Little League Opening Night

 

The opening night of Little League season was on Thursday night, and we all looked forward to the proposed activities on our itinerary.  The plan was to attend a local high school baseball game (and watch the "big kids" play!), have the professional photographer take individual and tee ball team pictures, and march in a parade with all of the other Little League teams in the area.      

Our first sign that the evening was going to be a little different than we anticipated was when we went to our assigned meeting place for pictures.  There were literally hundreds of Little League players wandering around, playing in the dirt, and checking out each other's new uniforms as the poor photographer tried to corral teams and control the chaos.  He was so behind schedule that the kids didn't get to watch any of the baseball game, and parents were frantically trying to keep those white baseball pants clean until after their children were photographed.  Finally it was our turn:

I still think our team has the cutest logo- How I adore that "W" on the banner! 

 

Our spirits weren't dampened by the frost warning for that night and unseasonably low temperatures for this time of year in SC.  We were even optimistic about the fact that directly after pictures, the teams were required to line up for the parade (a full hour before it started).  I knew Coach Daddy would have his hands full trying to keep ten 4 & 5 year olds occupied for that length of time, but was certain that our team was in good hands.  Below is a picture of all of the coaches and players lined up behind the outfield fence.  It is hard to capture in the photo just how long that line was:

And then our teeth started to chatter.  The sun went down and boy, was it chilly!  I thought of our friends in NY, who tell stories about wearing gloves and earmuffs while watching their children at sports activities (Mrs. Davies, that's you!).  Leah sat bundled up in my lap, as we patiently watched about 25 other teams make their way around the stadium.  Peanut was a doll, and she clapped and cheered for many of the players, waving and smiling, and apparently unfazed by the cold.  Eventually we were rewarded as our Nationals marched by, banner in hand.  Look how proud our little man is:

 

 

This is what your tee ball team of preschoolers will look like (after holding it together for over an hour) when they finally get their 5 minutes of fame in the parade: 

At least they were all still in one piece! The poor Wee Ball teams (3 year-olds) marched in very last, which was almost 3 hours into this event.  Absolutely freezing and way past bed time, there was at least one player crying on each team who needed to be carried by a coach or rescued by a parent in the crowd.  Poor little guys! 

All of the teams lined up and I have to confess that Leah and I went to warm up in the car while the first pitch of the season was thrown and the closing remarks were announced:

 

Luke and Mark joined us in later, and Luke announced, "I am SOOO tuckered out!".  He was such a trouper, and was so excited about being in a parade.  His favorite part of parades has always been marching bands (at Wake Forest games, Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv, etc).  Apparently, as he waited with his teammates to march into the stadium, he whispered to Mark, "Daddy, where's my instrument?"

 

And Mark smiled to himself and replied, "There aren't instruments in this parade, buddy, just baseball players."

 

Luke nodded thoughtfully and appeared to accept this answer.  When I heard the story, I couldn't stop giggling.  It's just like Luke, to be so literal and expect his parade to have instruments, like all the ones he's watched before.

 

Although the night wasn't exactly what we expected, it was all made worthwhile by the sight of our sweet boy in his uniform.  It was one of those moments as a parent that took my breath away and that I wasn't expecting.  I know that we have years of sports ahead of us, and many, many uniforms in our future, but this first time is a milestone and a preview of life ahead.  This is my baby, and he's growing up: 

 

 

 

Below are some more pictures of our little man in his uniform.  That little bottom in his baseball pants is just too cute for words (and he'll be so embarassed some day that I wrote that).  Enjoy these backyard photos of our lil' slugger: