By The Way, They Won 7 - 5.

Last night was the first game of the spring baseball season. This is Jackson’s second time to play, but it’s still something new. Last fall he played in a coach-pitch league. Now he’s in kid-pitch. While it might seem scary to have eight and nine year olds throwing fastballs at each other, none of the batters were hit by any of last night’s pitches. That’s more than I can say for the first game of our coach-pitch team.

But that really doesn’t have anything to do with what I want to say today. It’s just funny.

The season-opener was last night at 7pm. I cringed when I got the news. The game starts at seven? On a school night? Oh, boy. Our kids usually go to bed at 7:30. Life is just plain easier when they go to bed on time, but sometimes we just have to let that go. It’s the season-opener, after all.

There were some challenges, of course. Jackson spent much of the afternoon in uniform. We ate a wind-blown picnic dinner at the ball fields while wondering if we were indeed in the right place. Parker is a restless little guy, who doesn’t enjoy sitting on bleachers for extended periods of time. The boys went to bed two hours later than usual.

But all of these challenges are also provided great moments to be enjoyed.

Jackson spent much of the afternoon in uniform, including the time spent with our HomeTeam. How cool is it to go to non-sports-related places while dressed in your full uniform? Yeah, I play baseball. We’re headed out to the fields right after this. My uniform IS awesome, isn’t it? I know he likes running around in that getup.

We ate a wind-blown picnic dinner at the ball fields. We didn’t see any of J’s teammates, so we kind of wondered if we had come to the right place. But that’s only because we were really early, so we got to take our time enjoying our meal. It was windy and a little chilly, but a beautiful day. And I would always rather be cold than hot. Eating at a ball field picnic table is different than eating in my dining room, but it was a chance for my family to sit down around a table and share a meal. I can’t ask for more than that! When we were done eating, Andy and J went to warm up and Parker and I read a chapter from a library book.

Parker doesn’t really enjoy sitting on the bleachers to watch the game. We can only manage to focus his attention on the field when Jackson is up to bat. Even then, he may not watch the whole thing. Instead, Parker scaled the chain link backstop, ran footraces with Andy, and paced back and forth on the low stone wall between our field and the next, lost in the world of his imagination. Every outing with Parker is an adventure.

When we finally got home and got the boys showered, brushed, and jammied, it was 9:30. Exhausted, they happily fell into bed and quickly drifted off to dreamland.

While we won’t be taking the whole family to any more 7pm school-night games, I’m glad we were all there last night to kick the season off right. I’m looking forward to the rest of the games, watching Jackson play and entertaining Parker (or should I say being entertained BY Parker) in the stands.

Lord, thank you for the lesson. I'll try to remember it this time.

Quite a while ago, when our boys were just beginning their interest in Legos, we discovered what seemed to be a good thing. In one of the new Lego packages, Jackson found a form that you could send in to receive a free two year subscription to The Lego Club Magazine. The offer boasted of articles, instructions, and pictures sent in by subscribers. Sounds like a cool thing for a budding Lego enthusiast, right?

Oh my gracious… what a mistake! Yes, the magazine has some articles, instructions, and photos of random things constructed with Legos. But mainly, this publication is a catalog. No wonder it’s free! My kids want nearly everything they see within the pages. They ask us to buy them and, after we say no, they vow to save every penny they earn until they have enough money to buy the things they want. Sheesh.

Last year, the “I wants” reached an all-time high. Andy and I determined that these Lego catalogs are the root of the problem. So, I started intercepting the mail before the boys could check it, putting the offending magazines directly into the trash. Not surprisingly, as the magazines disappeared, the attitude faded. End of story? Oh, no. I wish it were.

I can’t explain why, but I decided that the boys would like to see the new magazine when it came in the mail. And so I gave it to them. Ugh. Really, I wish I could explain why I would do such a thing. What at first seemed like a sweet, generous, caring action has revealed itself to be quite the opposite. Because of the attitude that this magazine invokes in my little Parker, he now sees me as mean, withholding, and cruel. Why won’t I just buy him these toys that his happiness hinges on? I’m not kidding. He has shed bitter tears over his lack of new Lego toys more than once in the past week.

It sounds over the top to say that Satan tempted me and tricked me into it. It sounds cliché and blame shifting of me. But seriously. The sunshiny cheery voice in my head that sold me on giving the boys these magazines has quickly turned in a stormy maniacal laugh, ridiculing me for my own stupidity. I hate that.

Like I said, this “magazine” was discovered quite a while ago. I think we just have to be nearing the end of the two-year sentence, right? It doesn’t matter. I won’t be bringing another one into my house.

Sadly, I know that it will take quite some time to undo this damage. But thankfully it can be undone. I will rid my household of all Lego magazine paraphernalia, and slowly my little Parker will forget about this drama. I, however, will remember this lesson for years and years to come.

Break out the mom jeans and minivan.

We've always known that our children would someday need serious orthodontia. Both Andy and I are veterans of the Metal Mouth Club who previously faced a variety of issues. We wore braces, rubber bands, retainers. There was even involvement of a pallet spreader and headgear. Sadly, our poor children inherited all of our dental problems. The boys made their first trip to our orthodontist on Monday. Those were some scary looking x-rays, my friends. I shouldn't have been surprised.

So today, suddenly, Jackson has braces. I can't believe I have a kid who is old enough to have braces. Scratch that. I can't believe that I am old enough to have a kid who is old enough to have braces. I always thought that I would be older when my boys were ready for such things. I pictured myself, I don't know, more mom like. I'd put on my mom jeans, slurp a glass of Metamucil while I watch the news, load the kids up in my minivan, and drive them to the middle-aged man orthodontist. Cliche. My imagined scene was very different than the reality of my life, which I consider a great blessing!

Jackson is doing very well. He watched Ice Age the Meltdown while reclining in the dental chair, seemingly oblivious to the hands and tools at work on his teeth. He doesn't really have anything to compare this experience to, so all he says is that it's "weird" to have braces.

Parker is fascinated. He stares and asks questions. On the ride home from our orthodontist, he said, "Jackson, I really like your braces. I can't wait until I can have braces, too. I'm going to start wiggling my teeth tonight so they'll fall out sooner." Lord help him. Actually, don't help him. P's mouth is such train wreck... the last thing he needs is for his little baby teeth to come out too soon!

Has anyone seen my comfort zone?

I know it’s around here somewhere… I was just hanging out in my comfort zone, wearing sweatpants and reading blogs. One day, I went out for tea and I haven’t really seen my beloved comfort zone since.

Last fall, my calendar was looking pretty full. I was volunteering at school, volunteering at church, shuttling the kids around, trying to be a good friend, and especially trying to be a good wife. I was making myself BUSY.

Then in December, when I got really sick, I had to stop all of those things. Truly, I had to. Even the good wife part, which totally broke my heart. I wasn’t much of a wife at all. I told Andy that I felt like a really imposing guest. “Hey… I’m just going to be in your house, eating, sleeping, coughing, and generally looking ill. For a long, long time. And I’m going to sleep in your bed, but don’t touch me. Not that you would want to, considering the condition I’m in.” He just laughed and continued to insist that I rest and not feel guilty about it. I needed to be SILENT and STILL.

Now I’m much closer to health. Sometimes I find myself overly confident and trying to do too much, but a quick cough or pain reminds me that I am still healing. I, myself, can do nothing. It is only through God and for His purposes that I can get out of bed in the morning. Lately I have been slowly getting back into my life, in the order set by my priorities. Andy, our family, our church, our friends, the kids’ school. Someday I’ll get yard work and cleaning back on my list, but I don’t want to push it. Now I can be USEFUL.

This winter was a season of true hibernation for me. Now I have woken up, smelled the flowers, and felt the sun. And through all of this, I have definitely felt the Son! I’ve found that parts of this new usefulness have drawn me out of the den of my comfort zone, and I’m not particularly interested in finding my way back.

That’s okay. A comfort zone isn’t such a bad thing to lose.

Break a Leg!

Tonight is a big night in the Boyd house. We have several different things going on, which I generally try to avoid, but sometimes it can’t be prevented. And that’s okay. It keeps things interesting, and it is what it is.

Andy is teaching the second installment of a Bible study class at Fellowship Church Downtown, called “Jesus Who?” While I will miss having him with us for our other festivities tonight, I am glad that he has this opportunity to teach. He loves it, and I love him!

The children and I have our own plans. We are going to have dinner a little earlier than usual, and we are having a family favorite: pizza. Plus, we’re going to have fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert. (We don’t always have dessert, so this is a major highlight for the children.) We are eating early because tonight is Open House at school. I know both of the boys are excited about showing off their classrooms and the work that they have hanging in the hallways.

But tonight is not only Open House… It is also the night of the Kindergarten Program, “The Three Piggy Opera.” You’ll never guess what it’s about. Parker has the very prestigious role of Narrator, an honor that he shares with only three other schoolmates. I am SO excited about it! Yesterday I went to the Walmart and bought a new memory card and batteries for the camera. I want to capture P’s theatrical debut on film so that Andy and others who miss the live performance will be able to watch it later. I am just praying that the kids don’t get stage fright! P just read this over my shoulder and said, “They never get stage fright. ‘Cause they’ve practiced it a ton!” Notice the use of the word they. He doesn’t seem to realize that he’s one of the kids, and stage fright doesn’t usually hit you during rehearsals… it’s that big live audience, with all their staring eyes and camera lenses. But I’m not going to tell him. I don’t want to freak him out.

Break a leg, my boys!

Here I am, starting another thing. Blogging. I start a lot of things. I get excited about ideas or events or possibilities, and so I begin. I begin to plan, arrange, gather supplies. A couple of months ago, a friend stood in my living room with an expression on her face that I can only discribe as offended and said, "Hey... you don't have a blog. Why don't you have a blog?" I never really considered it. But of course, that got me thinking. Why don't I have a blog? What I would I say if I did have one?

Just a few minutes ago, I was putting a fresh set of candles on the piano and thinking about all the things that are coming up in my life. Events at church, household projects, the change of season, and on and on. Ah, this is an exciting time! I sighed to myself. And then I thought, Why am I keeping this to myself? These are God's blessings, and I want to talk to someone about them. So here we are. I think this makes a good blogging subject, especially for me, since I always seem to be excited about something.

Today I'm excited about this new avenue of expression. Tomorrow I'll post about something else that I am excited about! But right now I need to finish setting out those new candles.