It’s Saturday, it must be time for softball. I got up even before the alarm clock. I knew it would be a busy day, and after the last fiasco, I intended to be prepared for the Brookhaven Father’s Day go-round. I was up and showered by 6 am. By the time I had to motivate Kira, the cooler was packed the dog was fed and I was dressed. I made a pot of coffee and breakfast and was just the picture of enthusiasm.

It was easy. We had a good 3 game schedule and an R.E.M concert at the Beach that night. This was going to be a good day! So I thought.

Game 1 was tougher than anyone thought it would be, but the girls managed to win in spite of themselves. It was a 9 am game against the Heat Black. For some reason, they all seemed out of sync. There were errors in the field, and a lack of concentration at the plate. At one point Coach Mike actually shook his head and said to Ranger Fan John “Do me a favor, go home and get Danni will ya?” He could have said it to every parent. It was one of those “Who are these girls?” moments. And not in the good way we are used to. Even with a perfect bunt and the few good things, they almost lost the game in the 6th as the opposing team came way too close to tie it at 5-4.

Game 2 was actually no better. It was at 10: 44 am against the Silver Bullets. The sun was blaring already, but the bats were cold. 1 - 4, 0 - 4 0 - 2, 1 - 3, 0 - 3 and so on. It was disheartening for the girls, but actually painful for the parents who tried to stay positive. Positive was a difficult task as the temperature was rising as well as the tempers. Except for Annie’s dad, NYTimes Mike, he’s a one man cheering squad. Patti has dubbed him “Mike RipTide.” But the fact that they were being shut-out only made the air seem even hotter.

Mama Bear sat alone under a triangular shade cabana, trying to stay calm and not fry.
“Why are we playing this way? Why?” There were no answers. The Riptide seems to be unique. When one falls, they all fall. When one rises above, they all do. They feed off each other that way. It must be that circle thing they do on the mound. They must just either exchange positive or negative energy so that they are all equal.

“It’s okay! Saturday means nothing except what time you play tomorrow.” Mama Bear said.
“I like the way you think!” I told her. Truthfully, I never thought of it that way. But she was right. Day two is the important day. But we still have to get through Day One. There was one RBI single to ruin the Silver Bullets’ pitcher’s perfect game. Riptide lost 6 - 1.

There was a long enough stretch between game two and game three, so we moved the tents to the parking lot and set up our gypsy camp. It wasn’t easy to keep the girls out of the sun. They wanted to watch other games and wander around. Mama Bear fired up the grill and made cheese burgers and hot dogs for everyone. Bowls of fresh fruit made their way around our camp along with every type of chip imaginable.

This was actually very relaxing; this impromptu picnic in the parking lot. Other cars tried to get around us and the ice cream truck that was the only vendor for the day looked on in envy. As hot and dirty as the girls were, they sat on each other, giggled and shared food. Was there a loss? They didn’t remember. That quickly, it was forgotten.

It was 2 pm, and I was the one this time turning purple. The need for a tank top in the heat exposed sensitive skin that hasn’t seen the light of day for probably years. I would go to the concert that night with a very interesting sunburn pattern. I didn’t care. Remember? I was staying POSITIVE!!!

The bats had warmed only slightly for hit records of 1 - 3, 1 - 3, 0 - 3, and the like. The only standout on the scorebook would be Danni B who went 3 - 3. The girls were right back in the hunt as they won 4 - 1. The little bit of drama for the day was when a ball took an awkward bounce off something in the dirt and came up and hit Kira on the right side of her face. She was stunned, and said she didn’t even remember Coach Pete going out to help her and dropping her to her knees. They called for ice and the coaches wanted to take her out of the game. She refused.

Dan looked at me on the other side of the fence. I didn’t move as I KNEW I couldn’t go anywhere near her without causing her to go into a rage. The infield was bad all weekend, and Kira was just one of the casualties.

“It’s swelling already. It’s going to be NASTY.” he said. We didn’t even realize at the time that the ball stitches had actually left an impression on her face. Kira sat on the bench in between plays with an icepack on her face. Coach Matt Selts, who knows Kira very well, stopped by and said “Hey! When I coached you, you caught the ball with your MITT, not your FACE!” Remembering all her days in Little League brought a big smile to her under that ice pack.

Luckily, there wasn’t much time left to the game and smiles returned to all their faces. Dan and I bolted to get dressed for an evening at Jones Beach Theater. It was a great concert and a fabulous lightening show, but the rain delay made our day last far longer than it should have. I don’t think we hit the pillow until well after 1 am.

On the bright side, we wouldn’t have to get up that early. On the dark side, the rain had pushed ALL the games back. So they waited and waited and waited. This was no way to spend Father’s day. Being on the field wasn’t so bad, but being on the field without a game being played, well, that’s not the way to go.

There was one good thing for the girls during this waiting period. Kat’s sister Jackie was on scene continuing her cable coverage of the team. So with a cameraman and microphone, the girl’s were ready for their close up. It gave them something else to focus on for awhile while they waited for someone to tell them what time they were starting. (We’ll have to find out when that’s airing so we can write and tell her bosses what a great job she did!)

Personally, I arrived to the field late and brought cold cuts to make sandwiches. Of course it was hard to get the girls to eat anything since they were just antsy to hit the field. The day was half over when they did. Game time was 2 pm against the Chargers.

John had actually been good for two days. My usual quote machine was oddly silent. There was no reason to search my purse for a pen, or drag out my recorder (that he has threatened to throw in a river.) Rick, however, was a little more animated this weekend.

When we finally DID get to play the first game, he was calling for Gabby to dive for a ball, and she didn’t (none of the girls actually do). John looked over at me. “Hey! Rick’s yelling; I don’t see you writing THAT down! What? Newbies get cut some slack? That’s not fair.” Consider the slack tightened. I’ll take better notes now.

Somehow, this game went south as well. Wish the camera wasn’t there to capture it. But that’s why it’s called a game, and anything can happen. And it did. What made it worse for Kira was that her grandparents had come out from Nassau to watch the game, and saw them lose to the Chargers. Even worse than that… I forgot my father-in-law’s card. I was rushing. I left it on the counter by the door.

It was Father’s Day and we actually got to go home pretty early. Truthfully, everyone was disappointed about it. We were counting on being there for the duration, in the heat and the dirt, getting home late and ordering pizza or stopping at fast food. Nope. We got home in plenty of time for me to actually make Dan Lobster Quesadillas for dinner. You’re jealous now… I know you are…

Next weekend up, New Jersey!