Let the Games Begin

Today was the first day of the rest of our lives. More spec- ifically, today was the first day of t-ball. We signed Jaz and Luke up to play through the town's recreation department, and in doing so signed away our Saturday mornings for the next 10 years.

There isn't anything much cuter than a group of 4 and 5-year-olds playing baseball. Adding to the cuteness factor is the team uniform of t-shirts 4 sizes too big. I don't entirely understand this part of the plan, since I can't imagine Luke and Jaz will want to wear shirts that say "t-ball" on them when they're 12 (which is when the shirts will actually fit). Perhaps the point is just to exemplify the fact that the kids are probably too little to really play the game. Whatever the reason, it is extra endearing for sure.

Here are some shots of Jaz, the all-star player in the infield:

Clearly, he is having a great time.

Things did pick up a bit, and he got a chance to practice catching and throwing. I love the look of concentration on his face.

But what about our other all-star player? Didn't I say that we had signed Jaz and Luke up for t-ball? True to form, Luke was excited to watch Jaz play but had absolutely zero interest in playing himself. He sat in my lap and ate rice cakes instead. But he kept his eyes on the game the whole time.It's a shame that you have to be four years old to play, because Zeb would have happily taken Luke's place on the team.It was all we could do to keep him off the baseball diamond.

Towards the end of practice, Luke was starting to warm up a bit and decided he was ready to put on his shirt and hat. Progress! He happily danced around on the grass next to the diamond and seemed totally comfortable. He says that next week he'll be ready to play. We'll see.Jaz was so proud of himself, and so pleased with the whole scene. He's already counting down the days until next Saturday. The boys' team name is "The Red Sox," which thrills them to no end, but I think it also confuses them a little. On the way home, Jaz asked, "so, does this mean that we'll always be on the Red Sox team? And then when we're dads we'll be on the Red Sox on tv?" Umm, not exactly . . . but a boy can dream, right?