So, you like white uniforms?
Before taking over the household duties I had never given white uniforms much of a thought. For almost every baseball team Toby played on his pants were white; which drove Karla up a wall.
"Why do they have to be white?!" she would cry out in disgust, "Doesn't anyone know how hard it is to get the stains out of those things?"
I don't know how many times I had over heard Karla cussing as she ground a bar of Fels Naptha soap into Toby's soiled uniform, ran it through the wash on hot, and then do it all over again. But, without fail, those pants always came out looking immaculate.....even if only until the next game.
During this time I played the role of oblivious husband. (I swear it was unintentional.)
"Wow, that sucks." I would say. But it wasn't really that heartfelt because I truly didn't appreciate just how rotten a job this truly was. I was just saying the right thing, being a supportive husband.
"Okay....Well, I'm gonna hit the sack. G'nite." I close the bedroom door so I don't have to hear the cussing and the washer door slamming shut.
So you should have seen Karla's face the moment we made the decision that I should stay home. The very first words out of her mouth were, spoken in a very strong and authoritative voice, "YOU get to clean the uniforms."
When I saw the grin and the look as if she had just been rescued from the fiery pits of Hell, I knew I was in for a real shit job.
The shit job got even worse when Toby AND Tera's uniforms not only had white pants, but came with piping down the side..(A colored stripe)
"What are you smirking about?" I asked Karla.
Karla pointed to the piping on the pants, "You can't bleach those."
Shit.......
Toby had his first tournament last weekend...... with day one on red dirt.
Tera had team pictures and then practice afterwards....They must have worked on sliding in the outfield that day. Or, knowing Tera, she decided to go for a wallowing roll through the grass.
I went through almost half a jar of my homemade laundry soap. I would scrub it into the pants, wash it on hot, pull them out of the washer, scream out in agony, and do it all over again; a tedious process indeed.
With Toby's pants I scrubbed and ran the pants through the washer twice before I got all the stains out....Or so I thought; I found a spot that I missed after it already ran through the dryer. Dammit.
I've ran Tera's pants through the wash three times and still have a nasty little grass stain on the left pant leg.
This....Flat out....Sucks.
I'm lobbying for either black pants next year or outsourcing this shit job to someone who desperately needs some money.
Ugh....Only thirteen more tournaments and fourteen league games to go......
Falling off the vegetarian wagon...
Only three games into the season and I have already hit the fast food.
I didn't plan out our first tournament very well at all. I didn't go out and buy healthy snacks and bottles of water. I didn't get lunch meat to make sandwiches for the kids. With Karla out of town on business I got wrapped up in other things simply forgot.
Taco Bell, anyone?
Dammit.....
That's ok....It's only a small whole in the dyke. Plug up it and try again. We will not live on fast food this ball season.
Love playing at the lake.....
Playing at the Lake is an awesome experience; I love it when the boys play there. With a turf field, big scoreboard, and an actual dugout (which have heaters built into the ceiling, by the way), it kind of gives you get that big league feel. I just turn into one big dopey kid when we get to play there. Sometimes I wonder if the boys appreciate it as much as I do. I'm guessing probably not because playing at the Lake is just a normal part of the routine for them.
They got it good and I couldn't be happier for them. Hell, I didn't get my first full uniform until I was in high school. As little kids we played in our blue jeans and then moved up to sweat pants when we got a little older.
I remember playing at ball fields that didn't have a fence. The boundary was either a tree line or a corn field --- which is actually kind of cool when I look back on it. These boys will never play on a field like that -- so it's old school -- and a great story to share.
I can't imagine how I would have reacted if I ever had a chance to play on a turf field. Knowing how I was -- a kid with a really short attention span -- I'd have gotten so caught up in my surroundings that I would have to be reminded that there was a game going on.
It happens to me at every ball field, but especially so at the Lake. When I'm there all my worries disappear; it's just me and the beautiful game of baseball. If this old sinner is lucky enough to get through the pearly gates I hope there's a ball field on the other side. That and my family would be all I really need.
Life is good........ :)
No comments:
Post a Comment