Carpe Datum

Baseball

The timing was pretty good, and the tickets were fairly cheap, so I took M*chelle, 18-year-old J*stin, 13-year-old C*dy and 4-year-old Daniel to the Rangers game on Sunday afternoon. We left 15-year-old Ashl*y home to babysit little 2-year-old Obi-Wan (Ben), and that went well. We had done some diaper changing practice earlier in the week, and she probably is perfectly fine with the little ones as long as her two brothers aren't around to cause trouble. She was happy for the responsibility and the chance to earn a little money.

Anyway, it was pretty cold for the game, mid-50's with a strong North wind, but we were sheltered from the wind in the stands so that we could hardly feel it. It was comfortable unless we walked out on the open concourse, and then it was very blustery. The game went well. Against the odds, the Rangers won big and hit a few home runs. Daniel was pretty bored for much of the game. He's at an age where he gets bored very easily. He's starting to complain that school is boring because he doesn't get to do what he wants (which is to build and play with his wooden train tracks or cut pictures out of toy catalogs or watch a Thomas DVD), which is new for him.

So I spent a good part of the game keeping him amused and had to kind of ignore the other boys. They seemed to enjoy themselves, and I bribed them with some money to go get food. M*chelle pretty much hated it. The only thing she liked (big Strawberry Margarita) was like twelve bucks, and she wasn't impressed by the food. There is some good food there, but you have to experiment to find something that suits your tastes. There are a lot of choices down on the main level (we were in the upper deck behind home plate, but the up/down escalators were 50 feet from our seats).

At one point during the game, Daniel says in that loud four-year-old voice that carries 100 yards, "Look, Dad! Why are those three black guys down on the field?" Well, turns out he meant the umpires who were wearing all black, which we explained to him very loudly for all around to hear. M*chelle won't be going back, but she was a trooper and gave it a shot, and I hope to take the older boys again. Daniel liked it enough that I'm sure he'll ask to go again if he knows I'm going, but he'll be bored stiff if he does go. I'll have to sneak away to the ball game when he's off at grandma's next time or something.

In other news, M*chelle and I are going to be able to get away for two whole nights this coming weekend. That is the most peace and quiet and time away from home we've had since we went to Port Aransas last January, I think. We're looking forward to good food and a quiet hotel room with a jacuzzi. It will celebrate the end of audit season for her and the end of the Spring semester for me (almost, I'll still have finals week to go when I return).

Posted by Observer at April 28, 2008 10:35 PM