Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
A grand experiment
My grandsons from New Jersey are in town. They are 3 ½ and almost 5, not quite Irish twins, but pretty close. I’m biased, but they are cute, each in his own way. The younger one is still clingy with his mother, Jackie. After all, this is a new place to him – he hasn’t been in St. Louis since he was about 8 months old. The almost five year old will sit with a set of legos for hours at a time and manages to build sets that are beyond his age level.
They are staying with the other set of grandparents. They have extra rooms and Jan and I are confined to a one bedroom condo. Nevertheless, the boys and Jackie are coming over today to spend the night. We’ve opened the sofa sleeper into a queen size bed and the three of them will fit there nicely. According to Jackie, the boys spend many nights out of their own beds and into their parents’ bed. Jackie is used to having some part of a little boy draped over some part of her.
We have a nice pool belonging to the condo and the boys have already enjoyed it once. Maybe they will go swimming this afternoon. Maybe not. The weather is calling for some rain.
Here’s where the grand experiment starts. This evening I have tickets to a Cardinals baseball game for Jackie, the boys, and me. We have seats in left field – which is appropriate. The seats are pretty close to the field so we should have a good view of what a third baseman and a left fielder do. Maybe there will be a foul ball that comes our way!
I don’t really know how long a game will keep their attention, especially the three year old. But, there are concession stands to visit, and a team store to browse in. They need Cardinals shirts so they know which team is their legacy. Certainly not the New York Yankees or the Mets!
Cameron, the older boy, still has his Cardinals hoodie that I got for him when he was a baby. He doesn’t wear it because it’s way too small, but he does use it as a security item. I think he’s on his third version of that same hoodie, one that actually fits his rangy, skinny body. I don’t know how long this version will be available but I’ll keep him supplied with the right size for as long as that lasts.
As they grow up they may or may not remember going to the game. When I told them we were going, Cameron asked if he would get to play. Not yet, I told him, Not yet. I hope they grow up playing the game, maybe even be Little Leaguers. But I think their dad, who is from Nigeria, will want them to play soccer instead. When we took Momoh, the dad, to his first baseball game he asked the best question: “Why is it”, he asked, “that when a batter misses the pitch it’s called a strike?”. I couldn’t answer that one.
I just want the boys to know that their Yaya (me) is a huge baseball fan. But I mostly want them to enjoy whatever time we have at the game tonight. I hope someone else catches a foul ball and offers it to the boys. That would be really cool.