A Weekend to Remember - Part I

June 17, 2012


Happy Father's Day all your fathers and grandfathers out there!  Hope that your day was special from start to finish!!

Yawn!  I just woke up from my nap before going to bed.  I had the most amazing weekend and am still savoring each moment.  It's almost overwhelming to know where to begin because the weekend was fraught with blessings and unseen twists and turns.


My purpose for visiting my son and family was to attend Zachary's and Nicholas's All-Star Tournament games on Saturday and Sunday.  The boys had been selected to play on the All Star teams which was an honor in itself.  The challenge arose when there weren't other All-Star teams for them to play and they ended up playing select and tournament teams.

As would be expected, Saturday morning started very early with omelets, coffee, and bacon.  Yum!  The boys were on highs and were raring to go.  They were tossing balls, hitting balls, catching balls, and practicing sliding into base on the wood floor.  The noise level was rising which excited the four dogs in the house (two of theirs and two of mine) and we had a rip roaring breakfast!!

With breakfast over, it got a little more serious as the boys donned their uniforms and realized game time was just around the corner.  They looked like little models for sportswear!  Angie was taking photos, I was taking photos, and they were being goofy.  All of a sudden, things got quiet and they came together as brothers going to battle in separate wars.  To watch them brought tears to my eyes and I got a big lump in my throat.  Zachary, as the oldest, put his arm around his little brother and pulled him close.  For that moment in time, they were one with a common goal ... as pitchers they would set the example and rally their teammates.

Our adventure ride to Grand Prairie started out with a jolt.  We were driving down 380 and all of a sudden Angie said, "A plane ... a plane!"  I looked to my left and there was a crop dusting plane and it looked like it was going to hit us.  There was a gasp in the car and with that, the plane lifted.  I wondered if the pilot got a laugh out of scaring us to death!  Zach thought the whole thing was "cool."  We continued on our journey ... we stopped at a stop light and a train passed over us thundering and blowing it's whistle ... we stopped at a Valero station which had more bars on it than a jail ... finally, spotting the field, we rounded a corner and drove straight down ... whoa!!!  We sighed one of those sighs of relief knowing we had arrived and were all in once piece.  Zach grabbed his gear and was off.  One hour to game time!!!!

As luck had it, we were in the shade and the breeze was cool.  Perfect weather for game one.  Yikes, the opponent started showing up.  They were dressed in special uniforms, had their own gear bags with their names on them and had music playing to get their team reved up.  What????    I'd never seen so many coaches nor had I seen quite so much comp and circumstance outside watching the Rangers or Roughriders play baseball.  It quickly became apparent that this was not just a rec team.  The Truth was a select team -- boys groomed to play tournament ball -- sponsored by former Cowboy player, Deion Sanders.  Hmmm..  Before game time, they huddled to pray and then had a special chant.  Our boys were oblivious ... they were concentrating on going out and kicking the Truth's blessed behinds!

We were sitting in the stands eyes glued on the field.  Zach moved to the pitcher's mound with that determined look on his face.  He was shouting to his teammates and gathering momentum.  It was an amazing game -- as you have probably gathered, they lost to the Truth.  BUT ... in losing, there came some invaluable lessons.  It doesn't matter so much if you lose, if you do your best and let God work his magic.  Zach and first baseman, Dillon, wowed the audience on both sides.  In the second inning, it was three up and three down ... three hits caught by Zach and thrown for the outs to Dillon.  We were like ... oh my gosh, is there a chance that they might win this game?

When the game was over, the coach explained to the boys that there wasn't another All-Star rec team for them to play and they were facing the giants of little league baseball -- select tournament teams.  The team they would be facing in game two was ranked fifteenth in the nation.  He just wanted them to hold their heads high and do their best.  They'd given the Truth a run for their money and had had some amazing plays!

Zach ate half a peanut butter sandwich and a protein bar.  He rested and, we could tell, from the look on his face that he was a true competitor.  There were no tears just flat out determination.  Tommy had written "God is with you" on his wristband and he kept glancing down at it.  At eight, Zachary, is a devout believer and takes his faith very seriously.  You can always count on him to excel and do his best.

During the game, Angie was on her cell phone getting updates from Nicholas's game.  Nicholas had been put on the All-Star Tball Team.  Just a few days before tournament games, they were told that they would not be hitting off the T and, like Zach's team, would be playing against select teams.  Oh goodness.  Nicholas would do fine but some of these little ones had never hit a ball pitched to them.  As you can imagine, they got slaughtered.  Yet, Tommy reported, "Nicholas is making plays and excelling."  Game two was no different ... painful for the kids and parents as well.  We wondered ... "Why would they do this knowing these little ones didn't have a chance?"  Well, as usual, God is in control and out of what seemed to be a disaster came the rising of a little guy with strength, determination, and purpose!

Game two, for Zach's team, was quick.  Balls were pitched faster than I've ever seen and these boys could conquer most any high school baseball team.  They had played together since Tball times, only replacing a boy if one left which was rare.  The boys were feeling pretty sad and down.  Coach sat them down and explained what they had been up against.  He told them that he was proud of them and that they had played their best.  Losing still stinks and like most teams they had to digest what had just happened.  Were they ready for Sunday?  Amazingly enough, they started to perk up and had high hopes for Sunday.

We gathered gear and headed for the car complimenting the kids and coaches we met on the way.  Then, something extra ordinary happened.  I guess because we were wearing our LEAYSA All Star shirts, the main coach of the Truth stopped Angie as she was getting in the car.  He said, "Great playing ... by the way do you know who the pitcher and first baseman were?"  She told him Dillon was playing first base and her son, Zachary, was pitcher.  He shook her hand and told her that they were phenomenal players and wanted them to come play for the Truth.  What??????  What an opportunity to teach Zachary a very valuable lesson.  Win or lose, if you do your best and don't give up, people will notice.  Yes, Readers, that applies to all of us.  Sometimes, it takes losing to make us great and show the stuff we are made of!!

On our way back to Providence Village, we sang, laughed, and recalled our day one adventures.  I think that kids love stories that they can relate to and Zach was no different.  He'd say ... "Let's tell our adventure story!"  He and Grandpa sat in the back of the van bonding and chatting.  All was well and tomorrow would be another day.

Our day didn't stop there, but my eyes are getting droopy and it's time for me to drag my weary body into bed.  As I think about all the blessings of that day, I am filled to the brim with love and joy.  Sadness and losing is part of life .... healing and dealing with it means climbing the mountain where the air is fresh and clear ... a place where you can see for miles knowing that there are blessings even in the deepest valleys!

My story continues tomorrow ... stay tuned!

Miss Dottie