Still a Wonderful Attitude

I was in a store yesterday and they were putting up their Christmas decorations! Is it Christmas already and my goodness where has this year gone?? I can say that last year (2007) was the lost year and this year has been the found year. Yes, I spent roughly the first two months in “captivity” but like the animal that has been released into the wild (okay maybe not the best analogy) my eyes continue to be wide open all the time and here it is with only two months remaining in the year. I can remember that first Christmas where all I wanted to do is get through those days and now I am still in amazement being out in the “free world” even though I am in my 8th month since my release. Time does fly and time is such a precious commodity that I cherish each and every moment.

This morning I was back to the early morning wake up but because the games weren’t early in the morning I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn but as dawn cracked!! I had a semi-long run of 14 miles which went very well. I have given up on the IPod for now but my mother has secured quite possibly the same headphones I wore while I served my sentence. Thankfully these are available to the “free” world and I should be receiving them sometime next week so I continue to run sans the IPod which is alright by me. This morning went well and I am once again well on my way to running a third marathon since my release.

The workout was over and I returned home to find most everyone awake and out of bed with the exception of my daughter. This girl does enjoy her sleep and with a little coaxing she was able to “rise and shine” to start her day. My daughter’s game was about 45 minutes prior to my son’s game which meant I could only watch a few batters to start the game before making my way with my son to his game. I did watch my daughter warm-up and I did see her first at bat where she walked. I didn’t get a chance to see her start the game but I would receive a report on that later.

I made my way with my son to his field which is a short 10 minute drive away from where my daughter plays her games. I had warmed up my son with my daughter’s team so he didn’t need much warming up when he got to the field. I could tell something was amiss while my son was fielding ground balls because he kept missing them and being very casual in his approach. I had to admonish him a few times and he seemed to get better. Well it was one of those days for my son and he had a very rough day hitting the ball. In fact he didn’t hit the ball all game striking out in all four at bats and it appeared he was just not seeing the ball very well. He was certainly mired in a slump and as I watched he catch he had a difficult time picking up the ball as well. I don’t know what to attribute this to so we will chalk it up to just one of those days.

It was a very tough day but my son maintained his incredible upbeat attitude. He didn’t cry, scream, kick or throw his bat at all. He wasn’t exactly happy and seemed mystified how he kept missing the ball. He is very capable of hitting the ball and it does seem like a confidence thing as his confidence has been shaken; however; I have complete confidence he will shake out of this. As the game ended which was won by my son’s team quite handily I got a full report on my daughter’s game as she arrived at the field. It was a great day for her and as bad as it was on Tuesday it was great today for her. She pitched that first inning giving up NO runs and not surrendering a walk. She was all smiles and wanted to go to the batting cages which were right down the street from the baseball fields.

I asked my son if he wanted to go and he gave an adamant “yes” hoping he would snap out of his slump. We made our way to the batting cages and I watched my son and daughter bat. My daughter was hitting the ball very well but my son kept missing the balls even in the batting cages. I noticed he wasn’t keeping his hide still and told my son to just watch the ball and try to bunt the ball. He actually bunted and made contact very well so I know he can see the ball then I told him to keep his head still when he swings. He started to do this and started to make contact. His confidence rose and he started to make more consistent contact the next few balls. He needed to get some practice in and thankfully he wanted to practice. This was the key wanted to practice and I don’t want to force him to do anything so it was good that he was interested in the practice. Hopefully come his next game which is on Wednesday he will start making contact once again. The child does have some skills and has exhibited very good hitting skills over the season so it is surprising to see that he didn’t make contact during the game at all. I think he made the proper adjustments and will remember to keep his head still when hitting the ball.