Time for Softball Again!

It's that time of year again! Time to play softball! We've signed our team up with the local Parks and Rec Department, and our games begin on August 11.

I'm fully recovered from the broken ankle in last season's finale, although I've yet to swing a bat with my balky left shoulder. I'm sure it will be something I can play through, though.

Chuck is taking a more active role in the coaching of the team this year, so I'm glad of that. I'm still helping him out, but he's going to take some of the load off.

Since he's doing the lineups and field assignments now, he's trying to decide where to put everyone. In my 20+ years of playing softball, I've played every position on the field, but as I age, my depth perception is failing me. My only hope of not completely embarrassing myself in the outfield is to play there when the sun is still up. Once the sun starts to set, that's it for my ability to track fly balls. I can see that the ball is in the air, but its trajectory is a complete mystery to me. One time last season, I was yelling "I got it! I got it!" while trying to field a fly ball. I heard the outfielder next to me say, "Um...no you don't." And a second or two later, the ball went about 20 feet over my head. That's how bad it is.

So these days, I'm a much better infielder than I am an outfielder. We have an absolutely stellar shortstop--easily the best athlete on our team--so I won't be playing there. And we have a new woman on the team who holds down first base quite well, so I won't be over there, either. Chuck's trying to decide whether to put me at second base or third base. Either one works just fine for me. I like them both. I'm hoping we can have a practice before the season starts, in part so we can determine if our new first baseman is going to be able to handle the velocity of my throws from third base. Many a first baseman over the years has complained about how hard I throw. Even when I try to take something off of the throw, I get complaints (and I start losing accuracy). That was actually a big reason why I moved to second base. With short tosses from second to first, I throw with a much lesser sense of urgency.

So anyway, whether it's second base or third base, I'm looking forward to it.

And I'm not sliding this season.

At least not feet-first.....

My World Gets a New Look

I haven't enjoyed My World in quite some time, so I've decided to shake things up. Maybe a little different look will help My World become a more pleasant place.

I think I'm also going to try shorter, more frequent posts. I know how much everyone enjoys those posts that take 20 minutes to read (end sarcasm), but those take me two or three hours to type. I just don't have that block of time available on a regular basis, and it takes a lot of energy to come up with topics to write about and then edit them to my standard of perfection. Maybe shorter posts will keep me motivated to write more often.

I certainly need the outlet, that's for sure.

I've also noticed that I bitch a lot. I've never been accused of being an optimist, but as I look back on previous posts, I see now just how much I bitch about stuff. It's no wonder that My World feels so negative. Perhaps shorter posts will allow me to focus on positive things and record them before I forget them and replace them with memories of negative stuff (it's in my nature; don't bother trying to fix me).

For example, my left shoulder hurts like a son of a bitch, and it has been feeling like that for about a month now. I could write a book on how frustrating and painful this shoulder experience has been, but instead, I'm going to try to focus on some positive things. My doctor referred me today to a sports medicine specialist who seems to be highly regarded by several of my friends, and my doctor assured me that "we'll get that shoulder fixed up." And I should focus on the fact that my appointment today was free of charge, thanks to my employer setting up a free medical clinic for county employees a few months ago. I should focus on the fact that I got some medication free of charge today, too, thanks to the free medical clinic. And I should focus on the fact that I have finally...FINALLY...found a doctor who I like, who I'm comfortable talking to, who listens to me, and who remembers things I say and concerns I have (such as my unwillingness to use opiates for pain relief). Again, thanks to the free medical clinic.

I should be thankful that the non-narcotic pain reliever he has given me knocks the shoulder pain down from feeling like someone is driving a red-hot railroad spike through the front of my shoulder with a jackhammer, to something manageable. This is especially good because softball season starts on August 11--another thing I'm thankful for.

I'm very thankful that I volunteered to coach t-ball. For an hour each Saturday, I'm in absolute heaven, teaching a bunch of four- and five-year-olds how to play a sport I love. Kids that age are such a refreshingly stark contrast to my daily contacts at work. I never want that hour to end.

I'm thankful that my best friend lives right across the street. And that we co-own a kegerator over at his house. I'm thankful that I can talk to him about anything at all, which is even easier for me to do after pressing the kegerator into service.

There. That's good enough for today. I feel better already about My World. Of course, there's a lot more that I'm thankful for, but I'll save those thoughts for another day when My World needs another picker-upper.

Now it's time to see what Chuck and the kegerator are up to.