"Whoops!" Carrie ran out the door. "I've got to put the chickens up!"
That's how you know it's a Saturday!
Carrie went on to visit Mira, so I had Shane for the day.
We started off at the Discovery Museum. He's good at making friends.
We renewed our membership when we went with Dylan and Eli last.
We were some of the first arrivals. Shane made a new friend...
...and then Henry walked through the door!
Small world. Henry and his little brother, Sam, and their dad all showed up. The kids were excited. I was excited, too, because now I had an adult to talk to.
We ran into Sam, one of Shane's friends from after school, in the back play area.
Then we bumped into Dylan when we came back up front! His dad, John, was there so Will, John, and I got to be the three dads in the place (all flying solo, too, I'll add).
Dylan didn't want to let Shane help with his fort, so that didn't go so well, but we had to go anyway.
Our first tee-ball practice was at 11:00 AM sharp. We got there early.
Shane introduced himself to the coach, Mr. Pearson.
It all started quickly. After a month of silence, there was an email on Monday: "It begins Saturday!" Coach P said it all happened fast for him.
I mentioned that I filled out a form to help, but no one contacted me again. "Welcome to the club," he said. Then he handed me a hat. I became Coach Mike.
So there I was in a dugout with six kids. Coach P, Coach Me, and Coach Josh (who also filled out a form and never heard back) suddenly had to try and teach baseball.
And my pants split in the first two minutes.
From belt to knee. I went home with one thigh tanned.
But practice must go on! We warmed up with the kids...
...and then practice throwing and catching. No one is expected to know how to catch yet. It'd be nice, but not likely.
I did my best to awkwardly shift and keep my pocket covering my underwear (Thank God, it wasn't a tighty whitey, leopard print, or commando kind of day).
Shane and Coach P's son, Matthew, knew each other from preschool and wrestling. They both had some good arm strength.
Water break.
The kids raced when we went out to practice hitting off tees.
Shane never made it to the tees.
The coach had said "Run to the yellow pole!" to motivate the kids to hustle. Matthew and Shane raced. Shane reached through the fence and touched the pole first. He yelled, "I win!" Matthew ran around outside and then pushed Shane's hand off and said "No, I win!"
Typical, kindergarten right? I actually thought they were both clever: Shane for reaching through and Matthew for running around when it was clear Shane would win that way.
Well, Shane was mortally wounded, emotionally compromised, distraught to the point he could no longer stand! He cried and said it wasn't fair and then didn't want to join any of the hitting.
So...I left him there.
We talked a little first to process through. Shane was in his feeling, though, and chose to stay behind. He made his choice and the team needed me, so there he sat. I hoped he'd get bored and join the fun, but he can be pretty stubborn. He'd rather be mad or sad and right in his own eyes.
Matthew tried to "encourage" him to re-join later. That devolved into Matthew yelling "YES!" and Shane yelling "NO!"
I heard the shouts and walked over. I helped Matthew process a little and Shane listened.
Me: "How do you feel when someone yells at you?"
Matthew: "Mad!" (I wasn't sure if he said "Sad" or "Mad" at the time)
Me: "When you're sad or mad, do you really want to listen?"
Matthew: "No."
Me: "So yelling at Shane will make him mad or sad and then he won't listen. You can't yell someone into what you say."
Matthew started to say something like "One time my parents yelled and argued!" but he got the point. I said something like "Well, some adults can get loud and still listen to facts to decide, but hey! The team's over there! Why don't you rejoin!"
I told Shane I was glad Matthew came over to talk to him even if it didn't go well and he was welcome to rejoin. He declined until we packed up to leave the hitting station. THEN he wanted to hit, but it was too late. He started to get misty eyed again, but accepted my offer to let him hit after practice.
Next stop: Home plate.
The kids took turns hitting the ball and then running the bases.
Big ideas:
1) Run 1-2-3
2) You're safe if you stay on the base
3) Run when they hit the ball
Overall, it went really well. There was a four-year old who really struggled with focus....and I could completely empathize. It wasn't that long ago Shane was lying in the middle of a soccer field refusing to stand up.
Shane got some hitting time in after everyone went home.
We ate salmon burgers for protein after (and to clear freezer space for a Costco run).
A wonderful thing happened later on: Shane, on his own initiative, decided to cut some eye holes in a waffle box and become a robot.
He drew an antenna on top and teeth on the front. I contributed nada.
It was awesome.
Henry thought so, too.
The boys placed chase all over the circle. They stuck the box on my head and Will's head, too. Will was still flying solo, so we invited them in for dinner.
Shane improved his robot box while Henry tried to fly the drone (the new additions to the box hurt, btw).
We had deli meat for dinner. Will fried a couple of our chicken eggs.
Shane wanted to make a sandwhich like on Chopped. He used three slices of bread to make a triple-decker.
Then again, I hope the impromptu dinner made Will's night easier since Michaela was out of town. He's probably looking forward to going back to work!
In the end, Carrie made it back safely. Mira was still pregnant. Shane was tired from doing stuff all day. I was tired from doing stuff all day. Everybody slept happy. Can't ask for much more than that.
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