I should have seen it coming. My husband was captain of his college baseball team, a lifelong baseball fan and now is the father of three boys. All that pent up baseball energy, harnessed for all those years working in the real world, has finally been released in the form of a highly regarded, extremely vested little league coach.
"What a great dad!" Everyone always says and I agree, except on the fourth practice of the week followed by a coach's meeting. Then I want to throw a ball at his head.
You don't hear about us Little League Baseball Widow's (LLBW) often. It's the Golf Widows that get all the attention. Maybe, it's because technically, we're not always left alone. A LLBW is, by the circumstance of being Mom, drawn in to support and help. She's there to cheer on her team, through cold and rain, bad games and misbehaving siblings. She's in it, whether she wants to be or not. So I guess it's more like being a LL Baseball Sacrifice. Yeah, that's exactly it.
Not sure you're a Baseball Sacrifice? Let's find out.
When your husband asks you for a cup, do you immediately head to the underwear drawer?
Is your floor littered with all sorts of baseball paraphernalia -- gloves, bats, balls, bags, cleats, etc?
Does a night out with your husband somehow wind up near stores like "Dicks" or "Sports Authority"?
Does your husband's nightly routine include watching baseball, while talking baseball, while checking stats/writing emails about baseball?
Does this remind you of home sweet home?
Do you spend more than three days a week driving to games or practices?
Is your house referred to as the one where the dad is always on the lawn throwing balls to his kids? Even at night. In winter. Or rain?
Do you have five or more of these items on your lawn -- pitch backs, hitting tees, bases, bucket of balls, swing corrector, bats, helmets?
Do you spend endless time sifting through laundry for the UnderArmor and uniforms that need to be hung dry?
Do your weekends, vacations and general everyday lives revolve around the baseball schedule?
Can you get out of your house in under 10, with a cooler, distractions and snacks for your other kids and lawn chair with a fully uniformed player equipped with baseball bag, the right cleats and water bottle?
If you've answered yes to three or more, you may be a Baseball Sacrifice. If you answered yes to five or more, you probably are, and if you're like me and answer yes to all of them, well, I wish I could tell you greener grass was ahead. But it's only AstroTurf.
See you on the fields.
Let's play some ball!
A variation of this essay first appeared on IceScreamMama.