Rubber meets the road

Friday afternoon 
Hi
Got the airplane tickets for Sunday at 6 am. I do believe that this is going to actually happen and I will be able to make my way to Illinois...then return home again by driving along the interstate. The ride home seems to be 12 hours and change per Mapquest. Can we do this type of driving in a day? Perhaps......Probably....Do I want to drive in one day? Perhaps......Probably.....My thoughts are that the car is going to stink with sweaty clothes and dirty cleats. This type of aroma can give a girl a headache or ten....


The sofa....ahhh.....it sits in a locker somewhere.....with his other stuff.....

Where is he going to live in September?

Answer: Who knows

What courses will he take at school?

Answer: No one knows

How will he pay for this last/fifth year in college?



Answer: God knows.....perhaps He should open up the heavenly vault...'cause we don't have it here....Dad swears  that he is done paying for college. He wants the big kid to act 'manly' and 'man up' and share with him his plan for success. It is obvious that the big plan for success in Illinois has absolutely nothing to do with the big guy's future...

Now here comes another question.....

What has he been doing all summer? He did not work...complete his internship......nothing.....he did work out....fly home for Yoda to check on his arm....fly south to attend a family funeral.....but what has he done of substance? I don't know. But my mantra is "failing to plan is planning to fail...." Just sayin'



Monday morning

Ok, we made it to Illinois through Philly, Detroit, and St. Louis. Late Saturday night, I got a call...."Mom, I am not pitching tomorrow night."

Huh? What? Seriously? I just bought airplane tickets (non refundable) to Missouri. This is not a trip that I would normally take unless I had to. In fact, if I had my druthers, my tickets would be for an isolated Hawaiian beach and not St.Louis, but the things that we do for people that we love far exceed the boundaries of common sense.

So, when are you going to pitch?

"Monday night.You see, there will be a scout in the stands looking at the other pitcher and the coach wanted me on the mound so that he could see me too." Makes sense....Dad is going to have to change his return  ticket to Tuesday morning....$$$$

Nonetheless, this is pretty darn exciting....and now it is here. The scout...yes, the guy who we have been waiting for.....in the stands...watching the game....my boy on the mound throwing 90's. A dream come true....yet....could this turn out to be a nightmare? What if he out thinks himself? What if he lets his emotions take over? What if he has a really bad game? OYE!



Now, I am nervous....so what to do? Well, I have a craving for Skittles again (sorry Beast, I tried to eliminate this habit) but I have to go back to what has worked in the past. So, let's see....Skittles.....check...rosary...check....lucky sneakers....got 'em......prayers....ongoing.....gotta sit on the right side of the stadium....check......deep yoga breathing......zen out.....ready......

And now, here we go.....

I will not be able to post until we get home unless I have a computer tomorrow....just in case....fingers, toes, and eyes crossed...say a prayer for peace and calm....he's ready to sign folks. He does not have a place to live in the fall......wouldn't is be nice if he could have his dream come true now and not next June?

By the way, whatever happens, either good or bad, does not matter. What is in the cards for the future has to be amazing. After all, he has all the tools necessary (except the sofa thing) to make it in our world. Let's all sit back and watch.....

Peace!

Quiet time

I'm back! I had lots of end of the year work to do plus a large college senior came home for a few days. Originally, we thought that we had a week to get things ready for his big Illinois adventure but as fate would have it....OK, not fate...the kid did not read his email, he has to report to his summer team on Friday at 5p. When was this discovered? How about last night?
 


Let's look at the events leading to Friday....on Monday, he had a final meeting with the Czar and his staff. The staff including the Psycho pitching coach were complimentary. The Czar...not so much. It is obvious that they will never...ever....ever be best friends. In fact, I am pretty confident that they will never live in the same town or state when this is over. Nonetheless, the meeting was sort of positive.

The big kid claims that he will never go back. My interpretation is as follows: he hates it but won't jump and will stay for his last year of eligibility. Although, he assured me that he would be picked up after this summer...nice....dream....or is it reality? I don't know, the lines are blurred.



Now the plan is that he will fly out on Friday to join the team rather than the two of us hitting the turnpike and heading west. I will bring his car out to him next week, then fly home. I have a huge bag of Skittles to get me there although the aforementioned Skittles gave me a huge backside, so I best look to other ways to stay alert and move away from sugar.

Since he has been home, we have chatted for approximately 12 minutes. He commented that my right arm muscle tone looked....how do you say it? Hmmmm...let's call it 'flaccid'. My muscle tone is gone and I need to figure out how to get it back with the elbow injury. Unfortunately, the injury prevents me from lifting weights or correcting the damage. So, I made an executive decision....tomorrow, I am undergoing...accupuncture....yep...me...a pincushion.



Will let you know how it goes as well as future plans.

Peace!

I like turtles

Good morning! It's foggy and matches my mood. On a good note, Big M is out of the hospital and will continue his journey toward healing on Friday. He was a happy guy as he reunited with Cupcake, Buttercup, Tuna, Leftie, and his healing dog. By the way, the healing dog does NOT bite nice people like Sparky. Let me repeat...the healing dog does not bite, bark, or growl....what did we do wrong?



OK, on to the mountains and the big leftie. I am in a state and think that a journey up north would be therapeutic for me, Tink, and dad. Even if we do not see a scrimmage, perhaps we can enjoy the fall colors as they hit their peak this weekend. He called and texted last night and had some interesting news...

First, the coach called him out in practice and called him an 'embarrassment.' OK, I get it. He likes you...he really likes you! No one would call a player out during a practice in front of everyone unless he knew that the kid could take it and if he expects him to reach his potential under his guidance. At least, that is what I think....According to the big kid, he 'owned it' because he did not pitch well during his bullpen. Gotcha....

Second, the coaches placed him on a team in Illinois for the summer. It's a prospect league with lots of major league scouts attending the games as well as a step up in competition. "Mom, I am going along with this plan. But we know that I will be in rookie ball since I will be drafted in June."

Hmmmm...nice.....optimism...a plan of action.....dare I say, 'prophetic?'

And so, going along with the coaches, I googled the team that he is on and discovered a few things....

1. The team is in the middle of no-where Illinois.
2. They travel by coach bus (no cars) to Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohiooooo, and West Virgina....
3. The team came in last place last year with only 11 wins.
4. The team mascot is a turtle.



And that is all that I know except he has to be there from late May until mid August. Can anyone say, 'when are you going to be home?' Or is this the start of the end and I can turn his room into an exercise or sewing room...a sauna would be nice too....perhaps a large cage for Diva dog? A boxed wine cellar? Game room? Library? Hockey rink? Prayer room?

I guess that I make a joke about it, but in a way, I realize that the big guy is on his way out of my home and ready to be launched into the world...his own world....just BPM circling on occasion when he needs an ear to listen or a cheesecake in the fridge.



Am I going to miss him? what do you think? Of course. I cried for two days when he left for college for the fourth time. One would think that I would be accustomed to seeing his back and backpack as he drives away. But this is life and he has to leave. Or does he? Can I keep him for a little while longer? He could pal around with me in the grocery store....we could work out together...watch the Hangover movies together....debate whether Vin Diesel is really a good actor or sham...shout at the Eagles on tv when Vick throws a pick or 5....I'll teach him how to play tennis and paddle...we could go on walks together....



Ok, enough of the weird mom-stuff. He is growing up fast and is ready to leave the home to begin his life. With a case of tissues (Puffs Plus with lanolin), I will say "See you later" as he drives off in the Southern Belle's old wheels.....sniff....Go Turtles!



Have a great day!