You might be a baseball mom if . . .
You buy a brand new phone the week of the World Series so you can take pictures of your baseball player. Yes. Yes, I did. I won't even justify it other than to say my phone was four years old, and it really wasn't taking good pictures anymore at all. I noticed a huge difference when it snowed last year, and Seth was taking pictures with his phone, which was a newer version than mine. I mean, there was no comparison! One picture in particular of Hannah Kate was absolutely stunning. And since I'd had my phone for four years and use it exclusively instead of my good camera for taking pictures of the kids, it was a no brainer for me. Besides, they even bought my old phone back, and gave me money on the spot for it so I felt like I was getting a deal!
You take pictures of everybody's else's kids because they couldn't get off work the day of the game. Refer to the above. My old phone never would've captured these shots so clearly! Several of the parents missed our first day of play because they were at work so a couple of us were taking as many pictures as we could to share with them. These are some of my favorite pictures from the World Series, even though they aren't of Mason. I didn't know if Fischer would be safe or not . . .
You can't wash your hands or brush your teeth because the bathroom sink is full of dirty baseball uniforms. Yes, the hotel had a washing machine and dryer. But there were only two of them, and there were several baseball teams staying at our hotel. We played multiple games every day over three days. So you can only imagine the availability of the laundry room. Besides, I've done it before, but I really just can't do hotel washing machines and dryers. I feel like the clothes come out dirtier than when they went in. Kind of like why I always wear flip flops in hotel bathtubs, too.
You find yourself sitting on the floor of your hotel room drying your son's baseball uniform with a hair dryer. Again, please see above. On this particular day, Coach decided to change from the red jerseys to the white jerseys for the last game. I had about three hours to get the white one ready to go. And, as usual, I'm good at multitasking so it proved to be a good time to get in a little reading, too. Seeing how I can't use hotel washing machines and have to wear my flip flops in the shower, I still find it hard to believe I sat on that floor. But at least it wasn't carpet!
You are hoarse by the end of the day because you've been
You wake up one morning after three days at the ball park, and your lower lip is four times the size it should be. I am not even kidding. I felt it when I woke up, and I didn't even want to look in the mirror. I seriously looked like a cartoon character! It was awful! Even though I wore sunscreen AND stayed under our canopy pretty much the whole time (because it was hotter than the surface of the sun HOT), my lips apparently got sunburned. At least that's what google said. The swelling went down fairly quickly, and you really couldn't tell by later in the morning. I was dreading Seth and the kids seeing me when they woke up, but they handled it well. Seth didn't laugh. Until later. That afternoon I was telling my friend about it, and he busts out laughing. I have to admit I'm really proud of him though because I don't know how he held it as long as he did. And then the kids joined in on the fun, too. Again, I'm proud of them for holding it in as long as they did and at least waiting until they knew the swelling was going down.
Your name and the word "tan" are used in the same sentence twice in the same day by two different people. See above. It has been YEARS since anyone has referred to me as "tan," but the week after we got home, two different people on the same day asked me how I got so tan. I think I'm on to something though. Who knew one could get a discussion worthy tan by wearing sunscreen and sitting under a canopy?!
You stay put under a canopy with 15 of your closest (or not so closest) friends during a thunderstorm instead of running to sit in your truck. Oh, we were a sight to behold. And smell. Speaking of which . . .
You smell like you've never smelled ever in your entire life! We've already established that I do not like to be dirty nor do I like to sweat. I didn't wash our clothes at the hotel but instead put them in plastic bags to bring them home and wash them. When I dumped those bags out in my laundry room, OH MY GOODNESS! I seriously considered burning my clothes. But I couldn't do that. Because . . .
You go to the Academy and buy sweat and heat appropriate under garments and outer wear because you don't have anything of the sort in your closet. So, of course, I really couldn't burn those clothes. Besides, I kinda like them. They're great for cleaning the house in and sitting by the pool while the kids are swimming.
You know, maybe this post should more appropriately be titled, "On Becoming a Baseball Mom" . . .