Yesterday afternoon was a rough one. Eamon had a baseball practice followed by Ambrose’s game. Dan brought the boys to the field but then had to return to work so I met them at the field (with the rest of the gang in tow) to take over. The weather was actually quite nice and at first the little ones had fun on the nearby swings and slides while the boys played ball.
But that soon got old. The sun ducked behind a large, ominous cloud. Mosquitoes swarmed. And, worst of all, we ran out of snacks. I draped a blanket over Raphael in his infant carrier to keep the bugs at bay and broke up a wrestling match between Gabrielle and Stephen in a tick-infested (I know this from prior experience) grassy spot. Kateri announced her boredom and Juliette struck up a conversation with an older boy who happened to be hanging around (I really have to watch that one!). Longingly, I glanced up at the clouds and prayed for a downpour.
No such luck. We got only spits and drizzle with a cool wind It was just enough to make us all miserable, but not quite enough to call the game. I counted the innings until at long last–yes!–it was over. But no, I was wrong. The score was tied, one of the coaches explained, and we would need to play an extra inning.
What? I thought a tied score was a good thing in little league games. Heck, back when Eamon played T-ball there was a grown-up conspiracy to convince the kids that every game ended in a tie. I guess we’re in the big leagues now, though, because we played that extra inning. When Ambrose’s team finally scored (I could kiss that kid who hit the game-winning double!) we went home.
Every last one of us was tired, dirty, hungry, and stinking of bug spray. I struggled to throw together some kind of dinner while the baby cried in my arms, Gabrielle whined and pulled on my legs, and the older kids drowned the bathroom in a mess of dirty towels and soapy puddles in an attempt to clean themselves. Somewhere in the midst of that chaos Dan showed up to lend a hand and somehow we managed to get everyone reasonably clean, changed, fed, and tucked into bed.
When at last a peaceful quiet fell upon the house, Dan handed me a Mike’s Hard Lemonade and we sat together on the couch. No matter where our crazy days bring us, I’m glad we always end them here together. Cheers… here’s to us!