Awesome Father/Daughter Day!!

Yesterday was spent with my children because from work we went to practice hitting at a local batting cage. As it turned out the batting cages we originally went to were closed but we were directed to another one nearby. This particular company was going out of business and yesterday was their last day so we were able to get a great deal. I probably saved at least 80% on the cost and we basically had the run of the place since no one was there. I split my time tending to both my son and daughter. I had to feed the balls in the pitching machine for my daughter and when this was done I went over to my son’s batting cage and watched him. I was also able to pitch to both my children and we had a great time.

Thankfully our children have the athletic genes of my wife’s family because my side of the equation is certainly lacking in this department. I may be able to run for a long while all thanks to my grandfather but as far as eye hand coordination this all comes from my wife’s family.

Both of our children are indeed good hitters and I was impressed with how far my daughter has come in the past two years. I have always suspected that our son had athletic ability because he has always been able to excel in most sports and he loves playing any sport. Our daughter has always had a very competitive spirit and she seems to be channeling this in the proper direction. It was a great deal of fun sharing the day with both of them.

The morning arrived and with it the weekend. Today would be a day with my daughter. She had her softball “evaluations” in the morning and my daughter was awake much earlier than normal because of the “evaluations”. She insisted I take her and no one else from the family was allowed to join us. I was very happy to comply with her wishes and we were off to the ball field early this morning.

We arrived with 56 other girls aged 10 and under for the softball “evaluations”. My daughter did not know any of the other girls but she felt very comfortable playing catch with a few of the girls for her warm-up. The event was very organized or as organized it can be with this many girls and parents on a baseball field. The purpose of the evaluation was to have teams with even ability so no team is “stacked” with talent.

Each girl was given five pitches to hit, there ground balls to field and there pop flies to catch. My daughter was one of the last girls to participate in each of the events and compared to the other girls my daughter did very well. On her five pitches she was able to make contact on each of them and not many of the other girls were able to do this. I was very impressed because this is fast pitch softball and the pitches were coming at my daughter very quickly yet she made contact. She was able to field the three grounders and make a very good throw to first base. The pop-ups were a bit of a challenge as she misplayed a few of them but overall she did very well and was very happy with her performance.

We stayed after the evaluations because my daughter wanted to tryout as a pitcher. She just started pitching at the end of last season so she does need more practice. There were a few pitchers who were throwing so hard I would have had a hard time hitting those pitches. However; my daughter’s attitude was very good and she felt great about her performance. She will have a great season and is looking forward to the start of the season in a few weeks.

After the softball evaluation I had an impromptu meeting which could lead to something very good. There are so many steps in this process I have no right going into to detail but at least I am being given an opportunity. I have no idea where all of this will end I will apply the principles of the Gamblers Anonymous Program must certainly taking it one moment at a time. The moment this afternoon was a great start and I will do my best in making this happen but I understand there are many “moving” parts out of my control so the Serenity Prayer will come in handy.

As the meeting ended I once again joined my daughter for the father/daughter day as we went to play golf. Ever since last weekend when I took my son golfing my daughter wanted me to take her golfing this weekend. Today we went golfing and had a wonderful time. Just like last week with my son we had the course to ourselves for the first few holes and my daughter hit some good shots and just like last week my daughter’s favorite part was driving the golf cart!!!

This was a wonderful father/daughter day indeed and I enjoyed each moment. Life continues to get better each and everyday and I love having my family back with me. Yes, I have missed the past two years of my children’s lives and there is no way I can get that time back. However; I can and I am making the best of everyday with them and today was a great day!!!