Miracle League.

high five? maybe., originally uploaded by Luna Soledad.

Saturday was Bella's first baseball game... Yep, that's right: baseball, the favorite all-American pastime. Or so they say.

Frankly, I hate baseball - and (American) football. Most especially football. --How Kevin and I ever got together in spite of this ginormous clash is truly a mystery to me?

I mean, this man o' mine could sit and watch football for days, possibly weeks, on end smoking his big ole stinky cigars - and during football season, it seems to me that that is exactly what he does, although he will beg to differ citing that Tevo recordings and distracting babysitting and domestic errand breaks don't count. But hell, one game lasts a minimum of four long-ass, grueling hours of huge, sweaty slabs of beef playing human bumper cars back and forth across a big patch of expensively manicured grass while listening to the non-stop, irritating chatter of the meat-head commentators yucking on and on about utter nonsense because after the weather, there really isn't much of substance to discuss regarding football. But that's just me.

Sure I've attending football games before -- I called it "tailgating" and that was the whole point. After an hour or two partaking of parking lot beverages, I would happily stand up and cheer or do the wave when prompted by my surrounding college patrons, but I didn't have a clue what was going on nor did I care. I still don't.

Baseball I mostly detest because it's a freaking hot season and the unbearable torture of baking in the stands really distracts me from caring about anything else other than putting an end to my misery and finding the nearest air-conditioner.

I'm not all anti-sports however. Kev and I have managed to find some common sporting ground much to his delight, albeit small. --I enjoy college basketball occasionally, depending on who is playing (UNC and/or NC State); World Cup Soccer (I pull for Deutschland - yes, even against the US); and Ice Hockey (Go Canes!), but, what's not to like about ice hockey? A bunch of guys skating gracefully around a rink and clubbing one another with sticks... that's entertainment! --Oh, we also discovered on a fluke, that we both derive much amusement from watching sumo wrestling. =)

And while my husband will watch just about anything in the way of competitive sporting events from football to squirrel wrestling (Thank God he's not into NASCAR), that's pretty much it for me...

Until recently, when our son began taking Tae Kwon Do and our daughter joined the Miracle League of the Triangle...

Established in 2006, the Miracle League of the Triangle, is an amazing non-profit organization orchestrated by an extraordinary group of dedicated volunteers whose goal is simply to provide children with special needs an opportunity to play baseball.

There are numerous teams each with their own jerseys, hats, and coaches. There are bats and mitts, concession stands, a real ball field, bleachers, and dugouts... just like in baseball. There is even a proper baseball announcer and coolest of all, every child has their own "walk out" song.

Kevin and I had a lot of fun picking out songs for Bella to choose from for her walk out song; "Hells Bells" being the first to pop into my mind, followed by "Rebel Yell," "Brown Eyed Girl," and "Rebel Rebel"... However, Bell chose Eddie Murphy's rendition of "I'm a Believer" from the original Shrek soundtrack.

Watching the faces of all the kids out there playing ball... some smiles couldn't be missed and some wore theirs on the inside... some ran their hearts out around the bases, some walked slowly with braces and had to be carried to home, some made it on wheels, and one kid rounding second that just decided to sit down and take a load off mid-game (yep, that would've been MY child)... But no one struck out and everybody won... because they each were a part of something bigger than themselves, something fun and spirited and above all, something that included them, counted them, and recognized them... cheered for and acknowledged them and for an hour, gave each child a sense of normalcy within their own diverse community of teammates, coaches, buddies, parents, friends, and even strangers where no one stared, no one ignored them and pretended that they weren't there... and everyone celebrated the fact that they were.

So as it turns out, I'm a baseball fan after all. =)

“Being disabled should not mean being disqualified from having access to every aspect of life."

...Emma Thompson