Monday, July 11, 2011

Bye Bye Baby!!!

WE DID IT!

We finally took Grace and Ana to their first Giants game.

And they survived.  Not only that but they actually had a little bit of fun.  Or at least that's what I've convinced myself while they sat on my lap and watched the game with me.  Actually Ana was watching the television over our heads, but we were still together at the game.

You have to understand how big of a step this was.  I love baseball.  I especially love the Giants, and I've repeatedly reminded Erin that they were my first love.  I obviously love Erin and my daughters more than the Giants or baseball, but it is an inescapable part of my life.  And the greatest thing for me is finding a way to bring all my loves together.  I've taught Erin about the game and team that I love which only made my love of the game more strong.  Now she loves it almost as much as I do.  I want to bring my girls into this environment.

We actually had an opportunity earlier in the season to take them, but Erin chickened out and we didn't go through with it.  I think that part of the problem was that we had too long to think about it.  We kept worrying about the logistics of it all.  "Did we have enough people to help out?"  "Can we handle being out at a game all day?"  "When will we go?"  "Will we leave early if we need to?"  It is a pretty big deal to go to a sporting event.  You have three plus hours outside of your element trying to care for the little people that need your help to do everything.  There is no other way to describe it other than intimidating and scary.

This trip being thrown together so last second was actually a blessing in disguise.  We couldn't think about it because there wasn't enough time to get in our own heads about it.  We were already going to spend the weekend in the Bay Area, so we asked and lucked into some tickets for the sold out game on the 4th of July.  We didn't know where we'd be sitting.  We hoped for a place in the shade, but we feared we'd have to be out in the sun all day.

We totally lucked out though and ended up in a suite.  It was the best possible scenario.  We were in a shaded, temperature-controlled environment that was close to bathrooms for changing and food.  We didn't have to get up and get our food and beverages every inning.  We had a place to keep the diaper bag and stuff for them.  It totally worked out, and the first of many Giants games for me and my girls.

They're going to be fans, and I don't know that they really have a choice at this point.  I named one of them after a player on the Giants for God's sake.  Erin got one of the championship bricks with their names on it for Father's Day, so I don't see how they're going to get out of it.  They will root for the same team as their daddy.  Maybe they will only root for the Giants because I do.  Maybe they just want to be like their dad, and I'd have no problem with that.  If that's the case, it means watching games with my girls for years to come.

2 comments:

Becoming Supermommy said...

My Dad is a life long Mets fan. So you can imagine his horror that none of his daughters jumped on board.

Sure, we all LOVE baseball, but our loyalties just aren't there. My younger sister, who mostly grew up in Michigan, is a Tiger's fan. I, who had my first ball game at Three Rivers Stadium and picked Roberto Clemente as my personal hero for a third grade essay, am a Pirates fan. And my older sister (and this is the one that really kills him) is a damn Yankees fan.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. But at the very least, they can grow up with a love of the game. And I think that's more important than team loyalties.

...unless they're Yankees fans. Then screw 'em.

Dani said...

Love this! They are so cute in their pink fan wear.

I can't wait to take my kids to see a Spurs game and a Longhorn football game. The Boy will dig it...not so sure about The Girl. She will like the cheerleaders. I guess that's something.