BUDS, BUGS, AND BASEBALL

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 137

Howdy, blog fans. With the snark meter currently pegged so far into the red it’s practically glowing, I’m just gonna tell ya outright what I’m thankful for today: Spring, baby! Woot, woot. I bet there was absolutely no way you guessed that from the title, was there? Your powers of deduction are truly staggering. Hahaha!

I say all this as I’m trying to allegorically catch my breath. I just rolled into the driveway (it’s about 8:45 PM) from my second of two marathon days with very little commercial interruption. This comes hot on the heels of Tuesday, where driving to the Cities and back in blasé weather—and 20-mph winds that felt like a personal insult—kinda wiped out this aging preacher man.

As part of my pastoral “duties” tonight, I just had to go to a local JV baseball game. I mean, when you get a personal invite from one of your church kids, what’s a pastor to do? Say no and risk a lightning strike? I only wish I’d worn my shorts; the weather was so nice.

That said, ain't no one at that ballpark who would’ve wanted to see my pasty-white legs. It would've been a public health hazard. Then again, had I positioned myself just right, I could’ve blinded the opposing dugout with the glare and given our Comfrey kids a tactical advantage. "Just a bit outside!"... which is also where my dignity was playing today. Hahaha. Despite the shellacking our kids took, the game was great

The weather was capital-P Perfect: temps in the low 70s with a "just right" breeze. Kids stealing bases; balls cracking bats; moms screaming their lungs out like it’s Game 7 of the World Series; new buds on the trees and massive, prehistoric-looking bugs flying all over the place—the sights and sounds of spring filled the ballpark. It was the perfect way to end my “workday” before heading back to the church for a suppertime district gathering

Ya know what? That makes for a fairly picture-perfect day in my books. For that, we have God to thank. Yes, I’m thankful for the turning of the seasons from winter to spring, but more than that, I’m thanking the good Lord tonight because people are outside, in community, actually “doing life” together instead of staring at a screen.

And honestly, that’s an awesome thing. I’m gonna end this one right there before I get sentimental and ruin my reputation.

Until I see ya tomorrow on the flip side, know that God loves ya—and that I love ya, too!