Two Approaches to the Game

My two oldest kids play on the same baseball team.  It will be the last year that they get to play together.   I'm a little sad about it because I get a kick out of watching  their polar opposite playing strategies.  My son is out for blood, and my daughter sees it as social hour. 

As soon as we got out of the truck, they're off like rabbits, racing to the field. 

Her Approach: Play Baseball while looking as cute as possible.

His Approach:  Focus 100% on beating the opponent.  Keep your head in the game at all times.

The coach is giving the pre-game pep talk.

Now he's calling out the batting order.

My daughter goes in the dug-out while waiting to bat.  She's talking about how the hat makes her ears stick out, and she offers to share her cute batting helmet with the other girl on the team.  The girl is telling her how awesome her two braids look today.

My girl's up next.  She puts on her pink batting helmet, and smiles while waiting for the pitcher.  She smacks the ball and giggles the whole way to first base.

She's pulling up her hand-me-down baseball pants that don't fit.

My son is next up to bat, and he's in deep thought.  He's visualizing knocking the snot out of the ball, and hitting it to the fence.  He's sooooo focused that he barely knows what's going on in the dug-out.  He knows the job he's got to do, and he intends to complete the mission.

He gets up to the plate and waits with a furrowed brow and tight jaw.  He fully intends on spanking the ball, and nearly hits a home- run.

Meanwhile, his sister is chatting it up with one of her good friends on the other team.  A little wave and a few giggles make the game extra fun.  After all, they haven't seen each other in two whole days.

She goes into the dug-out and receives a congratulatory hug from her number 1 fan, her little sister.  Big brother can't be bothered with this type of nonsense.  He's got big plays to make and runs to score.  She has no idea what the score is, or if she's winning, she's just happy to be there, and enjoying her friends.

Meanwhile, brother hustles home at turbo speed and silently celebrates the addition of another run.  He played the game hard, made several outs, and several runs.  He considers it a good ball game.

  Being a mom, and knowing what goes on in their little minds makes the game extra fun for me.  I'm always careful to pay close attention to the details because I know my son will want to talk about all the big plays, and where he hit the ball each inning.  I'm also careful to pay attention to the players because my daughter will always have a few stories about the conversations she has with everyone on both teams.  In the end, they both consider it a fun game, and they both enjoyed themselves, but for two very opposite reasons.