Full Circle...



 This spring, 6 year old Spinner played TeeBall. It's relatively boring. The kids hit the ball off a tee with the coach standing beside them. The opposing team have all their little crew in the field with their coaches behind them. It's just so very different than in my days of learning and playing ball.

First of all, at 4, 5 and 6 years old there was no formal league set up. We played in the backyard and learned by trial and error... catch the ball or be smacked in the face with it. We spent hours throwing a ball through a tire, playing Run-the-Bases, throwing a rubber ball against a wall or steps and catching it, playing catch with your siblings, tossing a ball in the air and swinging a bat to hit it before the ball fell to the ground. I think the first time I was old enough to play league softball  I was 9.

This being said, back to TeeBall.When a player came up to bat, I cheered with all the other parents and grandparents. I cheered a little louder when it was Spinner's turn, of course. There was hooping and hollaring when a player stopped a ball(doesn't matter how, as long as the ball was stopped) and threw it in the direction of 1st base. There are no outs in TeeBall. Everyone gets a bat. The are 2 innings, sometimes 3 if there was enough time before the next game was to start and the parents all agreed.

When my kids were younger I coached many of their teams. The first years of their playing was coach's pitch. They learned how to time their swings and didn't really have to worry so much with the strike zone. They had coaches at every base tell them when and where to run. And my parents sat in the bleachers cheering them on. All in all, my kids learned how to play ball. Just like Spinner is learning now.

Here I am, not in charge of anything and sitting back holding my cheering signs and just enjoying watching my granddaughter run, play, make friends, have fun, and catch and hit a ball or two.
So, there I sat. Me and MomMom behind homeplate in our easy to open folding chairs.  And a memory so overwhelming hit me like a ton of bricks.

 Actually it brought tears to my eyes thinking about it. I can see myself playing shortstop and looking up to see grandpop's car coming down the long dirt road towards the ballfield .Grandmom, Grandpop and Mom would get out. Sometimes one of my aunts would also be with them. The chairs came out of the trunk and they all sat behind the backstop cheering enthusiastically during my game. I thought of my parents sitting in the stands clapping for my kids.

Life does come full circle. And when it's a circle that has been a happy one, what great enjoyment those moments in life bring!