There is nothing that can spell out summer more than an impromptu game of baseball on a cool summer evening with litte neighborhood boys.
Last night, we visited my family for dinner, and then decided to hang out on the front porch. What started as a little hit and catch with Ted and Aidan, ended in a 5 man game of baseball; with a cheering section to boot! We even had the "Rock Pile" across the street filled with neighbors.
What made it most enjoyable was watching/teaching these neighborhood boys how to play a real game of baseball. Many of them didn't know what bases were, where to run, or how to hold the bat. Once that was taught and shown, we went on to the pitcher's mound and the catcher's responsibility. Once that was "mastered" the outfield was added by some neighbors.
Even if the hit was a foul, the cheering section cheered the player on to run the bases; albeit in a zig-zag formation most of the time which included the pitchers mound, a couple of circles, and definitely not staying in the baselines, but who is counting! The boys were so excited and enjoyed themselves, especially when the older of the boys slide into home plate...NOW THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME! (as Aidan so excitedly expressed!) Now all the boys wanted to hit the ball and slide into home plate. What a hoot!
The game ended, and we went inside for some icecream, another summer treat, and went home.
I think impromptu activites like that are the best. Because no expectations were had, no one had feelings hurt because there were no shows or who weren't invited. Just good ol' plain neighborhood fun that involved laughing. I miss those days where neighbors hung out in their front yards enjoying company and spending time with family and friends. I pray that Aidan and Luke will get to grow up with that. We are still praying for a house, but for now, we'll take surrogate neighborhoods for now.
Enjoy the summer everyone!
