Wondering, Wandering, and Writing

I’m glad you’ve tuned back in for part two of Showers of Sunday Blessings.

Background:

Back in the Spring, we went to a Greenville Drive game with the Mauldin Miracle League.  The kids got to play in the stadium.  Members of the Drive were the buddies.  If you’re not familiar with Miracle League, you can look them up. The Greenville Young Marines prepared and fed us all hamburgers, hotdogs, and fixins. What I did NOT know was what time the Drive game started.

Older background:

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that years ago I was diagnosed with conditions that required me to sleep eight hours a night.  Although I often sleep just six and a half or seven now, I am STILL in the habit of being home by dark.

The game starts at 7:00pm.  Generally, a game lasts 3 to 4 hours.  That’s after dark! And then there’s the hour and a half getting from the stands to the car and home.

So I struck a deal with the boys.  If they would leave without a big fuss at 8pm, I’d bring them to an afternoon game.

Fast forward to August:

The Drive gave free tickets to folks, in several counties, who completed the County Library Summer Reading Program.  It’s an afternoon game. YAY!

Not yay – my cousin who LOVES baseball could not go.

My husband is NOT a fan of sitting anywhere for several hours.  Additionally, the sun is not at all kind to his skin.

I had only ONE extra ticket, and could not think of anyone to ask.

OH, and another thing.  For some reason as I’ve gotten older I don’t like crowds as much as I used to.  When I reserved our tickets, only scattered seats were available in sections other than the ones out past first base.  By scattered seats, I mean nowhere with two, much less four, open seats together.

So here we have a set-up for a perfect storm.  One adult, two active boys.  Crowded stadium.

When I whined to my sister on Friday, she thoughtfully said, “I’ll pray for rain.”

After church on Sunday, we zoomed home to grab a quick lunch.  I received a wonderful surprise!  Chuck was going with us!!  YAY!!

In spite of leaving home a little later than I’d planned, we arrived in plenty of time for the boys to get their hats and parade with hundreds of other readers around the stadium.  And then – IT RAINED!  It was a downpour!  We sheltered under the picnic area.  As it turns out, seats way out past first base are really close to that shelter and restrooms.  Those were certainly a plus.  The rain stopped, they uncovered the infield and rechalked the lines, and the game commenced.

Whether it was the heat, the possibility of storms, the actual rain, or lots of people getting tickets “just in case we want to go,” the stadium was less than half full. There was no huge crowd.  Chuck was with me, so we had one adult to stay with each kid when one needed a bathroom break or a walk to break their boredom.  The skies were mostly overcast. I enjoyed the game, especially the sixth inning when Greenville scored seven runs.  We had pleasant conversations with the people near us. 

I also learned that the far-away free parking is just a ten minute walk – in the shade – from the stadium.  Not bad at all.  Thank you, online maps.

I sit here on Wednesday still counting my Sunday blessings.

#bgwww23