Broken bat, but not a broken arm

We had another busy weekend of ball games.  Lewis had a game Friday night and then Clara started playing in a tournament at 7:30 Saturday morning.  Clara's wildest dream, she loves to play softball!!  It is her favorite thing to do period.  So they won the first game, lost the 2nd, and won the 3rd narrowly.  Clara and friend were covered with dirt from head to toe.  Then they had to wait about 3 or 4 hours for the next game.  Clara made friends on the Chelsea team we were playing next.  Some of her friends went on an adventure under a bridge.  Clara told me about her friend Kendall who was playing under the bridge and a little girl came up and said "My Dad owns the park and you are going to get kicked out of softball for being down here."  Kendall did not have the appropriate response for the little princess so the princess started throwing dirt clods at Kendall and Kendall threw them back.  I love that girl.   So the girls had a great afternoon beings kids too.

So by the time we got to game 4 they were a little tired.  Clara pitched the first inning and was catching the 2nd when she got smacked in the arm by a ball, hard.  She crumpled down and I knew she was hurt.  She gets hit all the time and keeps going but this was different.  She came out and we put ice on it.  It hit her in the crook of her arm.  I was thinking it was a bad bruise, but the longer she cried the more worried I got.  I decided I needed to take her to the er.  She is so tough and she was having a hard time shaking it.

They were wonderful at Children's Hospital, and I found it with no problems (1st time ever).  Please know that if it had been broken it would not be the end of anyone's world, except my little girl.  Clara without softball would be like me without Diet Coke.  Seriously she would play it every day, several times a day, if that was possible.  It is her "thing."  I remember an old episode on "Little Bill" when the grandmother explained to Little Bill that everyone has to find their "thing." The thing that makes you feel happy, completely engaged and content.  The thing you enjoy more than anything else. The grandmother had quilting, the dad had jazz and I forgot what the Mom's was...(probably sleeping).  She used to ask me, "Will I ever find my thing?"  She was good at dance but didn't love it, same with soccer.  Art was a true passion but with her temperament she had to do something active too. She was so happy playing baseball with the boys but she wasn't a boy even though sometimes she wished she was.

So when she discovered softball it was not love at first sight, but the longer she played it the more she loved it.  She by luck played all stars that summer and fell completely in love.  They lost almost all of their games and some of the girls were not that nice to Clara but she still cried so hard when it was over.  She has played ever since, and last summer she made her best friends playing all stars.  She had never found girls she had so much in common with they were fun, girly, tough and just as driven as her.  I saw her blossom before my eyes.  These friends all go to different schools so it was a special that they got to spend so much time together.

So as Dr. Phil would say it was not just about the possibility of a broken arm. So that is how we ended up in the er with my daughter covered from head to toe in dirt.  When we got back from the triage I looked where she had been sitting and it was covered in dirt (my own little Pig Pen).  When the doctor said it wasn't broken we both cried with relief. She has a sling for comfort and will take a break for a week or two.  In all the hurry to get to the hospital, I left my Vera Bradley bag and our MS State cooler at the park (really Brian did but I didn't tell him that I brought that bag that had my name monogrammed on it and he just plain forgot the cooler).    His friend is trying to locate it for us, it has my prescription glasses and sunglasses in it.

Meanwhile Rob had a game and broke his composite bat in half, it has a year warranty so he will be getting a replacement.  I think he was a little proud he broke it.  His first day of football practice is tomorrow.  He went to get his football cleats from flag football out of the basement and discovered one was filled with sunflower seed shells.  He dumped them in a big pile in the garage and when I asked where they came from he said my football cleat, like that kind of thing happened all the time.  So I am assuming our furry friends hid out there too and neatly left all the shells in that one shoe.  As I type I am trying to convince Brian to go set a peanut butter trap, it is not working. I hope football goes well, not quite sure what to expect.  A couple of friends told me this weekend to expect that he will get yelled at alot.  I just have to accept I don't really understand the appeal of it.   Clara took the first nap in years today, she was exhausted.