Ainsley Up To Bat!

AINSLEY UP AT BAT

It was a blue lump in the green grass - - what a unusual sight!

Little Ainsley was due to play baseball at 10 a.m. on this sunny Saturday morning in May, a four year old little girl, small boned and sweet faced, looks like a little sprite. She'd already had a game or two and had been to her practices, but this morning she wasn't on the field with her team. That was curious. I wasn't expecting that.

As I turned the corner around the dugout of the opposing team of busy little people in orange, I spied her father. Where was blonde-haired blue jersey-ied Ainsley?

Dad saw me, pressed his lips together, and indicted with his head that I should look to the ground on his other side. I did.

There face down curled into a blue ball was his 4th child! Ainsley. I came to see Ainsley play on the Under 5 tee ball team.

"Why isn't she out there with her team? They're up to bat."

"She won't go, she went out once, and came back to me and won't go back out."

I picked her up, that blue lump, and cradled her, and she just collapsed - dead weight. We stayed that way while I whispered in her ear myriad things to see if I could discern her attitude. She said she wasn't hungry, she wasn't tired, she didn't care if her mates were playing without her, she hadn't had any fussings with siblings or parents, she just shook her head, and buried deeper into my arms. Maybe she was experiencing a shy moment? I asked Dad. He didn't know, he shook his head again.

My own legs got tired of her weight and I shifted, and she shifted. She let her head loll and fluttered her eyes. I don't know if she was pretending, or if she was really that tired, but I smiled, amused.

After a bit, in a burst of interest, she got down and searched for her crackers. Then she went to dad's lawn chair and retrieved her power drink from his cup holder and took 2 good swallows then backed up to my knees to get back in my lap.

I turned her away from the sun, and began telling her what I was seeing. A little chubby boy in blue came up to bat and had a hard time connecting with the ball, eventually, he got to run to first base. Then a little girl smaller than Ainsley came up to bat and they had to lower the batting T for her. I asked Ainsley if she knew her. Another little boy came up, hit the ball right quick, and thre-ew his bat. I pretended enthusiastic excitement and shock.

Whispering in her ears, I pointed to a tall woman with a purple bun, and asked if that was her coach. Did she have two or three coaches? And she finger-pressed 3 fingers up.

Then in a brief moment of conversing she said, "See my jersey?" And she pulled the sides of her shirt so I could see that her number was 87, I also got to see her cleated gold shoes. Then she leaned back into my arms. This time facing forward. Maybe a little interest in the game? But no, she got up again and took another good swallow of the power drink and right back into my lap she came.

One tall slim coach was good at adjusting the stance of their small feet.

Another coach asked Ainsley if she was ready to play. Looking at the grass, she shook her head no.

Parents where cheering their own, "Go, Andrew, go!"

Clapping and hollering for Kylie. "Run to the next base, run!"

"Don't pick up the ball! Run! Son, run!"

Mr. Coach jumped back with both his feet as Ryan's bat came swinging within an inch of making bodily contact.

One little teamster hit the ball and due to malfunctioning toddlers of the opposite team was able to run all 3 bases. What a roar of the crowd! "Whoo hoo," "Yes," "Good job!" "That's my kid!"

The hour was passing, coming to an end, and kids were happy, and bouncy, and parents were rooting for their teams. "Way to go!"

Ainsley's other female coach announced to one and all, "This is our last batter," and she put her hand on the shoulders of the little blue-shirted boy coming up to home plate. Coach adjusted his grip on the bat.

Well, Ainsley didn't see what coach was doing, but she did hear the words, "Last batter."

In a miracle of coordinated movements, she slid off my lap, put her pink helmet back on her pony-tailed head, reached for her aluminum bat, and walked behind the dugout, and onto the playing field. I dropped my jaw!

Coach yelled to everyone, "We have another one!"

Ainsley went up to bat!

And I laughed my head off!

This little bugger spent the hour rejuvenating. She must've!

She ate, she drank, she napped, she got hug-loves, and when most of her teams work was done, she was ready to go.

Last batter up, Ainsley hit the ball. Ainsley ran all three bases!

"Atta, girl!"

Now, that's the way to play the game!

Trouble Making Cat Cur-tailed

That's it!

I've had it with that cat!

Looking out the kitchen window to view the condition of the backyard birdfeeder - - is it needing replenished?  Is it leaning or standing up straight?  are there birds feasting?  and ... where's that cat?

 

Sure enough, I saw her face!  Her little round white face!  

 

Her body is wound up behind her face in pouncing position, skulking under the nearby stoop to the back deck waiting to abscound with an oblivious feeding bird!  Grrrrr.  This has got to stop!

 

So, I donned jacket and garden gloves and marched to the shed to look for lattice, those crossed wooden strips, to block cat's advances.  Well, that wasn't easy.  First, move over the bicycles.  Amanda found a free on on Marketplace after I asked her to keep a lookout; nice. And it was added to the rest.  Then bring out the bistro set...yes, one more thing off my Happy Tails list of May's to-dos...pull out the saved interior door covered in cobwebs, trapped bugs and lint and stuff, and navigate my body over a long rusty pipe, and yank and pull and struggle to get the one long piece of lattice I'd saved for a few years.  There's still another one in there for future emergencies, but this one will do.

 

Drug the orange bistro set (table and two chairs) out into the yard and Miss Lilly's Dora the Explorer Kitchen Play Set out into the Roger Run, replaced the bicycles and old trike and locked up the shed.  Shew, stand up straight, take a deep breath, and take the lattice to the back deck for nailing to the stoop.   White Face was rolling over in the grass for a good ol' scratching which I wasn't havin' instead I gave her a scowl.

 

There.

Take that, cat!

 

Who took what?  Ironically, I'm the one out of breath and wiping my brow, LOL.

 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Spud Salad

Hubby John used to like the movie with Clint Eastwood, titled

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

Well, some GOOD things got done around here.  And then…

the UGLY - I pulled another stunt on myself.

 

Yes, sir, the ugly.  

I was making supper of potato salad.  A small bowl just for me.  

I cubed a baked potato, sliced up 2 boiled eggs, added some 

relish, and grabbed the....well...uh... I was supposed to grab the 

mayonnaise, right? 

 

On Facebook, laptop parked nearby and lid standing open, I was watching Steve Harvey saying that he thinks 

watching his kids parent their kids is funny to him, and how he 

likes to give his grandkids the things his kids won't give them like sugar, candy, and beef jerky, and that’s when I grabbed something else, NOT MAYONNAISE!

Without paying attention, I grabbed something else.  Do you know what those three things - potato, eggs, and relish - taste like all mixed up with ... French dressing?!

 

Sub-b-b-b Stand-DARD!  

 

“WHOO - HOO!” shake your head in shivers, 

“Whoah, momma!”

Paraphrasing that commercial jingle, “Try it!  You won’t like it!”

Lilly & Sibling

Miss Lilly, Master Jacob

Miss Lilly, 9 y.o.

Condado's was lunch, the groups choice after church.  Sitting there at the wooden table on metal chairs, Miss Lilly thought the establishments name was funny.  She spied it in the murals on the walls and laughed telling her father, "Condado's.  Dad!"  and she giggled, "Your name is in Con- DAD-o!"  And she giggled some more, "Dad."

Speaking of a snow bank, we were, weren't we?  Well, I am, LOL.  Parking.  I couldn't pull-in-park into that big snow bank.  Not like Clinton did.  He backed into that snow bank, very nicely.  I didn't do a very good job, though.  So I thought I'll just back up and re-align myself to pull forward more properly.  Note that I am still getting used to the back-up line indicators on my truck's rear view mirror.  It's different than the centerscreen in my Honda.  When I turned to look, durned if I didn't bump into a lady's car!  Oh, my lands!  Well, Pamela, you're just going to have to accept your fate.  You did it.  I'll have to admit to the car owner.  So, I went ahead and finished parking.  Before I could finish taking my truck out of gear, Lilly had unbuckled, got down out of her seat, and ran to her Daddy's driver's door, "Dad!  GrammyPam hit that ladies car; she did!" 

 I thought, "You little booger.  You tattler.  You tattled to him before I could get my keys out of the ignition!" and I laughed to myself.

I did hit that car.  There were no backup beeps since I was in an older truck. But I felt it.  I knew.

The other driver was on her cellphone and didn't know.  She didn't know a thing.  Actually, I saw her jump when I tapped on her driver's window.  She was oblivious.  Then, we all checked....all!...me, lady driver, daddy, Jacob and "the stinker" Lilly!

There was no damage and the other driver wasn't concerned so we left it at that, but I can still hear that little girl squealer with her skirt tails flying as she ran from me to him, "Daddy, daddy, GrammyPam hit that car!"

Master Jacob, 6 y.o.

Jacob declared he was full, we left Condado's with him and Miss Lilly saying they were full.  Yet, they wanted dessert, chuckle.  But before I could get behind the wheel of my vehicle he'd already gotten in the back seat and ... spied something in the front.  He quizzed me, "You know, that blue bag with the stuff in it.  I want some." Little Eagle Eye wanted some but didn't even know what the "some" was he wanted!  Actually, they were under my purse and I had to cogitate for a second what he was talking about.  How'd he see them that fast? What an eagle eye!  And room for food?  I just shake my head cuz inside the restaurant it was, "I'm full."

I guess the grandkids did have room cuz in the words of my baby brother who wanted some jello "it can float on top."

What was in that little blue plastic bag?  

Candied orange slices.  

Now, how did he know?!

Jayden and Siblings

Snow Bunnies!

Alayna, Lilly, Noelle, Ainsley, Jacob, Jayden

Ainsley, 4 y.o. quiet soft-spoken, petite

"Can I have a coloring paper?"

"Sure," I say, "what do you want, kitten, dog, rainbow?

"I want a butterfly."

"Okay," I respond, "I'll print you off a butterfly."

Then she changes her mind and I have to use my grandma-spidey-senses to decipher this one.

"I actually wanna color a lunacorn"

Lunacorn, that's funny, that made me laugh out loud knowing she meant unicorn.

  

Noelle, 6 y.o. loud, look at me-bouncy-kind of girl

"I wanna sit next to my chair twin."

"What?" I asked not understanding this new noun.

"My chair twin," she insists and points to a chair next to Jacob. 

She and Jacob are the same age, cousins, and the two conspire getting into mischief.

"What do you mean "sit by your chair twin"? I asked.

"Remember.  Jacob.  When we were called Chair Twins and we frew rocks in the pond."

"Oh, when you handed him rocks and he threw them into the water fountain and his mother called you two the

TERROR Twins!"

"Yah.  Chair twins."

Jayden, 10 y.o. the oldest, made to be the most responsible

Valentine's Day, temperatures up in the 40's no wind, snow melting, nice day.  

"We want to ride bikes," said Jayden.  And 5 other sets of big brown eyes, and big ears, cousins, gather around him to discern the answer.  They want bikes, too.

"I don't care.  You know the rules, right?  What are they?

"No crashing the bicycle, don't go on the road, and don't run over Alayna."

I busted a gut over that last one; there's got to be a story behind it.

"Don't run over Alayna." 

Jayden, 10 y.o. the oldest, the most responsible 

Jayden rode home with me after everyone ate at Panera Bread.  Everybody had been treated to a cookie; he dreamed of a cup of coffee and a cookie.   

I agreed, "When we get home you can make us a pot of coffee and we'll sit down and dunk our cookies."

He asked, "And watch Alf, too."  

"Yep." I acquiesced.  I showed him where all the fixin's were for the coffee.

"And creamer, too?" He couldn't stop the conversating. 

But the little stinker couldn't help himself in another area, as well.

"Yes," and then I asked, "Where's your cookie?"  

I knew he'd nibbled on it in the car but the atrocity must've occurred when I stepped out of the car to get the mail. 

He replied with a cheeky grin and twinkling eyes, the little booger, 

 

"Oh, I ate it in the car."  

 

3 Men and A Purse

Gotta tell ya, we have this new guy coming to church, he's a fiancé to my 3rd cousin who's younger than Ian but, boy, is he a tall drink of water - if tall, dark, and handsome ever applied to any fellow it would be him.  And, he's sweet.  He's got very kind eyes.

 

Clinton, here at the house, rushing out the door in the cold, snowy weather, carrying his wife's purse reminded me of this fellow at church.  Clinton's wife's purse holds the keys to their car, and he was going out to warm it up, holding said purse out and away from his body.  It's the body lauguage, you know.  

 

So, this 6' 2" fellow's walking around with finacé's purse, and I teased him, "That looks good on you."  

Eyes met, both crinkled with good humor, and he laughed.  This medium-sized pinkish purse has firm sides and sits on its own.  We laughed, he and I always speak, every Sunday, we exit our pews practically at the same time.  

Then I thought of my dad and how he said, "I never stick my hand in your mother's purse."  

Even after mom passed, dad didn't stick his hands in my mother's purse.  He picked it up by two bottom corners and dumped it on the quilted bed. 

 

At church, when I next turned around to look, I saw that purse sitting on the foor near the door, lonely, and "tall, dark and handsome" was 3 feet away!  

I laughed and laughed.  How like a man.

Grandkid Memories May 2023

They all showed up here, after we lunched at Los Maguelles Mexican Restaurant.  Daughter-in-law sat and crocheted, other daughter-in-law sat with earbuds plugged in, I laughed my head off at the kids.

It's March of 2023

First time for Lilly & Jacob in weeks, and first time for all grandkids to be together in ages and ages.  And did they tear up jack!  All toys came out and were reacquainted.  Lilly wrote a love message on the board.  Jayden put together an erector set kit.  Alayna locked two in the outhouse.  Jacob cried until a riding toy was brought in the house from the garage.  Noelle licked mud off a stick.  Ainsley pushed 2 dolls in one stroller. I stood at the stairs to watch out the window and it was like a silent film -- hilarious!  At one point all you could see was Jayden in the tree and a Ty baby bear flying up, falling down, flying up, falling down....at least 4 times.

And boy, did the outdoor air make them hungry, they had go-gurts, ice cream, spaghetti two times -- once darling hubby fixed a batch and once I fixed a batch.  They dived for the pickles, too.  

We were out of shape.  Darling hubby hid upstairs for a bit to recoup.  And I volunteered to hide during Mean Grandma, a hide and seek game where they end up scared, chuckle.  After they left we relaxed with a couple episodes of a tv comedy.  

Hopefully, the day will be repeated soon and frequently.