Baseball: Good for the whole family

I grumbled last February when I had to shell out $200 bucks for the boys to play baseball. I really wanted them to play but I grumble about spending money all the time. My hubby taught me well.

As the season goes on though, I finally realized that actually it's probably the best $200 I've spent all year long. And not just for them, but for all of us as a family.

There's the obvious benefit for the boys. They get to act like BOYS three nights a week. Soren has learned how to interact with his team mates, high fives, spitting, banging the plate with his bat.

And Jonas, he just loves to put on a uniform and be a part of a team. He's starting to pay attention better and he's so really, really doing it and enjoying himself.

And that $200 included the uniform, hat, and a free coke after every game.

I had no idea though how good baseball was going to be for the rest of us.

It's getting the whole family out of the house and into the sunshine. Despite bad knees, Marty's 80-year-old parents are coming out to the field. Cousins and aunts are all sitting on the bench rooting for an Ashcraft.

For Marty and I, we are finally out there among other parents who don't bat an eye when we tell Marek not to throw rocks. They only laugh when he pulls his pants down and whizzes in front of the stands. They accept us, and man, does that feel good.

We've met neighbors we didn't know we had.

And I've had lots of mom conversations. The other day, one mom came running up in the nick of time before the start of a game. She'd been pulled over and she says "I told him, I got four kids in this car screaming at the top of their lungs and hitting each other, and we're late for a baseball game. I WAS trying to speed and you're lucky I wasn't doing 80 so I could get out of that damn car!"

Awww .... I love her.

Baseball has made me realize that we're actually pretty normal. All parents are facing the same struggles that we are, and it feels pretty good to be surrounded by people who understand.