Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got Nobody

OK, it's Saturday night and Diva and I are stuck with one another.

Dad and Tink made it to the stadium after a 13+ hour drive. Our little Diva is lying next to me, almost in a coma. She perked up for 30 seconds while I gave her chicken and an antibiotic. Now, I sit with Diva watching a Barbra Streisand show on PBS. OYE! Could I be more bored or what? I just broke into the remnants of Tink's Easter candy and grabbed a Snickers.....oh man....got to get moving here....or something.

I'll try to get the game on the computer, but honestly, I had planned to be away for the weekend and never for a million years thought that I would be sitting on the sofa with my laptop and watching Streisand as I sit with a sick dog. Is there something wrong with me? I don't even like Streisand....OK, she has talent, but is not my style. Now, if we are talking Springsteen and his music or even Paul Simon, then I would be a bit happier. Actually, nothing is making me happy tonight....although the Snickers helped a bit.

Tink emailed photos of the stadium to me tonight. The game is sold out. The stands are filled and there are fire works tonight. It sounds like fun. Huh? More fun than hanging out with old Easter candy, a sick dog, and Barbra? Yep....a lot more fun.....

By the way, as I sit and type, Barbra and her son, Jason just sang a duet together..."how far would I travel to be with you?" Fascinating....since we are chatting about traveling to see my son play ball. Apparently, Barbra and Jason would travel many miles to be with one another....OK, but who did the driving? Did she take a private plane or hit the turnpike? Limo, perhaps?  Did she drive through West Virginia or did Jason drive while mom paid the bill? Did they eat Skittles or Snickers? I guess we are alike and not alike. If I had BS's money, I would have had my driver take me to the game and my housekeeper watch the dog. She might have a ton of money, but is she happy? Uh, yeah...she looks very happy and healthy.

Back to the game.....More tidbits....dad had to pay for parking. What? For a minor-minor league team?

Also, the stadium is in a sketchy place. Tink is a bit nervous about the location. At least they found a 24 hour IHOP for pancakes after the game. After all, the game will end around 10 and they will probably be hungry. When we lived in Ohio, we ate pancakes after most games at an open all night IHOP. The only problem seemed to be the armed guard at the to door. Although, I guess I was happy that we were guarded.....Talk about sketchy....

And so, here we sit reflecting upon the last few days and am happy to hang out with the dog. Dad promised me that I could go to 'team poster' night in a few weeks. That's a deal. Until then, I will play Florence Nightingale to our diva, sing along with Babs, and hope the medication kicks in.

Thanks for putting up with my musings. I am not used to being by myself....kind of lonely....

Oh well....back to the remote control....could there be anything better on television? I would even settle for a housewife show....hoarders?


Peace!

Sick little pup

No westward ho for this momma....at least not today. Our poor Diva has been sick for a few days and when I took her to the vet yesterday, I was told that she had a fever and needed to be monitored. So, I am here.....in my home office....waiting.....



What happened to Diva? Well, she has been incredibly tired for the last few days and not herself. She slept all of the time, then she started to vomit yesterday. After her visit with the vet, I was told to bring her back today at 10 am for a temperature check which was higher than yesterday's temp. Then she had to have fluids, a shot of penicillin, and blood work ($$$$$$$). Most of the lab work was fine but she has lyme disease antibody in her blood. And now it all makes sense....poor pup....Lyme disease.....yikes!




And so, the decision to stay home was a good one as I monitor Diva...give her antibiotics...and pepcid. That's right. She can have pepcid for her tummy....



All is not lost. The team has a link for people to follow the game in actual time. So, I will be hooked up to the computer tonight as I watch Diva.....and the game as little computerized men run around the bases and throw balls.



Have a nice day!

Westward ho

Good morning! It's time to hit the road and take in a few baseball games. Yep, Tink, dad, and I will point the car west and take the turnpike and not stop until we hit Pittsburgh. Why Pittsburgh? I dunno....dad picked it. Tomorrow, we continue the journey until we arrive in western Illinois. Fun, eh? I will probably be the person saying 'when do we get there?' Remember those days in the back of the station wagon?


 

I do...actually, if you are a regular reader, you know that my dad drove a VW beetle and we had 6 kids. In those days, there were no seat belts, an AM radio, and no trunk except for a small spot in the front of the car.

 


We squeezed in and sat in one small spot for hours. No one could blame me (except my siblings) for getting car sick and being tossed by BP grandmom onto the side walk to vomit. I believe that there is a sign on Lafayette Avenue in Conshohocken dedicated to me as the regular spot where I generally threw up on the way to Bullpen Great Grandmom's home.

 


Also keep in mind that there were not functioning windows in the back of the Beetle and no air conditioning, so we were in a little bug that had no ventilation. Did we complain? Nope, we did not know any better until we got older and saw that other people had bigger cars and did not have to sit on the back seat floor. Imagine our surprise when the folks finally bought a station wagon and the back windows opened. It certainly smelled better in the back and the amount of my car sickness dropped precipitously.



Sorry for the review of history....back to today's journey...Tink is in charge of the snacks which include...yes...the big bag of Skittles that is in the pantry, granola bars, pretzel goldfish and water. I have not touched the Skittles since our last trip....Weight Watchers does not even have it on their list of points. What about our peanut butter sandwiches? Well, dad does not travel this way and won't eat them, so we will probably stop at a Chick fil-et (the only fast food place that I will eat in....although I do eat Skittles...yes, I am a bit of a food hypocrite on this one).

 


Last night the team won after coming from a 6 run deficit in the 8th inning. Now, the big lefty's college team never would have come from behind to win. They did not have that fight in them. Although my theory is....the opposing starting pitcher was taken out in the 7th and the bullpen could not keep the lead. Just a theory....

With that said, I got to finish packing and getting ready for the dog walker. Judy loves Diva....Diva loves Judy....but Diva loves Tink more and will go into some kind of depression while Tink is gone. Although, something is up with our Diva. She now has the cone off her head yet she has not perked up and no longer jumps up and down when I arrive home. Is she angry with me? Was it the cone? She has been sleeping most of the day and does not have the energy she once had....Perhaps it is the fact that her hair is too long and matted. While she had the cone on her head, the doctor would not let her go to the trimmers. So, our Diva looks abandoned.

 



Not wanting to traumatize her since her entire body is going to be shaved next week, I contacted one of those mobile dog groomers who will come to the hose next Wednesday morning to groom her. I know that he will shave the entire body. Fortunately, Tink can stand with the dog while the groomer gets rids of the matting. Oye!







OK, time to go....



Peace!

Bullpen Mom 2.0

Good morning! It's a drizzly day and somewhat cool. After experiencing temperatures in the 80's and now they are 60ish, I am wondering what is in Mother Nature's mind....

Tonight begins the summer baseball season and the guys are headed to Indiana for the first game. No, the kid is not pitching until Sunday night which has made our decision to travel an easy one.



Let's first review the life of BP mom for a moment....the reason that I started this blog was to share with family and friends the convoluted road to the majors if there is one. Further, there seem to be a need to defend the big lefty since people especially his peers did not understand why he was the way that he was. In other words, he worked, slept, ate, studied, and played ball. He sacrificed a normal adolescence and young adulthood for a goal...a dream.....he refuses to leave anything on the field except his heart and soul. Therefore, here is his story which in a way is our story.....actually, it is my story.



The title "Bullpen Mom" was created since I was the mother of a bullpen pitcher....a wannabe starter. I would attend games and wait and wait and wait for the kid to be handed the ball. Sometimes, I would travel a great distance and watch my player spit and cuss in the bullpen never making it into a game. It would frustrate him and make me sad knowing that he could be out there making a difference for the team.



Although, I have to be really clear....I have witnessed over the years, parents and players who were not only clueless but unrealistic in their expectations. They would think that their son and daughter were heads and shoulders above their peers. Fortunately, I never thought that way. In fact, I went to the opposite end of the scale as I worried a great deal when the kid was put into a tight situation. Yet, over the years, he began to demonstrate not only a high baseball IQ but a work ethic that was unparallelled. His body, which he inherited, was developed into a pitcher's physique and he worked even harder on his competitive nature. In fact, I would never, ever want to be a batter facing him. Last week, his fast ball went through the catcher's mitt and hit him on the chest. Another pitcher wanted to work out with him but dropped out during the warm up. This, folks, is the reason for his success. He does not stop until he is perfect. Hopefully, it will bode well for him as he settles into a life after college.

On to this weekend...he is scheduled to pitch on Sunday night. This is indeed a new phenomenon for us. In fact, in the old days, Tink and I would have hit the road yesterday to watch tonight's game hoping that he would be called in. What a reversal of fortune! We can now plan trips. This is a huge shift in our lifestyle as we now have a date and time set for a future start.



And so, this summer begins a newer, more prepared BP mom....in fact, we can call it BP Mom 2.0. That's right. This is a new version....we are now focusing on each pitch, velocity, placement, and strike out rather than the question...'will he make it in this game or not?'

It's fascinating how life works. The highs and lows that this kid has experienced have molded him into what he is today....which is a guy who has confidence....wants the ball in a tight situation....will never back down from a challenge....

This is it. The road has been bumpy and will continue to be tortuous, but he will navigate it with the skills that he has as well as family and friend support.

Wow...BPM 2.0...whaddya know?

Peace!

Boredom has set in

Hi! I am 0-something in tennis...can't seem to pull out a win....Is it mental? Hmmm...perhaps I should be more mentally tough rather than thinking about what I am going to have for dinner during a match. Perhaps I should hang up my sneakers....After all, I am not doing the team much good by being a consistent loser. I went from undefeated last year (almost....OK, I lost a few) to can't win at all. Do I need a shrink? New racquet? Sneakers? I wore my lucky clothes but nothing....nada.....Does it really matter when I think of all the troubles and issues in the world? Yeah, actually it does, just a bit. Oye! Enough about my losing tendencies and off to Illinois....the land of Lincoln.



I finally got a call last night. "I'm bored."

Boredom has set in. The guys are bored when they are not practicing. Jeep is home sick.

"So what are you doing?"

"Well, we went to the bar at Chilis and for $5.00, you can eat all the chips that you want. So we ordered water and chips and sat there, ate, and watched the play offs." I am sure Chili's management loved that one.

 

Anything else?

"Well, we go to stores and walk around. We don't have any money so we don't buy anything."



Mall rats.

Have you tried the library? You can take books and movies out. There is no fee. Also, the chairs are comfortable and you can read. That 4 letter word....read....relax....free Wifi......

"I have a book."

Nice....that should get you through the summer.....

Are you eating?

"Yesterday, they took the team to TGIF's to sign autographs and gave us free food. Only 9 people showed up, five of which were from the team. Jeep and I played hang man on a Styrofoam cup for  2 hours."

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the weekend saga of two guys on the road. One is homesick, the other is looking for free food. Games begin on Thursday night and we will have some news at that point. The big kid mentioned that there is a kid from South America on the team and he is one of the few guys who can communicate with him. Yes, three years of college Spanish has converted into some conversation with a lonely young man.

More boring tidbits to follow!

Later!

On his own...with dad's money

Happy Memorial Weekend....many thanks for the men and women who fought for our freedom. I, for one, am appreciative of their sacrifices and efforts on our behalf.

On to the big left handed traveler....he finally made it to St Louis and ran into a line at the car rental counter. He says that there were 30 people ahead of him which is code for possibly 8. He is not  a man of patience. Therefore, he texted his father about the line and stood there breathing.....seething.....oye. Got to let it go, dude. This will not be the only long line that you are in....there are others....

1. supermarket
2. Oil change
3. Macy's at Christmas time
4. free ice cream at the ball park
5. waiting for the cable repair man
6. contacting the phone company
7. the doctor's office....
8. Haunted Mansion in Disney World

And  so, my suggestion is to learn to wait.

Although, he has been the master of waiting and breathing. He has waited 4 long years to start in a baseball game and by jingo....he is not starting not only at school but for the summer team...which I will call "The Turtles." As a Turtle, he takes the mound in the 3rd starting position and will start the game next Sunday....meaning.......

Yes, BPM, the road warrior, takes the wheel of the car and points it west....drives until she needs either coffee or a new tank of gas and gets to the ball park in time for a bathroom break and hot dog then watches her baby boy cuss, spit, cuss, throw, spit some more, and strike out the side.

I do believe that since there is no pitching coach on the Turtle staff, he has the freedom to call his pitches and try to strike out the batters. At school, his hands are tied and he must abide by the coach's demands. Further, he has to lift weights on the day of his start and not work on his velocity. This summer he has the option to do his Pitching Doctor work and without supervision and constant criticism may be able to handle the pressures.

By the way, this league that he is in is far superior to the one in Ohioooo. Yep, the team takes buses everywhere, there was no joining fee, and they are given food. In Ohio, during their down time, they had to paint the stadium. There was a fee...no food....the travel to games was on their own. It is like comparing little league to the minors.

Although, I am still paying...air fare....car rental....mattress....apartment....food.....and so on. Oh, yeah...they were late to pick up the apartment keys and beds, soooo....they were in a hotel last night.....Sweet......Will this end? Dunno. Hope so. After all, he has had his opportunity. Let's see where he goes with it next Sunday....when I am in the stands, watching with the rosary, my lucky Cheetah sneakers, and bag of carrots (got to change my diet).





Time for exercise...

Peace!