Pete Rose died

Last evening we learned that Pete Rose had passed away.  My sister let me know.  I really wanted to write, but I wasn't feeling well at all.  My sister and I share so many memories from our childhood that involve the Reds, and specifically, Pete Rose.  I remember being devastated when he started playing for the Phillies, and I was beyond thrilled when he came to back to Cincinnati from Montreal.  I vividly remember watching the game on TV the night that he hit #4192.  It's always sad to lose parts of our childhood.  So, so many memories.

And they are both in the rear-view mirror

A few minutes ago, one of the players on Andrew's baseball team got an out and that ended the game, which ended the season.  They had one win the entire season, and a whole bunch of losses.  Andrew coached with different guys this year, and none of them were his friends.  It was definitely not his most fun season, and he has decided it may be time for him to take a break from that coaching.  In all honesty, I'm not sure he'll have much of a choice.  There were 13 games in the last 17 days, and with the kids not being around, that makes it very, very challenging for Abby who needs to go out at specific times of the day.

We also finished musical week at my school.  It is my least favorite week of the year.  We do performances on Wednesday and Thursday, and then we all just kind of crawl through the day today until we can go home and crash.  We have one more really long day this year, and then we are almost ready to wrap up the year.

It's nice to have these things in the rear-view mirror!

161 games of hope

Today was the last day of the MLB season.  The Reds were officially eliminated from the playoffs just yesterday.  It stinks that they lost the last two games of the season, but it's amazing that we still had hope right through yesterday.  While I would have much preferred that our season be able to continue, I take some solace that Cards finished in last place, and that the Cubs didn't make the playoffs either.

This week is going to feel like baseball weather though.  The highs this week are supposed to be in the upper 80's.  Not my favorite kind of weather, and I especially hate the thought of using the a/c in October.  But, next weekend looks delightful, and I'm ready for long-sleeves!

A fabulous sports weekend

In addition to getting to attend the Reds game on Sunday, the entire weekend was full of fun sporting events.  Friday evening was the first Friday in weeks that Andrew didn't have to attend the high school football game.  We enjoyed the Reds game on TV, but losing to the Pirates is NOT what we had hoped for.  Saturday we watched ESPN's College Game Day live from South Bend.  That afternoon we flipped back and forth between the Michigan/Rutgers game the UC/Oklahoma game.  Neither game went the way I had hoped.  That evening, we started watching the Reds game and were delighted when they jumped out to an early 9-0 lead.  That made the eventual 13-12 loss all the more crushing!  And of course, we watched OSU score with only a second left to defeat Notre Dame.  This is literally the only time I ever root against the Buckeyes, but rooting against them I was!

After we had a blast Sunday afternoon, we were able to watch the Steelers game that night.  We hadn't even realized that it was a Sunday night game so that was great planning!  I didn't stay up for the entire game, but Andrew did and was very pleased the Steelers were victorious.  The Bengals were also on national TV last night and won their first game of the season.  The Reds beat Cleveland tonight, and that guarantees them a .500 record after losing 100 games last year.  Their is still a mathematical chance to make the playoffs as a wild-card, but time is running out.

I'm so grateful I enjoy these sports and these moments.  As I pointed out to Andrew on Saturday, life is pretty good if the biggest disagreement is which college football game to watch!

A fabulous afternoon of family fun and memories made

Our family had a really wonderful afternoon.  Last spring, I had won tickets to a Reds game in an auction.  It wasn't until the middle of the summer I remembered that I needed to redeem them and pick a game.  I decided a Sunday afternoon would be the best because I wouldn't miss any college football that way.  I didn't realize at the time that the Steelers are playing this evening so that is perfect as well.

I also didn't really think about it at the time, but it was the last home game of the season.  It's so hard to believe, after losing 100 games last year, that the Reds are still playing meaningful games in late September!  With both kids taking class and not working right now we were pretty sure they'd be available to go with us, and they were.  It was so wonderful to have a few hours to spend together.

On Friday, I realized that with it being the last home game, there is a very good chance it would be the final home game of Joey Votto.  He came up in 2007, and my kids don't remember the Reds without Votto.  As he came up to bat the first time, the fans gave him a standing ovation and timeout was called so that he could acknowledge the fans.  It lasted a good amount of time, and fans were chanting his name.  It was a bit emotional, and the manager mentioned later that the team has some emotions as well.  Unfortunately, he struck out.  In his fourth and final at-bat of the game, he got a hit, and was pulled for a pinch runner.  That allowed the fans to stand and chant again, and he gave a "curtain call" by coming back out of the dugout.  Catherine doesn't love sports, but she knows about Joey Votto.  And Thomas definitely calls Votto his favorite player and was feeling a little sad about it.  Baseball is a game that transcends generations.  It's a game where our earliest memories of the game are often memories made with our parents and grandparents, and that is why I'm so grateful we were able to share this today as a family.

There are other things from this weekend I want to write about, but those will be another post.  I wanted to make sure I always remember our special afternoon!

We made it!

We made it through a whole bunch of things this week.  It was an incredibly long week.  My school put on a musical, and I worked over 40 hours in the process.  Everyone was just drained getting through today, but we finally made it to the end of the day, and we had made it through musical week!

We also had our final band concert this week, at least that we could watch.  Thomas will perform tomorrow at a music festival but we won't be there.  This week's performance was the steel band that he joined this year.  They held an outdoor performance at the Community Arts Center, and the weather could not have been more perfect.  It was truly a lovely way to begin our week.  We have officially made it through being band parents!

Tuesday was Thomas's final tennis match.  We didn't get to see a whole bunch of matches this year, but this particular match took forever.  The weather was still lovely though, and we've made it through tennis season!

Today Andrew's baseball team had a tournament game.  We were fairly certain it was not going to come out in our favor.  To be honest, I was kind of hoping that it was bad enough that it would be over in five innings.  They ended up losing by the run rule amount, but it still took seven innings to get it done.  I am not at all sad that baseball season is coming to an end and we made it through the season!

Other things are ending as well.  Tonight is Thomas's very last shift at his very first job.  He'll be off work for two weeks before the job starts at the city pool for the summer.  The university pool has been a good first job for him.  The college students are leaving town as the academic year is drawing to a close.  We've made it through another school year in that regard.

And of course, we are about to have a very, very big "last".  On Monday, it will be Thomas's last day of school.  The last day I ever have a child in a k-12 setting.  Oh my goodness, it's so hard to believe it's here.  Because Thomas had delays, he started school as soon as he turned three.  That means he had 12 years of school, plus Kindergarten, plus 2.5 years of preschool.  I remember when we learned that Thomas was going to qualify for the preschool at that time.  We realized he would be in school for 15.5 years, and that seemed as though it was forever.  Yet, here we are with just one day left.  It all happened so fast, in the blink of an eye!

This past week

I'll be honest, last week was not my most favorite week ever.  For one thing, the weather really was crappy.  Additionally, my mother-in-law was here.  It's not that having her here is so awful, but because Andrew had significant evening commitments, it made it much more challenging for me.  I often felt I couldn't do my thing because I was focused on trying to entertain her.  Andrew doesn't really understand my feelings about the whole thing, but it is what it is.  

Last Monday Andrew had to work a lacrosse game, and wasn't home until about 8:30.  I had made a lasagna for dinner so that we could have leftovers during the week.  Tuesday he had a baseball game and wasn't home until about 9:30.  Leftover lasagna and potato soup was dinner.  Wednesday I worked until Noon, then went to the church to work for a bit.  Dinner that evening was a chicken stuffing casserole, and I skipped my band meeting that evening so we could eat dinner together as a family since baseball and tennis were cancelled (you wouldn't believe the amount of rain we've had around here).  Thursday I left work early to pick up my mother-in-law so that we could watch Thomas play tennis.  I was so glad that she was able to see him play, and I was even more grateful that he and his partner were able to get a win!  I was a whole lot less grateful that we had to slosh through so much mud though.   We had some chicken tortilla soup for dinner that evening that I had picked up the day before.  Friday I had to take the dog to the vet before coming home to get my mother-in-law so that we could venture to Andrew's away baseball game.  We didn't stay for the entire game because they were getting clobbered.  I came home to get pizzas in the oven, and Andrew got home around 8:30 again that evening.

By Saturday, I was pretty exhausted from not sleeping well, and honestly from being tense about entertaining my mother-in-law.  She's a lovely person generally, but it's just tough not having my own space for an entire week.  Usually when she is here I can take a little time for myself while she and Andrew do something, but he just wasn't available much during the week.  Fortunately, dinner Saturday was an effort by all of us, and my mom came down to join us.  Unfortunately, she was in a car accident on the way home, but she's okay overall.

It was a long week overall.  Andrew took his mom back yesterday and returned today.  It SNOWED this morning, so sporting events are canceled.  He's at practice, and I'm ready to enjoy some quiet this evening!

What game are we watching???

Today is the beginning of baseball season.  Anyone who knows me, knows that this is what I live for...I love baseball!  This year though, I haven't felt the enthusiasm.  Two years ago during the pandemic, I realized that tI could live without it...I had no choice!  There was no baseball to watch!  Last year, we weren't able to watch the Reds on TV due to our TV carrier.  The Reds weren't all that great either, and we just didn't really follow along.  Then, the lockout happened and my enthusiasm continued to plummet.  Once the lockout was settled, the Reds traded so many players that it all just seemed ridiculous.

Tonight's game is on ESPN, so we could watch it.  It was late enough in the evening that even Andrew would be home from his baseball coaching to watch.  This whole thing though, seems ridiculous.  First of all, I DETEST the designated hitter, and I hate that it is part of the National League game now.  I find it ridiculous that the catchers are no longer giving signs to the pitcher and there are communication systems.  It all annoys me.  Then, we have "entertainment" that isn't really part of the game.  As far as I'm concerned, the game coverage hit an entirely new "low" when Joey Votto, who agreed to be miked for the game, was expected to have a conversation with the analysts while he was in the field trying to play first base.  Andrew and I kept looking at each other saying, "What is happening?"  I mean, how is this okay????  The man has a job to do, and having a conversation during seems a little bit distracting.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Joey Votto, and I find him absolutely entertaining.  The problem is, I would really rather be entertained by the game itself, and maybe we could have a chat with the ball player later??  This is just odd, and I'm not a fan of the current game as it is!

I even used the same bowl

When I was a child, the annual Baseball All-Star game was a highlight of the summer.  My sister and I were allowed to pop a big bowl of popcorn and even have a soft drink.  I have wonderful memories of sharing that evening with family.

Last night, I got out the air popper and made a big bowl of popcorn.  Recently, my mother had even given me the bowl that we used as a kid, so I used the exact same bowl.  We watched as they paid tribute to Hank Aaron, and we enjoyed getting to see our Reds representatives (Winker & Castellanos...voted in as starters!) get to play the game.  It was fun to share it with my family, and I even used the same bowl to make that popcorn!

A tennis victory

Today, Thomas's tennis match was against the parochial school in the neighboring town.  Because the match starts just as I get off work, I don't usually go the away meets because by the time I get there, the match would be over.  Unfortunately, I missed Thomas's first tennis win!  I am so excited for him.  He's not yet even an average tennis player, but everyone deserves to feel victory, even if not frequent.  I am so excited for him, and I love his enthusiasm about it all!

Also, Andrew's team had a come-from-behind-walk-off victory in their baseball game.  That was exciting as well.  So happy for everyone!

So much on the calendar

I just finished updating our calendars.  Andrew is coaching baseball again, and Thomas has decided to try tennis.  As both are spring outdoor sports, the "schedule" that is provided at the beginning of the season seems almost laughable.  Regardless, I spent quite a bit of time making sure our calendar was as up to date as it could be.  To be honest, I had forgotten how crazy being a baseball coach's wife can be.  Adding tennis which is also every day to the mix, wowza.  Last year at this time we were literally doing nothing, and I had just forgotten how busy this can all be.  Our calendar squares are fairly full, and of course I now work full time.  I'm excited that Thomas is trying something new, and Andrew loves coaching.  I sure did love all that family time we had last year though!

Opening day has finally arrived!

I just about 4-1/2 hours, the Cincinnati Reds are beginning their baseball season.  I am so looking forward to having something decent to watch on TV.  Andrew and I have mentioned how there are many times it would've been nice to have a game to watch.  The Reds are supposed to be improved over the last couple of years, so I'm glad we get to at least have an attempt at a season.  We'll see what happens!

Another fun family day

Our family had another fun family day today.  We drove back to Cincinnati today and visited the Reds Hall of Fame.  Our membership expires at the end of the month and we wanted to get another visit in.  We were pretty much the only people there, and not much had changed since last summer...especially since there hasn't been a season this year!  Afterwards, we drove an hour north to another of our family's favorite restaurants.  They have the BEST cheese fries.  Sadly, the recipe had changed a bit and they weren't quite the same, but they were still pretty darn good.  For the kids and I, we each ate an order as our entree.  So filling!  As we left the museum, the kids mentioned to us that they had "prepared" for lunch by not eating anything all day.  Oh goodness!

I love these days that we get to spend with our kiddos.  We are so incredibly lucky!

Last year's Opening Day is better than nothing

Today is supposed to be Opening Day for the Reds.  Of course, that isn't happening, and we are months away from even thinking about it.  There is nothing like Opening Day in Cincinnati.  Nothing at all.  It means for months on end, there will be something to watch on TV.  It means spring is arriving, and the school year is nearing an end.  With it being spring break this week, I would've actually been able to watch everything on Opening Day.

This year of course, none of that is happening.  We may or may not, depending on things, have a baseball season this year.  I am optimistic that maybe we will, but I also know it isn't the most important thing this year.  Fox Sports Ohio has decided that today, they will show last year's first game.  It certainly isn't the same, and I obviously know how it ends.  I know how the season went...it's all already happened...nothing new.  But for today, this is still better than no baseball at all!

We are coming up on my not-so-favorite weekend

I'm tired, and I don't see a whole lot of sleep on the horizon, to be honest.  Between both my jobs, I will work close to (or a little over) 40 hours this week.  I understand there are mothers who do this every week, and that is their reality.  The problem in our house is that the kids (and hubby) are treating things like I'm only working 20 hours, and things are NOT getting done.  I am extremely frustrated with that, but I guess it is what it is.

Saturday, the kids have to be at a home swim meet...at 7:30AM!  Thank goodness it is a home meet!  This is a meet with 30-35 teams, so seats are non-existent, and we don't generally go.  I'll still be up though, and given the weather forecast I may even drive them.  I have to work a volunteer shift from 11-3 that day, and then that afternoon, some very dear friends whom we have not seen in a very long time are coming to visit.  We are so excited to be seeing them.

I am hoping to get the house picked up (and maybe even actually cleaned) before they arrive, but I still have several hours I need to get in at church.  Oh, and did I mention my hubby leaves after school today for a baseball conference?  Yep, he'll be gone almost 48 hours!  The timing of this is exactly why I was not thrilled about all of this from the beginning.

Sunday, the kids get to be at the pool even earlier...by 7!  This is just never my favorite weekend!  Andrew has to work at a baseball clinic (seriously??), and we have plans again Sunday evening, but hopefully there might be able to be some naps that afternoon.

Thank goodness for Monday!  Andrew still has the baseball clinic, but the rest of us should be able to just relax.  After this weekend, only three more weeks of swim.  Catherine is a little emotional about it, but we all appreciate having a little extra down time during the spring.

I don't want to wish time away, but it sure is easier to appreciate the less hectic days!

My sister made me cry this morning

Normally when my sister makes me cry, it's because of something awful she has done.  Not today though.  It's because she shared some thoughts and memories regarding the retirement of Marty Brennaman.  Like me, his voice is so closely tied to memories of our childhood, specifically involving our dad and grandparents.

I am sitting here, at not yet 7:30 in the morning, fighting tears.  Honestly, it's like losing a little part of my childhood.  He is also so closely connected to memories involving loved ones, and it is almost like losing those loved ones all over again.  I am really having a tough time with it.  Because it is an afternoon game, I won't be able to listen to the game today.  It is probably just as well.

Reds baseball on radio will never be the same. Never

I was born in late October of 1973...meaning after the end of the Reds baseball season.  In April 1974, the Reds had a new voice in the radio booth...Marty Brennaman.  He joined Joe Nuxhall in the booth for their first season together, and it was the first of many.

As you might know, back when I was a child the Reds were not televised in every game.  If you wanted to follow along with the game (and we did) you listened to Marty and Joe on the radio.  I have vivid memories of summer days as a child, where my dad would be outside either working in the yard, or working on a vehicle, or doing some other project, and we would have the game on the radio.  These memories make me smile, and also bring a tear to my eye because I miss my dad so much.

Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall were "Marty and Joe" from that first game in April 1974 until October 3, 2004 when Joe Nuxhall retired.  Folks, for the first 30 years of my life, I had only known "Marty and Joe" on the radio...literally my entire life at that point.  I was 31-years-old before I knew anything else.

And here we are fifteen years later.  Marty Brennaman announced his impending retirement prior to the season.  This is his last home stand, and he isn't traveling with the team to Pittsburgh this weekend, so these three games are it.  Honestly, I am sitting here fighting tears.  I am a die-hard Cincinnati Reds fan, and for FORTY-SIX years I've been able to listen to Marty Brennaman on the radio.  Announcers don't call games anymore like he does.  If something stinks, Marty tells it like it is.  I have no doubt part of my dedication to the Reds is because I got to listen to the talented duo when I was growing up.  I'm very, very grateful that part of the connection to my childhood has been maintained for so many year.  Reds baseball on the radio will never be the same.  Never.

Trade deadline

I've been a baseball fan my entire life, and there have been many times in my adult life that this date, the MLB trade deadline, has made me unhappy.  That's the hard part of rooting for a team that often is no longer competing for anything by this time of year.  We had some hope heading into the All-Star break, but when we came out losing more than we were winning, I knew we were going to be "sellers" rather than "buyers" as this deadline approached.  Sure enough, the Reds traded Puig, Roark, & Gennett.  I wasn't surprised by the Puig trade, although I did enjoy watching him play.  Gennett was one I really liked, but this is life in the baseball world!

Hall of Fame year continues

After visiting the football HOF in April and the baseball HOF last month, we made a visit to Cincinnati this afternoon.  The Reds have the largest team Hall of Fame in the country, and we had purchased a membership for the year.  We had last been there several years ago, and many things had changed since then.  We all enjoyed getting to see the memorabilia, and the kids especially enjoyed things that were recent enough they could remember.  Even Andrew who didn't grow up a Reds fan, enjoyed all the memories.  We were only there an hour, but with a membership we get to go back again anytime in the next year!

After the Hall, we visited our family's favorite restaurant on the river.  It's tough not to overeat at this place, but even more than my stomach, I came home with such a full heart.  We loved our afternoon together!

Baseball Hall of Fame

This is the next part in our vacation trip...

We left the island Wednesday morning.  The waters were the choppiest they had been during our entire trip, and we had been told that at higher winds we wouldn't be able to leave.  I was concerned when I saw some white caps on the lake when we first awoke, but was told it would be no problem.  It was a rough ride off the island, and I'll be honest, I prayed almost continuously.  The kids didn't mind getting wet though!

We loaded our vehicle and drove to his aunt's house.  She was on the island with us and Andrew offered to drive her vehicle to her house.  I drove our vehicle and picked up Andrew at her house.  We were then on our way south, and driving through Vermont was absolutely lovely.  It is all rural driving, but the weather was awesome.  We stopped at a small country store and did a bit of shopping, and we just really enjoyed the trip...until we hit a glitch.  We had basically just crossed into New York when Andrew realized he still had his aunt's keys!  Ugh!  He called her right away and fortunately she had another set so we were able to express mail her keys back to her.  The post office was right around the corner from where we stopped for lunch, then we were on our way again.

We arrived at our motel late afternoon.  The thing we were all most excited about was a shower!  We hadn't showered at all while on the island, and while Thomas didn't seem to mind one bit, Catherine was practically desperate for a shower.  We drove into Cooperstown (about 5 miles) and enjoyed dinner at Doubleday's Cafe.  The food was awesome!  We checked out some of the cute little shops and had some ice cream for dessert of course!  Why does ice cream always taste better on vacation? 😁

The next morning we hit the Hall of Fame mid-morning (after breakfast and re-loading the car).  The kids really enjoyed getting to see the displays.  I was somewhat disappointed that there was definitely less Reds stuff there then last time (we were there 15 years ago), but we suspect that has something to do with the fact that the Reds have their own team Hall of Fame.  My favorite part of the hall is always the plaques of the inductees, and the Reds have no shortage of representation!  Because Thomas received his late uncle's baseball card collection, he was also excited to see players from other teams.  We checked out the shop, then decided to walk around and visit other shops.  We had a very late lunch, and Andrew and I were especially pleased to eat at the same restaurant we had 15 years ago.  A couple of more shopping stops led to some purchases, specifically a Griffey jersey for Thomas and a Larkin jersey for Catherine, as well as some other memorabilia.  We left late afternoon.  Originally the plan had been to spend two nights in Cooperstown and drive the ten hours home on Friday, but it didn't work out that way.  Lodging was ridiculously expensive there, so Andrew and I decided that we would begin the drive home that evening.  We didn't care how late we left town, because each minute that we drove was one closer to being home.  If it was only an hour, so be it.

We ended up driving a little over three hours before stopping.  We grabbed a quick dinner and turned in fairly early.  We were all tired.  The next morning we set a 7:00 alarm because we were all anxious to get on the road to our sweet Abby pup.  We ended up arriving back at our house in the middle of the afternoon.  Our sweet pup was so excited to see us.  She had a housesitter while we were gone who adores her, but it just isn't the same.

We really, really loved this trip.  We couldn't believe how well Thomas and Catherine got along during the entire trip, and how laidback everything seemed to be.  I am so grateful that we had our vehicle that was so reliable and surprisingly spacious.  It was very much a special trip for our family!