Hey, who's the little blonde in the ball cap?

When Little Ocho first began exhibiting those characteristic that would define her as a person I wasn't surprised in the least. I was certainly not taken aback by this:

This was not a big shock:

Her love for this was almost guaranteed by her lineage:
But this.............I have no frame of reference for whatsoever:I have never been what one might call athletic. In fact, whatever is the exact opposite of athletic, I am the very definition of that word. I think I played kickball a couple of times in elementary school but I was not very good. And by not very good I mean really, really terrible. For 3 years we've been trying to convince the Ocho to play something; softball, basketball, soccer, anything. We felt like it would be good for her but she would hear none of it. Our good friend (and her secret crush) Mr. Eric coaches girl's softball and has been trying to sweet talk her into playing for him for years but to no avail. She would always say things like "Sports are for boys" or "I don't want people staring at me" and we would drop it. I figured she had inherited her mother's distaste for all things sporty and I was fine with that. Then 2 weeks ago something happened and I was hit with the unexpected.


We were having lunch with some friends when Handiman told Ocho that Mr. Eric needed to speak with her. Eric took her into another room and they began having what seemed to be a very serious discussion. Handiman told me Eric was once again asking her to play on his softball team. I laughed, rolled my eyes and said "good luck with that." A little while later we were leaving when Eric walked over to our car and started tossing in items like balls, gloves and socks. "What is going on?" I asked. "Oh, I'm going to play on Mr. Eric's team Mommy!" Ocho said rather excitedly. "Excuse me? You're going to do what? With who? What is going on?"

Handiman then begins to explain that she had agreed to play and their first game would be in 2 days and he had no idea about time, location, cost, etc. And oh yeah......there aren't any more practices. She'll just have to jump in and learn as she goes.


My child, who has never played an organized sport had a game in 2 days? The one who just a few months ago thought sports were for boys and would give you cooties? The one who doesn't like people staring at her? The one who has a somewhat difficult time walking and not falling down? Yes that one. She would be playing softball. And the real kicker? She was beside herself with excitement! She wore her ball cap to church that night and carried the ball and glove with her in the car everywhere we went for the last week so she could "practice".


As it turned out her first two games were rained out so that gave her a week to get it together. She had a few lessons in the backyard with Handiman and this past Sunday she played a little with him, Papa Gator and Uncle C. She was feeling confident in her abilities and couldn't wait to get on the field. I was still wondering how in the world this had happened. I am still convinced that Eric promised her something. A trip to Disneyworld? A sleepover at Miley Cyrus' house? To adopt her? I have no idea but something is going on.


So last night was the big game. On our way to the field Handiman called Eric to ask a favor. We thought it might be fun to assign her a certain number. As it turned out there was no need. Eric was one step ahead of us and had already sat her jersey aside. Coach Eric is all kinds of awesome.
So my sweet, girly princess got her first chance to bat and.............she drilled it on the first pitch and made it to first base. Oh yes she did.

Who are you child? Have we met? You're not looking familiar to me at all.

Their third out was called shortly after that so it was to the outfield.

I'm sorry but does anyone recognize the child crouching down and waiting for a ground ball like she knows what in the world is going on? Anyone?

Her next time at bat.....she drilled it on the first pitch again. This time she scored. Oh yes she did.She bears a strong resemblance to this guy I married once but I'm still having trouble placing her.

Now I will confess that there's not much going on defense-wise in this particular league so she'll probably have many opportunities to score in the future. Because my girl? She can hit.

When it was over she couldn't wipe the grin off her face. I should mention the entourage was present and accounted for.

Even Uncle C. (although he didn't want to be considered an official entourage member and thus required a separate photo)


Little Ocho had a wonderful time thanks to her 2 hits. She also really enjoyed the color of their uniforms, playing with her buddy Colby and getting to wear 2 hats (her favorite fashion accessory if you are new here). And then there was the after-game snack. My girl loves a good snack. She topped off her big athletic debut with a piggy back ride from Daddy.
It was the first time I recognized her all night.