My husband played as a kid, and our son is currently in Little League in our small northern Pennsylvania town. But, as a mom of three and foster mom to two (at this time) I am here to tell you, it isn't all "peanuts and Cracker Jacks" and root, root, rooting for the home team. I wonder if the mothers of all the professional players secretly dreaded to the start of Little League season. I imagine I'm not the only mom who thought it would be great to have all my children sitting in the stand proudly clapping for Bubba as he hits a home run and wins the game for the team while Daddy stands proudly on the sidelines in his coaches t-shirt. It's the perfect image of a Friday night in rural america, don't you agree? Um. Reality check. It isn't just Friday nights, it happens to be any night of the week and some Saturdays. And, although my husband tries his hardest to make it to the games, he is very often rolling in during the second inning or catching the middle of a game while on his lunch break after receiving my texts about how are son is doing. This means I am alone with four girls and my ball player. My other kids are everywhere, running through the mud with winter coats and hats on. I sit in my pink lawn chair with multiple layers on wrapped in an old comforter trying to clap (with gloves on) sounding cheerful and supportive when what I'm really thinking is how hungry I am and why didn't he swing at that pitch, and oh my word what is that mom wearing? It's the back of our Excursion packed with a cooler, two baseball bags (because the medium girls are in t-ball), four blankets, a stroller to keep the toddler contained, lawn chairs and whatever miscellaneous items didn't get taken in to the house after the last trip to the store. Seriously, I found a bag with a jar of spaghetti sauce in it last night. How long has that been there? It's the endless trips to the portable toilets, the constant begging to go to the concession stand. It's dinners eaten out of the back of the truck and gallons of juice boxes consumed. It requires an entire board on Pinterest dedicated to meals on the go so I can rotate between the portable meals such as pizza rolls, ham & cheese pretzel nuggets, and sandwiches. It's throwing baseball uniforms in the washer with the toddler's muddy clothes at night so he can play in clean clothes the next morning. It's selling an obscene amount of discount cards to friends and family to support the town's Little League 'Complex.' It's pulling in to find no place to park when your team has the late game. It's the worrying over your son's self esteem when he strikes out or misses the catch at third. But...........it's also the look of pure enjoyment your child gets when they make a good play. Hearing them cheer for the smallest kid on their team. A chance to make memories that will last a lifetime. A time to be outside together with no one arguing over what is on the tv. And, let's face it, it's a great excuse to have ice cream after the game!~But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ~ 1 Cor 15:57
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