Spring Fever; It's a Good Thing

Nearby Cal (UC Berkeley) seems to have an unnatural hold on the imaginations of young boys of this area. Michael's youth baseball team is "Cal" this year, and he could not have been more excited. Judging by the unstoppable energy of his teammates at the first meeting this week, that opinion is widely shared. (If the random, uncontrollable movements of the average seven year old boy placed in close proximity to other seven year old boys could be harnessed, the country's energy policy could be changed radically.)

Michael received his jersey and hat on Thursday; deep Cal blue emblazoned with the golden "Cal" script. He has worn both continuously since then. We had to forcibly remove them from his body to put the jersey in the washing machine before he wore it out prior to his first game.

At the first meeting, the coach encouraged the boys to greet their families at the door at the end of the day with three things: their own mitt, a mitt for the other person, and a baseball. Sure enough, that's what greeted me when I got home yesterday evening. Still dressed for work, I had a catch with the boy until it became too dark to see. We kept it going today; two throwing sessions in the front yard, one in the back yard, and an hour at the school yard with the bat. When my son comes to me with my glove asking for a catch, I can't possibly turn him down.

I couldn't be more happy.