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Drooling on the Pillow

Sunday, August 14, 2005

The Kid's First Yankee Game 


Grace was a little anxious in the fifth inning when the Rangers went ahead 3 to 2. I guess all kids are result oriented since they're still working through even the simplest processes. One of the most interesting things about watching a kid grow up is realizing that every cycle of life they're either oblivious to (sun coming up every day) mystified by (people, especially a parent, changing their minds) or very uncomfortable with (losing sometimes). Grace has no patience with the notion of losing. The process of trying to win, hoping to win, and being prepared to lose is so very hard for a kid. Grace believes she should win every time, which is good, but she believes she has the right to win every time, which is bad. Kind of a delicate thing to help her be a good loser without putting a dent in her extremely competive nature.

Dad's lost a few times. He's also been way behind and come back. He's a Yankee fan, but he also has a mortgage. The last time a baseball team really broke his heart was the 1991 Pirates.

Matsui's home run in the bottom of the fifth came down twenty rows below us and two sections to the right. She likes Matsui because he looks like her, but she will always point out to you that "He's Japanese. Not Chinese." It's the only example of her differentiating herself ethnically that she's ever verbalized. Except once or twice when she wanted her mother to feel bad and said she wished the Goddess was Chinese. That's always a good reminder that she may not want to talk about it, but she is thinking about it.

During the bottom of the fifth rally there was a lot of cheering and clapping and then boom Matsui hits his home run and the Yankees are winning and then the rain came down.

It's a bit much to expect an eight year old to sit still for a rain delay. But, while we were waiting, she did offer me this bit of wisdom: "Cheering helps."

We left just before they started up again. She was up an A-Rod t-shirt (she plays third in Little League), a dish of ice cream, a bag of popcorn and a soft pretzel. I was successful with my plan of getting her out of there without a cotton candy.

It's going to be two or three years before she begins to understand baseball. With her talent, though, by that time she's going to be pretty good. I think Grace was right, though. Cheering does help, in the same way as prayer. What do you think?
Posted by: Sluggo / 6:52 PM
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