by Phyllis McCrossin
It’s Saturday. We just got back from the boys’ baseball game. They won. It was a low-scoring, close game. Those are the fun ones to watch.
The boys are in the 11-and-12-year-old division. They (the teams) now know the strategy of the game and are honing their skills. But they are still kids. Parents, fans and coaches need to remember that.
I noticed the kids are more apt to accept a call than the parents/coaches are. I sat in the stands and hummed the chorus of “Let It Go,” from Disney’s Frozen quite often.
King and I have been watching kids play sports since 1982. (King coached a few years, I was always a spectator– except for our daughter’s equestrian team). I missed more than my share of games because I thought my stupid job was more important than my kids’ games. I regret that.
Of course my stupid job meant I had to work nights, weekends and holidays… Things your journalism professors don’t tell you.
In case you can’t guess I was a newspaper reporter/editor. I’m now retired. It’s annoying as hell to hear our commander in chief refer to those of us who work (or worked) night and day, missing our children’s school plays, sporting events and award ceremonies to report on the news as bearers of “fake news.” He has his little minions (including his press secretary, who should know better) so brainwashed that they believe whatever he says.
Lord knows the pay was/is not enough to warrant making things up. All we have/had is our integrity.
I read a comment on social media from an individual who is a strong supporter of the President. This individual said the only facts he will believe are those uttered by Donald Trump himself. Doesn’t do much for fact checking, does it?
Sorry, I went off on a tangent. Suffice it to say there are those who would not know the truth if it came up and bit them on the behind and left the “mark of the beast” on them.
I’m taking a deep breath.
King and I will be packing up and leaving California in a few weeks. We are taking our time on the trip back to Michigan. There were occasions when we drove like crazy people to make the trip in as few days as possible. I’m not certain why.
Now, a really long day is five hours of driving – and that’s really pushing it. Generally after three or four hours King will suggest we find a place to stay for the evening and I get on my phone and look for a campground. We seldom make reservations ahead of time simply because that forces us to travel a specific amount of time.
We do have a few favorite stopovers where we spend a few days gathering rocks and bits and bobs. I keep our finds in glass jars tucked away in small spaces in the trailer. The strange things I find to decorate with mean more to me than anything I could buy and the price can’t be beat.
It’s also less stuff my kids have to sort through when King and I are long gone.
Our mother passed away 10 years ago and my younger sister and I seem to be the ones who inherited most of her “precious things.” I gave away the last of Mom’s cookbooks to my daughter this winter and my sister found a set of Mom’s Christmas dishes packed away in her basement. Those went to the first of either of our kids who claimed them – in this case it was our second-oldest son. Memories are best shared.
With that said, it’s time to embrace our joy and to that end we are enjoying what is left of our time in California this winter. It’s the equivalent of a Michigan spring here. Outside my window the hedge is beginning to bloom and the bees are gathering honey. We’ve had some rain over the past few days and the hills are beginning to turn green.
King likes to sit outside and watch the hikers on the bike path along the river and has also worked on some projects with our daughter. I’ve been ripping sheets and turning them into weaving strips for one last weaving project before we hit the road.
My loom is collapsible and I’ll be taking it apart and storing it away until we get back to Michigan. We have one more week with the boys before we leave and are actually staying a couple of extra days to fit in some more baseball games.
Life is good.
Stay kind. Do some fact checking. Truth is good.
