Mighty Dollar Rocks!

Gabe and Emma were wonderful this past weekend. We spent 15 hours on Saturday [OMG...the dirt and the stench was fabulous on the ride home] and almost 5 on Sunday watching Molly play softball in Spartanburg. Craig always promises them that if they are good then he'll give them the hook-up with a little prize. [Yes, yes...my children are ROTTEN!] Gabe and Emma LOVE the Dollar Tree...like they can spend hours in there. So, as any good daddy would do, Craig came through on his promise and took them to the Mighty Dollar. [We spare no expense at the Short house...or papartment.] They left the Mighty Dollar just as happy as a kid in a candy store....expect they were two kids in a dollar store....OK, you know what I mean. Emma got some slingys [or slinkies to you and I] and Gabe got some guns [because 48 Nerf guns and a million darts all over the place isn't enough is it?] The people that name these joints are so very creative: Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Might Dollar. I would have gone with The Crap that Should Cost a Dollar at Any Store Store.

At Molly's game on Sunday, her team did not play so well. At one point, Craig was frustrated with a comment made by the coach on the opposing team so he says, "Stupid coach!" within earshot of us under the tent. [The same exact thing he asks the fans and parents in his stands at his games NOT to do....shame, shame.] Well, of course, Gabe heard him [because he NEVER misses a thing we say] and he repeats it: Yeah, be quiet you stupid coach! I smacked Craig square on the back of his head and he apologized. And Gabe added, "Yeah Daddy...you're not supposed to say stupid. That's not nice." This is the same kid that told us to turn off the damn TV last week....

Speaking of softball I learned a lot this weekend about parents. [I mean, some of this I knew already, but I saw some things that were simply stupid....sssshhhhh - don't tell Gabe I said that.] A former player of Craig's [She quit the high school team with 8 games left] and former teammate of Molly's [for the last 5 years] was playing against us on her new team. [Incidentally, she quit Molly's travel team for the same reason she quit Craig's HS team - she is selfish and not interested in being a teammate.] During the game [she's a pitcher] she was sitting in the dugout, calling out girls on our team, telling her teammates on her new team that this girl is a weak hitter and that this girl hits to this side. Then, she got on base and was telling the girls that were hitting [yelling from second base] that if our pitching coach holds up a certain sign then the pitcher will throw a pitch outside and this sign means a pitch inside - right outloud, for everyone to hear. Direct reflection of her parents is all I have to say. What are we teaching our kids if we allow them to be a selfish teammate who quits when things don't go our way? What are we teaching our kids if we see them showing unsportsman like behavior and we say nothing? Why do you want to play a team sport if all you want is for YOU to be #1? As Short says so eloquently....Her leaving [both teams] was addition by subtraction.

At these same softball games, I also enjoyed watching the people. Parents get really upset about dumb things and they act as if the world may end if the Blues [the umpires] don't give their team a call or if the other team does something they think is wrong. I mean, it is travel softball people...do you get this upset when you see a starving homeless person? I love watching Molly play and I want her team to do well - don't get me wrong - but my life does not revolve around fastpitch softball. [Actually, neither does hers....] We have a sign hanging on our refrigerator that says, "I want to play Division I softball." And I want Molly to be successful at reaching her goal BUT I will not allow her to be disrespectful, selfish, rude, and unsportsman like in order to get her there. [No...I'm not a perfect parent - I'm just a realist.] So far, I think Craig and I have done a pretty good job at teaching her that softball is a privilege and that being a Godly woman, a good role model for her siblings, and a person who never quits is what will make her successful.

We've decided that every person here at the apartment complex has a new name that begins with Super Weird. There is Super Weird Dad Guy that tried to take Cooper under his wing by asking pointed questions about Craig and his whereabouts. [Feel totally great he knew Craig's comings and goings.] And Super Weird Cat on a Leash Lady that lives right beside us. [Though I am quite sure she may be scared of us since Emma shot an enormous Nerf dart - as in it has a 5 in diameter - directly at the wall that we share. Seriously, I almost peed on myself so I am sure she was scared on the other side of the wall.] Craig and Molly have also named a guy Super Weird, Super White Guy after seeing him act very strange at the pool one day. There you have it....We are living in the land of the Super Weirds, complete with a supporting cast of the actors from Deliverance. [I am sure there is a also a Super Weird Banjo Playing Guy somewhere...I know I keep hearing Dueling Banjos...maybe it's just stuck in my head.] On the upside, the Super Weird Neighbors/Terrorists upstairs moved to a house, apartment, or perhaps compound, somewhere else.

As always, even in Super Weird Land, life is good :)