when rowan was born, kenny and i sat up at night staring at our sleeping newborn dreaming about all the adventures we'd get to take with him. we dreamed of his baptism, his first steps, meeting his future sibling, "going off to kindergarten," and all the fun sports, or arts teams he'd be a part of (his parents are of the artsy persuasion but we do know the importance and fun of being involved in sports. i was a cheerleader, afterall, so i know all about team S-P-I-R-I-T!).
tonight, rowan had his first t-ball practice. (sawyer's first practice is this saturday - stay tuned!) i thought for sure it would be canceled because it was cold and rainy. and his team is comprised of 4-5-year olds. we showed up, the rained slowed to a steady spit, and the wind kicked up a bit. the kids were all split up into teams (rowan is a marlin!) and practice started. the rain got heavier and steadier and the wind got stronger, so sawyer, adam, my mom and i headed to the car only after 10 minutes. kenny stayed with rowan who was oblivious to the rain and the cold:
after some warming up, the kids did some ball-tossing and catching. then they got to line up (ooh! standing in line!). here is rowan with his new friend. hey, why is she looking at that other boy? doesn't she know that rowan is the popular, most handsome choice for a lifelong mate new t-ball best friend?
did i mention how cold it was there? did i also mention that i headed back to the car with the other boys and my mom only after 10 minutes, and that practice was supposedly going to last another 50 minutes? in the rain and cold? for sure, the coach would cancel. after a few laps in the parking lot (in the warm, dry car), i noticed the orange and yellow teams getting let out. then the red team. i knew for sure that rowan's team was next. my little baby was getting cold and soaked and was probably dreadfully miserable out there! i looked up and saw his team take their places in the outfield while the purple team stood in line to hit the ball off the tee. they were the only two teams left. all the other smart and obviously parents to small children coaches let their teams go home. to their warm, dry homes. i watched rowan from the rainy car windows. he stood in the outfield. i dreamed of steamy cups of hot chocolate on our return home instead of the traditional stop for icecream after baseball practice.
by this time, sawyer complained loud enough that he was missing out, so he and my mom headed back out to the rainy field. my mom reported back to me that rowan took his place in the outfield quite seriously. he didn't move and inch. the entire team ran towards the ball that was hit, but rowan stood still. i think he got bored because he then began to pick around at the weeds around him, then tried to catch several raindrops on his tongue. i think kenny and i have some at-home coaching to do. (although a very smart mother of two baseball-playing sons warned me about this. she told me that if my child begins playing with the dirt, watching it filter through his baseball glove over and over, let him. take a picture. don't yell at him to pay attention.)
at 6:30 on the dot, exactly one hour after practice began, the coach closed practice and rowan and kenny came bounding down to the car, rowan's face all aglow.
the rained had just stopped, and so did my heart: "mommy, nana...did you like watching me? i hit the ball, and then swung at the tee without a ball. i don't know what anyon'es name was, but did you see me? i had my glove on and threw a ball and i'm so glad it wasn't canceled. how many sleeps until my next practice?"