Rites of Spring

Spring is here. I know, I still have four feet of snow in some areas of my yard, the wind is still whipping about 40 miles an hour and I have a fire going in the wood stove, but believe me Spring is here.
How do I know this. Baseball has started.
At our house the first day of spring training is the start of spring. It could be 10 degrees and snowing but it is now spring.
Baseball is a passion of our family. We love to go to the games, love to watch the games on television and we actually have the hopes each year that the Cleveland Indians will make it to the World Series and Win.
Our hopes are usually dashed by May but come on, we can dream....
My husband trained his women right from the start, that you had better like this game, and you had better be good at begging for balls, and catching them.
We have caught and gotten signed over 100 major league baseballs. We have them in cubes in our "sports" family room. These are my husbands pride and joy.
Our baseball days started early when in our first year of marriage, Jeff took me on a trip to Arizona to spring training. I was told to go and get autographs while he tried to catch a ball out in the homerun area. Well, I got this old man to sign the program and Jeff came back with a ball. (I think he knocked over 10 senior citizens for it), anyway I told him I had no idea who he was. It was Bob Feller and for those of you like me, he is a Hall of Fame Pitcher and Jeff was now in love with me forever. But,he asked me to now go get the ball signed. So goes our life.
I also sat in a hotel lobby about 6 years later in Milwaukee carrying on a nice conversation with an older gentleman once again. I was waiting for Jeff to finish a conference and so excited, I was going to my first "real" baseball game. I told this man how excited I was and that I did not know much about baseball but my husband loved it and I wanted to learn. We had a great talk and then I got up to ask if the conference had let out yet. The man at the front desk, said,"miss you need to have that man that you were talking to sign this paper" I said. Why, he said, just do it and your husband will be thrilled. Okay, so I go and tell the man what this man had said and said I am sorry I do not know who you are but, would you mind signing this and I enjoyed our talk. It was Nolan Ryan, another Hall of Fame pitcher and the man that was pitching that night at the game Jeff took me too. So I am really stupid about the players, but my gift for gab has served me well, and Jeff loves this in me.
The girls have begged, smiled and looked overly adorable for more than their share of our hundred balls. Robyn can't wait to go to the games over spring break with her father, and Ally as well. This is a family tradition and it means that the cold yucky weather will soon end and our beloved sunshine will not be far off.
Now I have to go shave my legs, paint my toes, and see if any of last years shorts still fit, for I am going to be in the warm sunshine this weekend, watching a game I love and sitting next to my bestfriend. Life is good.