Last game as an Oriole

Last night was Smunch's last game as a member of the Orioles. It's kind of a relief in that there won't be any more two-games-a-week and possibly a practice thrown in there for good measure. Not a single kid on his team was actually from his own kindergarten class, even though they're all at the same school. On the other hand, he landed on a team of great kids with great parents. I've never seen a team with so much parent participation going on. Most practices had at least 5 adults helping out. And believe me, that was totally appreciated! Six-year-old boys are so squirrely!

So, I'll miss getting to see all those people every week, even though I see most of them in passing every day. Now, I even know who they are. I love the sports teams for what it brings to our social life. Smunch's best friends are all boys he's played sports with. And some of the moms I know the best are the ones I've met on the sidelines.

And it's been fun to watch how much better Smunch has gotten this year too. He still banters to himself endlessly while he plays in the outfield, but he can really hit the ball when it's pitched to him and he's so motivated not to get tagged out that he runs as fast as he possibly can. He may never be a professional baseball player, but he sure has a lot of fun out there.
At the end of the season, however, his best friend is always this one. His little gold and black friend who went to school with him for show and tell today...even though every boy in his class probably has one of these by now!

(Yes, that is a blemish on his face, thanks to his sweet little sister who clobbered him with a toy. Nice!)