~ College World Series

The College World Series is coming to a close . . . in more ways than one. Once the last inning is played and the winning team is crowned the victor, the series and Rosenblatt will come to an end. The CWS will move to its new home in downtown Omaha while Rosenblatt Stadium will be bulldozed, allowing Henry Doorly Zoo to expand. It’s kind of bittersweet. While the CWS will move on to something bigger and better, a monument & legacy in Omaha will be torn down. How weird will it be to drive down 13th Street and not see Rosenblatt? Don't forget who wins the series this year.....we might find it as a trivia question someday - Who was the last team to win the CWS at Rosenblatt Stadium?

For as long as I can remember, KJ and I have found our way to Rosenblatt during the CWS. Once we had the kids, we brought them with us. As they got older, it became a tradition that we’d go Father’s Day weekend. It's true what they say - baseball is definitely a family thing. The four of us would pick our favorite team for that series and from then on, it was ‘may the best team win.’

It soon became a family joke that one could pick whatever team they wanted because ‘Mom’s team always goes home first.’ It was like I was automatically jinxing the team I picked to win the series.

However, this year is different. Just because KJ and I now live in California doesn’t mean we don’t continue the tradition of picking our teams. When I told Lynsay what team I picked, I heard, “Mom!! Don’t you look at stats?” I stared at the phone and thought to myself, ‘Who IS this child talking to me about stats?’ When I told Ryan, I heard, “You’ll be going home first.”

Well, I’m here to tell you that the “Moms team always goes home first” streak has been broken. My pick, (South Carolina Gamecocks) is playing their 2nd game in the Championship right now, as I sit here typing. So, to my son, my daughter and KJ.......neener neener neener. Uh huh, I really did just say that.

Excuse me while I go cheer on my team . . . .

Oh, btw.....Go Cocks!!

~ Father's Day

“It is a wise father that knows his child.”

. . . William Shakespeare

In our family, the kids come to KJ and I for different reasons.

KJ is the ‘go to’ guy. When the kids need to know anything at all (and I mean anything), they go to their dad. He is a fountain of wisdom who seems to know the answer to anything they ask. It’s always been this way. We’d be driving down the interstate and Lynsay would see something and she’d say, “Dad, what’s that for” and he’d have the answer. Or Ryan would see something and say, “Dad, how does that work?” and KJ would have the answer. I don’t know how he does it.

It’s been a joke in our family for as long as I can remember . . . if you need to know an answer to something, go to dad. Kj knows it, I know it and the kids know it. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m no longer offended when the kids say, “Oh, well, we’ll just ask dad, he’ll know” because I know that not only will he have the answer the kids are looking for but it will be the right answer. I have no idea how he does it!

I’m the mom, so they come to me for ‘mom’ type things and that’s perfectly okay with me. I nurture, I love, I advise, I give a boost to their sagging attitudes, turn their frowns into smiles, dry their tears, clean their scraped up knees and try to heal their bruised or broken hearts.

I’m not, however, the ‘go to’ guy. That job falls to KJ...always has and always will. And I’m okay with that.

So, to the man who definitely knows his children, loves them, fulfills their every wish & their every need and who has the answer to all their questions big and small....Happy Father’s Day. From the moment the doctor took Ryan out of my stomach and placed him in your arms, I knew what kind of father you’d be; the look of awe and wonder on your face was definitely a “kodak moment.” You wear the role of fatherhood like a second skin. Everytime I see you with our kids, my heart swells with an indescribable love and joy. You, my love, took to fatherhood like it was what you were born to do. I know it, they know it and now you know it. Happy Father’s Day . . . you’re the best.

~ Summer

Summer . . . never-ending days of flip-flops and swimsuits - the smells of summer always in the air....fresh cut grass, bbq grills and suntan oil and the shrieks & laughter of the children floating through the air.

When I was growing up, summer was absolutely my most favorite time of the year. The last day of school could never come fast enough. In grade school, I spent my summers chasing after my brothers & cousins and shopping with my mom and one of her friends who had a daughter my age. This friend of my moms made a lot of my clothes and on these shopping excursions, my friend and I were often dressed exactly alike. Hey, in those days, it was kinda cool. I think. In junior high, I spent my summer days at the pool, crushing on the redheaded lifeguard from afar. He was probably all of 18 but when you’re 13, well.....the redheaded lifeguard seemed like the perfect summer crush. In highschool, I spent my summers at Peony Park, slathering baby oil & iodine on my skin and still crushing on the lifeguards.

After I got married, had kids and started working for the school system, the last day of school and summer took on a whole new meaning. I mean, seriously....when you spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months out of the year with hormonal teenagers....you’ve got summer AND adult beverages on the brain from August til May.

In the early years, summer meant trips to the zoo with the kids, fishing trips to Canada for Ryan and trips to Oklahoma for Lynsay and I. It meant spending every day for hours on end at Papio Bay with the kids and friends. For all I cared, summer could have gone on and on and on. The carefree days were what recharged my batteries and got me ready for fall and a new school year.

These days, I still love summer. I still spend my summer days out by the pool but instead of crushing on the redheaded lifeguard, I find myself . . . shhhh, crushing on Roarke because I’m usually reading an Eve Dallas book. Oftentimes, I close my eyes while floating in the pool and in my minds eye, I’m at the beach instead of my own backyard but hey, who wouldn’t want to be at the beach, right?

Sundays are pool days here.....KJ and I will spend the bulk of the day floating around in the sun, enjoying the peace and quiet while sipping strawberry margartias. Shrugs, sipping sounds much better than guzzling.

And when the days of triple digit weather gets to be too much, we’ll find ourselves on the beach and trust me, there is nothing quite like having your lawn chair in the sand with the vast ocean right before you.

Summer days . . . . gotta love ‘em.