Softball Sundays

I saw on a post online the other day showing pictures of two different yards, one that was green and manicured with neatly groomed flower beds and then another that had overgrown grass and weeds and no flowers in site. The post was referring to the difference between sports parents and regular people this time of year, with the overgrown yard reflecting the life of a sports parent. Oh, how I related!

We're in full swing of softball season and with two daughters playing, our time is devoted to them and their teams and not so much anything else. I hate to knock our house because Hubby tries hard to keep up with the mowing and weeds so it never looks too bad, but when we rolled in from a weekend long tournament this last Sunday night, I could see all the neighbors recently mowed grass and freshly planted flowering bushes that they probably worked on all weekend, and then I looked at our house with the front flower pots droopy and begging for a good watering, and the grass that grew at least 6 inches since we left on Friday.

And then while the neighbors sat lounging on their porches, sipping on their glass of iced tea, admiring their beautifully tended lawn, we were racing to empty out coolers, leaving piles of ice all over the grass, chucking empty water bottles into recycling and dumping out bat bags full of sunflower seeds, dirt and half drank Gatorade bottles before the sun went down. Buckets of softballs and water coolers were quickly shoved back in our garage, a room that desperately needs cleaned out AGAIN but will have to wait till summer is over and our weekends open back up.

When the vehicle was finally cleared from all the softball gear, clothes bags and fast food trash, the sun was setting and the hours before our work day started looming nearer. Then while everyone else in the neighborhood finished their tea and sat down in their living rooms to enjoy a Sunday night tv show, we were frantically try to get all five of us showered before the hot water ran out because there's no option of not showering after a long day at the ballfields. Then as the minutes ticked away, dirty clothes were dumped in the laundry room, leftover food was returned to the fridge and the weekend mail was quickly scanned to make sure we didn't miss anything important. All the jackets were hung back up and stadium blankets folded to await another visit to a tournament, while the kids finally started heading to bed, exhausted after a fun but long weekend outside.

And as 11 rolled around and I finally made it to bed, I was happy that our home is somewhat back in order, but the Monday to-do list was scrolling through my head already. So I decided to read for a bit, staying up later than I should, and then spent some time in prayer, thankful for another priceless weekend with my family, safe travels and all the many blessings I've been given but don't deserve. My yard might not be the epitome of Home and Garden magazine, but the grass will get mowed and the flowers will get watered eventually and one day, it'll be the envy of the neighborhood. And some Sunday, I'll sit outside with my glass of tea and admire it as well, but for now, it's softball season!