Momma madness

Happy day! Tink, BP Grandpop, Big Sis, and Cupcake are all sick with some sort of bronchitis. Nevertheless, this group will not let anything like unstoppable productive coughing get in their ways. No, way...it takes more than a little cold to get them down. By the way, happy 17th birthday to Tuna. He is now allowed to get his driver's license....oy!

I had a long day of meetings yesterday and did not have time to write. So, I can update readers on what is new....and what is not new.....

According to the big guy...the coach still does not like him (nothing new)....

He is going to be number one left handed reliever out of the bullpen this weekend (nothing new).

The games for today and tomorrow have been postponed due to weather (new information).

Someone continues to steal his ADD medication (nothing new yet new). Although he had a fool proof method of hiding it, the perp found it and lifted it from its hiding spot. To which dad and I both replied: "If you do not report this to the coach, someone could say that you were either selling it or giving it away." Of course, it fell on deaf ears until the following words came out of my mouth: "If you do not report this today, I will come onto campus, drive onto the field, stop practice, and tell the coaches what is going on. Then I will address the team on the loud speaker about taking a medication that is prescribed for another person and how wrong stealing is....." Do you think that he heard that one? I think so...the threat is not really a threat...it's a promise. I will do it and make a scene. How do you like that one? You know about March Madness.....well this is momma madness......nothing will stop me.....

I had a conversation with our family physician about what was going on and she replied that this is common. Students are either stealing the medication for a buzz and high or selling it for cash. Anyway you look at it, it is wrong....with a capital "W".

On to baseball...this weekend, the guys are in Indiana. I will miss this round of action. First, it is going to be cold. Second, I don't want to go to Indiana. Third, I have a meeting on Saturday...yeah, a meeting....like for work...on a Saturday.....can anyone say "yuk!".

However, I plan on being by the computer to watch and listen to the action. I won't have the Skittles since they are not on the WW 360 plan, but I can have fruit and veggies....so I will start a more healthy way of watching/listening to baseball....with a carrot stick in one hand and my computer mouse in the other trying to unfreeze the screen.

Until then, got to run errands.....have a great day!

A Sick Life

Whew! Good Monday morning! I have a meeting in less than 2 hours so I have to be quick. What a weekend! Bad weather...but what do you expect in the northeast...a nice, sunny day? Nope....we deal with it, but it was cold.

Anyway, on Friday night, Buddy and his posse were at the house for a meal that was odd at its best. Gopher, Angel, Buddy, and his quiet friend Tommy Bradford (from Eight is Enough....he is one of 8 siblings) were ready to chow down on pizza, baked french toast (the big kid's favorite), salad, and bakery sheet cake. If they did not eat all of it, they took it back to the hotel.

On the whole, they were funny and self-deprecating....really nice guys. I enjoyed having them at the house and invited them to come back any time. The very weird moment shared by Buddy and myself was when he started to open a beer. He looked at me and said: "This is strange. I have never had a beer here before. DO you want me to have it?"

Yeah, sure. You're not driving and are 21 years old, enjoy....but he was right. It was odd. Then he proceeded to have a few more. Something tells me that he has been practicing since he turned 21 two weeks ago. At the end of the dinner, the guys took everything back to the hotel to snack on or have for breakfast. Angel shared that pizza was pretty good for breakfast. Yum....

Ok, on to Saturday...Tink was sick and out of the picture so I was on my own. The games were back to back and the weather was typical January...snowy, sleet,  and rain. I got to the field before the game and the guys were warming up in the snow. After 15 minutes, the tarp was pulled back onto the field for a delay of two hours. I decided to use this time to become proficient in Word Search on my droid. After the delay, the tarp was off the field again....the players began to chip ice off the pitching mound, sleet was heavier, and the game was called. It was at this point that I had to call the family members who were on their way to the game that the games were postponed until Sunday. All was not lost....we went to Lil A's indoor soccer game. She played goalie in a coed game. I closed my eyes a few times when the balls were pummeled at her. She's a tough cookie. She had ran a 5K with her dad in the morning. Did you know that she is only 10?

Now it is Sunday.....the games were rescheduled for noon. Scooby, cool P., Uncle C., Buttercup, Cupcake, Tink, dad, and Big B stopped by to watch the frigid polar bear games. I had given Buddy two cases of hand warmers for Christmas. By the start of the game, they were gone. The guys dove into his bag and took them. So, he was out and now diving into my bag of spares. Believe me, we need hand, feet, body, and field warmers....it was COLD!

The game began and the team just cannot hit. They either need their eyes checked or a remedial on hitting off speed pitches 101. However, let's be honest. No one wants to pop up or strike out. It is a matter of timing and that comes with more repetitions.

The game continues and the team's starter starts to run low on stamina. who is called in from the bull pen? Yes! It's the big kid who is full from eating at home over the weekend and whose hands are toasty from taking my hand warmers. He is throwing in the bp and Uncle C and Scooby and I stand and watch while I snap photos. Then I get nervous....time to pray...send good thoughts...stay cool. He knows what to do.

Inning 1: line drive to out fielder (out), Strike out, pop up. Inning over!

Inning 2: Strike out, hit (a former legion team mate hit a 0-2 pitch for a solid hit), pop up (out 2), hit batter (ooops). With men on 1 and 2 bases, the pitching coach storms out of the dug out and takes him out of the game. We all knew that if he could face the last batter, he would have gotten him out. The hit batter had crowded the plate and leaned into the pitch, therefore he was hit by the pitch. The big leftie was no more....

His right handed reliever came in. The ball was hit sharply at the first baseman, who touched it with his glove but could not field it. In my eyes, it was an error, but the scorer called it a hit. Buddy's ERA of zero has a run attached to it. The team loses both games...it was ugly.

Some miscellaneous items:

The pitching coach walks up to Buddy sitting in the dugout and expels gas in his face. His comment was: "Now I have moved from number 7 to number 2 on your hit list, a.XX hole." Nice, huh? Angel commented that he needed to write his memoirs because no one would believe it and he has a 'sick life.'

LW pitched in the second game after returning from a broken hand that he sustained in a bar fight. He was told on the bus that he was now the Sunday starter...that was a quick decision....

The catcher was removed from the game when he flipped his hat after striking out. Apparently, this bad behavior is not tolerated, yet a coach can fart in the face of a pitcher and get away with it.

And so, there are so many more wonderful stories to share, but if I want to stayed employed and buy cases of hand warmers, then I have to get to work. Enjoy the day, we expect snow today....sigh....spring! Where are you???

What's next?

Hello! It's a sunny day and the summer flowers are looking gorgeous. It's also a quiet morning in the BPM household. Both kids have the mornings off and I have the peace and solitude of no one including the dog to interrupt  the morning routine of coffee, newspaper, and Olympics. Now I can write without multitasking and mediating who gets the car keys.

And so, whazzup? Nothing! It is a typical summer day....

The fascination with the Olympics is now over. I am tired of the over-commercialization and the commercials. The Today show and post event interviews are bothering me. If one more correspondent asks a gold medal winner "What are you feelings?" I am going to scream. That's it? That's the question? About feelings?

Hmmm...let's consider this....how would you feel if your entire life was dedicated to working out and sacrifice? You finally achieve the pinnacle of your career and you are asked about your feelings. If they really thought about it, the question should be after offering sincere congratulations: "Now, what are you going to do with the time that you spent training for this event?" In other words, you suddenly have 8 hours in your day which you can achieve another goal or get a real job. Not that I want to be a buzz killer but that is the next logical step? I have not seen any want ads in the newspaper for former Olympians.

So, what's next?

Here is how I would do it:

BPM: "Hey, great effort....sorry about you coming in last in the event, but who ever said life was fair?"

Athlete: "Ah..no  one said that it was fair, but come on...I am better than all of them including that Phelps guy."

BPM: "Yeah...I saw that...the only difference between you and the Phelps guy is that he has 19 medals. So, what's next on your agenda? The London Tour....meeting with the Queen's fourth butler twice removed....or perhaps you are going to find a job?

Athlete: "No need for a job, I am going to live with my parents until I marry the heiress that I met at the gym last week."

BPM: "Gotcha...well good luck with that and great effort...."

Athlete: "Thanks for not asking about my feelings...."

BPM: "No problem...it's a lame question...."

That is how it should be done.....

One last thought about retiring athletes, once they retire from badmiton or table tennis, what is the next logical step? I am not sure....but this is something that should be researched by a team of professionals What happens when all of the parties and celebrations are over? How does an athlete adjust to life? I read in the paper today that several members of the Cameroon Olympic squad have left the games without permission. Where did they go? Are they starting their new lives in England or have they moved on to another location? Did they get jobs or will they travel and find their bliss? Europe is amazing this time of the year, perhaps they are going to get a transit pass and tour the sights.

With that said, it is time to accomplish some of my own goals.....no medals involved...just a pay check to pay the mortgage....

Enjoy!