Nobody Made an Out!!

Earlier in the week there was one of those potentially frightening moments. Thankfully in recovery I have come to admire the value of taking those moments one at a time and knowing everything no matter the outcome will work out for the very best. I filed the moment away but I did think about during the week. This did have to do with something that means a great deal to me. I do my best to simplify things in life and I know there are many small seeming inconsequential moments but those small inconsequential moments mean the world to me. This was no inconsequential moment nor was it small in any way, shape or form.

The things I value most are my family, my recovery and my friends; when one of these has a potential problem I can’t help but to be concerned. I hesitate to use the word worry because that is something I do my best to avoid since there is no good that can come of worrying. Worry is usually caused by events outside of my control so it makes no sense to worry about those things that I cannot change. However; this does not preclude me from being concerned. I wasn’t overly concerned but concerned nonetheless. All of this was dispelled yesterday and it was much ado about nothing. It was something we needed addressed and thankfully it is just part of growing up.

This morning I found myself at the gym very early before the day’s activities commenced. I didn’t have a long run schedule; in fact I stood by my word and took the week off from running. Instead of running I was in the gym at the early hour working out my core and riding the recumbent bicycle. Prior to training for marathons I would ride this apparatus exclusively. This is when I thought I was in good enough shape to run a marathon without really training. I was wrong and that first marathon was a nightmare but over the past six years I have improved my finishing time by over an hour which I value as quite an accomplished.

In terms of getting a good cardiovascular workout I do enjoy riding the recumbent bicycle since there is no wear and tear on the knees. This is truly a non-impact aerobic and just wanted I needed one week removed from running 26.2 miles. I still work-up quite a sweat and get my heart pumping. There are times where I would swear I get a better workout on the recumbent bicycle but I know running serves a very good purpose for me. This morning I rode the bicycle for an hour and had plenty of time to return home to get everyone out of bed.

Over the past month and a half my daughter has had the early games on Saturday and as fate would have it today my son had the early game while my daughter game was a more reasonable hour especially in her opinion!! My daughter tried to strike up a deal where she could stay home with my wife instead of going to her brother’s game but this didn’t fare so well for her. We all made our way out of the house and made our way to the baseball field. The weather was perfect as Southern California standards go with cool temperatures in the morning warming up in the afternoon. It was indeed a great day for a few ball games and what a day it turned out to be.

My son continued to hit the ball and today he got a hit in every at bat; going 5 for 5 and driving in 2 runs while scoring 3. He hussled his little butt off the entire game and made some very good plays in the field. He was so comfortable at the plate and behind the plate. In one of his at bats he went all the way down to the 6th pitch and wrapped that pitch up the middle for a base hit. He has really improved over the 11 games and turning into quite the player. His team returned to their winning ways with a 14-8 victory and the defense was much better this game.

As my son’s game ended we made our way over to my daughter’s game which is a short 10 minute drive. We arrived early for a change and there was a softball game going on the same field my daughter plays on. Of course I had to make a run home because my son forgot his helmet which meant he couldn’t utilize the skate park unless his helmet was retrieved. I drove home and picked up the helmet so my son could occupy his time at the skate park. I didn’t miss any of my daughter’s game because the preceding game had run over but finally ended 25 minutes behind schedule.

My daughter was the starting pitcher and what she lacks in speed she makes up in accuracy. She only walked one person but did give up the maximum 4 runs in the inning mostly due to errors since the opposing team was hitting the ball instead of receiving base on balls. My daughter took all of this very well and she was enjoying herself. This carried over to her hitting as she went 2 for 2 driving in 3 runs. Her second hit was her best hit of the season as she hit a solid single into the outfield on a fly. After the game was over my daughter wanted to know how close she was in hitting a homerun; I told her she did hit the ball far but had a few more feet for a homerun. She was very happy today and it didn’t matter that her team fell short losing 10-8.

My daughter also continues to improve and she is getting very comfortable at the plate and in the field. Both of my children are turning into very good athletes and thankfully they have their mother’s athletic gene and not mine!!! Yes, maybe I can run 26.2 miles but I don’t have the greatest eye hand coordination in the world and it appears my children do have some semblance of eye hand coordination which is okay by me!! This was a great Saturday and my children didn’t make any outs going a combined 7 for 7 having a wonderful day on the diamond.