Back in the line up folks. Yoda has cleared the big guy to play.

And as I drove him to the airport today, he was silent. Oh, yeah, I remember, he does not talk on game day....just a few grunts...yes...nos....that's it. OK, this is fine. It has been a few weeks since he took the mound, so breathe, visualize, and guide your thoughts to a victory.



Although, when he was talking....yesterday....we chatted about a number of things. I was telling him how bad I was at holding planks in yoga and Pilates class.


"How long do you hold them?"

"15 seconds on a good day."

"We have to hold them for 2 minutes with 90 pounds of weight on our backs."

Humbled.....I am now determined to make it to 20 seconds before hitting my knees in agony. Hey, I am a competitor too.

He came up with a new phrase as we chatted on the way to Scooby's for BP Grandmom and Grandpop's 59th wedding anniversary...."I am arrogrant, but humble enough to admit it."



Hmmmm. Let's consider this one. A pitcher has to have uber confidence and sense of self. Gotcha. But he also knows his flaws. Is this a good thing or bad?



I am thinking that his head is beginning to figure life out one issue at a time. When he pitches, I can tell when he is in it and not in it. When he hit the last batter a month ago, I thought that he lost it. But the smack on the back had been planned for  a year after this opposing player had talked smack to him after he had hit a triple off him. As he remembered the date and time, he took aim and fired. Is this a good thing? I won't answer it. by the way, this verbal and insulting idiot was taken in the 15th round of the MLB draft.

With that said, the big guy is in the line up probably tomorrow night. And so it begins...again....let's go Turtles!

Got to go and hold a plank for 20 seconds....

Peace!

Well thought out, yet expensive plan

Hooray! We are all under one roof for one night. The big kid flew home yesterday morning after arriving at the St Louis airport at 3 am for a 6 am flight. He decided to stay in the terminal rather than a hotel room for three hours. After picking him up at the terminal, he had a few hours to sleep before visiting Yoda, his PT.





At 4 pm, he was meeting with Yoda who cleared him to play ball. And the smile returned to his face. His demeanor changed and he is ready to throw. Yahoo. I mentioned to him, 'you know....your body will always hurt, so you have to adapt to it.'

"Yeah, I know." OK....so let's chat.

I decided to work on one issue per meeting. So, I tackled the fall....

"Uh, since your are returning to campus this fall, I see that you have no where to live. Do you have any plans?"

"I am going to live on campus in the dorms."

Huh? The dorms? You mean the 'hell holes' that you HAD to escape from after your freshman year? Seriously? Good!

His rationale is multifaceted and seemed to be well constructed.

1. I hate driving in the snow.
2. It takes me 30 minutes to get to class from my apartment
3. I can walk to class and not drive
4. I can walk back to my dorm after working until 2 am in the library.

Hmmmm. This is a good plan, albeit, not cheaper. In fact, the dorms that he will live in will probably cost more than my mortgage. I love the way that he thinks.

By the way, dad has said for years that he receives 4 years of tuition, then he is on his own. "Nope, not paying for it. No way."

Here is my prediction....after the guys talk tonight about future plans, dad will open his checkbook and fund the last year at school. He will complain and moan since he really wants to save for his retirement, but he will do it.

Why? 'Cause, he loves the big guy and when the kid comes to him with a carefully considered plan of action, dad funds it....whether it is living on his own, Illinois, Ohio, travel money, and so on, dad opens the wallet.



Now, let's talk about BPM....I have 1$ in my wallet and have been shut out of the automatic teller for the last few days due to lack of funds. Do we have money? Sure, but we try to live on a budget rather than savings, so we sacrifice....OK, 'sacrifice' is a pretty big word....perhaps 'tighten up' is a better one. I can get money out of the bank whenever I need it. Fortunately, Betty gave me a Starbucks card and a student gave to me a Dunkin Donuts card, so I have coffee...which is the most important beverage of the day. Yep, more important that boxed wine. There....I said it. I am not a wino but need my fix of caffeine each day. So it goes....and so he will go....

But first, we have an afternoon party at Scooby's for BP Grandmom and Grandpop's 59th wedding anniversary and Lil A's 12th birthday. I am sure that the family will be happy to see the big guy or will they be happy to see the chocolate and regular cheesecakes that Lil A and I baked on Friday? Time will tell.....

Off to Pilates!

Peace!

Decisions, decisions!

Good morning! It's a beautiful day and day 4 without Diva. It is almost time to put away her bed and toys...but not yet. Tink is not ready. That's my excuse....let's keep on using it.

I have heard very little from Illinois in the past 24 hours which means.......yes, it means........are you ready????

The elbow must feel better.

That's it, folks. As I mentioned yesterday, the sun rises and falls on the body. And so with nothing to complain about and not wanting to hear me ask the question for the millionth time about the internship, I will assume the following:

1. The elbow is healing and he will pitch in the next 5 days.
2. He has no intention of completing the internship until the fall.

Huh? It was all set up, right? Hmmm...so he says.....so he says....so he said.....yet.....

Finally, after probing about his writing articles for the team, he almost admitted that he was not going to pressure himself this summer by completing college. Fine. The money sent by the grandparents for graduating college stays on dad's desk. If the internship is not completed by September, the check will be shredded into a million little pieces. He will never be able to reconstruct the pieces and tape them back together....gone...gone...gone.....

What does this mean for the fall?

Well, I can only assume that he is returning to his school for his 5th year and will figure out where he is going to live on his own. He will also get the sofa out of his apartment that he will lose at the end of July and move it to a new location. I am not sure how this task will be accomplished since he does not have the power to transport himself to Pennsylvania from Illinois without a plane ticket or a great pair of Nikes.

Wow. Lots of decisions to make and things to do. What is a guy to do?

Well, his momma is off the clock. As a young man who turned 22 this year, he has been given the tools and actually has the critical thinking skills to pull it off. If he is lazy and snoozes, then he lives in an alley on the aforesaid sofa that will probably be thrown in a dumpster by the new tenant of the uber cool apartment that he lived in this year and decided to let the lease go when he was "Never going to return to this place again! Ever! I mean it. It can sink into a sinkhole, for all I care. I am never coming back!!"
 


Got it. Now, figure out the next ten months, 'cause I punched out in May.



Later!

Peace!

Be a victor not a victim

Good morning! Just got back from a killer yoga class. I believe I lost two liters of fluid....just enough to fill a Pepsi bottle. It actually felt pretty good to start a new routine. Do I miss our Diva? Well....Yes! I am now a party game....say the word "dog" and I will burst out crying. Neat trick, huh?

On to Illinois....the elbow is starting to feel better yet the last 72 hours have been full of angst. The big guy had to come home to see his PT. "Don't you understand? I hate it here. I shouldn't be here. it's the 'Fat Man's (Czar)' fault. He does not know what he is doing. Sheesh. The rants went on and on.

In other words, besides the crisis with Diva, we also had a crisis in Illinois. Then we worked on several options on getting him home from flying out from St Louis, see the PT, see the surgeon, and return to Illinois.

 

"No, I am not coming back here."

What the heck? Isn't this part of your dream. Dude, you need to be seen by scouts and develop your pitching resume. You will not accomplish these goals by working out at the local YMCA. Get a grip.

Honestly, with the sore elbow and loss of the family pet, he had enough and wanted to be home. I get it, but you have made a commitment, so you stay. We will worry about the home front.

Today, he is perkier and the elbow feels better. Honestly, the sun rises and falls on his body. If all is well, he is happy. If something is sore, he's dying.

With that said, I might turn the  cell phone off for a while. After all, the kid is almost a college graduate. Start to figure life out. If you need help or support, I am here. But I am powerless to fix arms, knees, heads, and pitching techniques. All I can do is listen. But now I have standards. He is not to call as a victim. He is to call as a victor. 'Cause if his ultimate goal is not met, he will need the psychological tools to deal with a major disappointment. Therefore, start to prepare now for an uncertain yet wonderful future.

If baseball does not work out, he has the tools to be a success at whatever he chooses. he also has an arsenal of memories and stories to share as he looks back on a great 21 years. I can only imagine what the next 21 years will bring.

Got to go....

Peace!