I'm back!!

Greetings! Tink and I are back from the south and dad remains to help Pop sort through a number of issues. It was a sad weekend, yet the life of the Southern Belle was filled with energy and excitement. She and Pop had traveled together to 99 countries over their years together. They were blessed with children and grandchildren. She was laid to rest in a style befitting of a southern belle....underneath a large, graceful tree laden with Spanish moss in a bucolic setting. May she rest in peace.



On to life and the big guy. I saw him this weekend for less than 24 hours as Tink and I sat in the Atlanta airport for over 8 hours. What did we do to bide our time? Well, the answer is 'not much'. Since we were on 'stand by', we could not move and had to watch each flight  unload and load as we waited for our names to be called...which they were not. Warning...airport food is raunchy.....bring granola bars when you travel. By 4 o'clock, I was ready to fly my own plane to our destination.....

Anyway, the kid was ready to start on Sunday night after his elbow finally felt normal. He had visited Yoda a few weeks back and once he was cleared, he entered games from the bullpen...ahhh, I remember those years in the bullpen as if it were yesterday...oh wait, those days were like yesterday since he only began to start games in April.



Back to the start day....he flew from Savannah on Saturday night and landed in St. Louis at 11:30 pm. Since I am a neurotic mother, dad made sure that he had a hotel room in St. Louis so that he did not have to drive that night after an exhausting weekend. As such, he landed in a king size bed and slept through 5 alarms and wake up calls. Finally, the hotel room pounded on his door making sure that he was alive at 11:30.....I guess the guy was tired, eh?

As he started his journey back to the Land of Lincoln, he had....wait for this.....a car accident.....that's right. A man backed his car at a red light into the guy's front bumper. Sheesh! All I could think of once I found out that he was safe was that this was a bad way to start the day. Although, after an accident, it could only get better, right?



As per the usual pre game start, I got my usual text with the usual message which includes: "I will make you proud of me...."

Seriously, a mom could not have a better son than this one. I am already proud of the big dude.....then he went to work and carved.....and carved the plate.

Here are the final stats before he was taken out when his legs gave out.....5 ip, 2 er, 1 bb, 6 K's, 1 hit batter.....the team lost the game BUT the coach was thrilled to have him back in the line up as he said:"We were able to stay competitive while he was on the mound." Nice words....He also broke 7 wood bats while on the mound. I think that this is a good thing....but am not really sure....



After he came off the mound, some of the players were peeved at him because he kept yelling trying to encourage them to hit and make plays. These guys, who are average ball players at best, were not to thrilled with his passion trying to ignite them. So it goes....if he is silent, he is aloof; if he is yelling, he is a )6%&$#. Can't ever win this battle...so stop trying....

Anyway, it is now the All Star break and he has three days off to recover and get the car fixed. The damage was minimal, but it has to be fixed.

Once again...dad and I are going to try to see a few games this weekend. That's right. I have tried twice to get there and my plans have gone awry, therefore, I vow to get there this weekend. Hopefully nothing will stop me.....except, perhaps....life itself.....

With that said, I am back to work and have to earn my pay check....

Peace!