Spring, Day 34
After working Sunday night, after a busy weekend, my Mondays are never that monumental. With the temperature dropping and the sun retreating for the beautiful Sunday, I didn't exactly have high hopes for this Monday.
I'm happy to report, I wasn't that lazy today. I didn't mow the lawn as I had hoped, but I did get the dog out for two walks. I made a mostaccioli bake for dinner. Michael and I walked to the baseball diamond near our house so he could practice pitching (he's getting better, but still needs practice). I scanned pictures and wrote. I rested after the tiring weekend
Having did something baseball-related with Michael, I offered to play a game of Strat-o-Matic baseball with Ben. (For those of you who have never heard of Strat-o-Matic, it's a dice-and-cards baseball game.) He's played before but mostly just rolled the dice. I was hoping he'd take an active interest in reading the results and understanding what happens when someone hits a double. I had 2009 cards and 1980 cards readily available, and he chose the older set. He wanted to play the Cubs, but after alerting him that the Cubs were really bad this season, he picked the Phillies.
My goal of Ben actively enjoying and understanding the game was realized. We had a lot of fun. Only one problem: We had about a half-hour to play before bedtime, which is enough time to get a game in (I wasn't keeping score beyond a linescore, so that saved some time), but of course, the game went to extra innings. In fact, it went to 19 innings. I've played Strat-o-Matic for 33 years, and I don't think I ever was in a game that went that long. Of course, the game spilled past Ben's bedtime. And I was trying to lose! I brought in bad pinch-hitters (if I even brought them in at all) and didn't bring in Bruce Sutter. Then, I couldn't win, either when I was trying just to end it. Finally, Barry Foote hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 19th and the Cubs won 5-3.
I'm getting to bed early tonight in anticipation of a busy Tuesday and a semi-busy Wednesday. I'm glad I was able to recharge on Monday.
I'm happy to report, I wasn't that lazy today. I didn't mow the lawn as I had hoped, but I did get the dog out for two walks. I made a mostaccioli bake for dinner. Michael and I walked to the baseball diamond near our house so he could practice pitching (he's getting better, but still needs practice). I scanned pictures and wrote. I rested after the tiring weekend
Having did something baseball-related with Michael, I offered to play a game of Strat-o-Matic baseball with Ben. (For those of you who have never heard of Strat-o-Matic, it's a dice-and-cards baseball game.) He's played before but mostly just rolled the dice. I was hoping he'd take an active interest in reading the results and understanding what happens when someone hits a double. I had 2009 cards and 1980 cards readily available, and he chose the older set. He wanted to play the Cubs, but after alerting him that the Cubs were really bad this season, he picked the Phillies.
My goal of Ben actively enjoying and understanding the game was realized. We had a lot of fun. Only one problem: We had about a half-hour to play before bedtime, which is enough time to get a game in (I wasn't keeping score beyond a linescore, so that saved some time), but of course, the game went to extra innings. In fact, it went to 19 innings. I've played Strat-o-Matic for 33 years, and I don't think I ever was in a game that went that long. Of course, the game spilled past Ben's bedtime. And I was trying to lose! I brought in bad pinch-hitters (if I even brought them in at all) and didn't bring in Bruce Sutter. Then, I couldn't win, either when I was trying just to end it. Finally, Barry Foote hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 19th and the Cubs won 5-3.
I'm getting to bed early tonight in anticipation of a busy Tuesday and a semi-busy Wednesday. I'm glad I was able to recharge on Monday.
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