Scene: Harriet�s bedroom, 7 a.m.

AJ explodes into the room, the door flying open to bang against the wall behind it.

He tiptoes up to Harriet and taps her on the shoulder.

Harriet: [Incoherent grunting that sounds vaguely like �Good Morning.,� but only if you listen really carefully.]

AJ: What�s wrong, Mommy?

Harriet: [moaning, with pillow over face] I�m sleeping.

AJ : [Voice incredulous] But it�s T-ball day!!!

* * * * *

AJ�s enthusiasm for T-ball knows no bounds. Even this morning, when it was already 90 degrees by 9 a.m., he could not run around the bases in the blazing sun enough times. Whereas I was wilting and light-headed just from sitting on a blanket and watching [we have not yet acquired the soccer mom chairs that are apparently regulation.] We arrived at the field this morning and saw our neighbors from across the street. Their son is AJ�s age and he was joining the team. AJ was happy to have another friend. The two of them walked out onto the field with their arms around each others� waists and started a game of catch.

After 45 minutes of assorted drills, the kids screamed, �Go White Sox!� one more time and the game started. It was the White Sox vs. the Tigers, which, as everyone who�s following the American League this season knows, is the rivalry to watch. As they huddled up to get their positions for the game, one of the kids on AJ�s team asked in a tremulous voice, �So, are the Tigers, like really good?�

The Tigers were not any better than the White Sox, although they were a little more organized. They shouted �Tigers Rule,� most enthusiastically. Their cheer was ornamented by the sign language interpreter for one of the kids on the team. The sign for �tigers� was a movement of hands alongside the face to suggest whiskers. Some of the kids on AJ�s team started doing it too. There�s something about the concreteness of some ASL words that kids really seem to respond to.

We also received AJ�s team picture, 10 kids and two coaches all crowded onto a picnic table. The solo pictures of AJ are priceless (alas, no functional scanner to show you). Particularly amusing is the badge � a giant grinning AJ face � that was included. I think I�m supposed to wear it to games. Instead, I gave it to AJ�s grandmother, who is much more likely to make it part of her wardrobe. Or at least her refrigerator photo gallery.

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