Birthday Bash and Baseball

Quote of the Day:  Baseball quotes found here.

You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you, too. ~Roy Campanella

Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up. ~Bob Lemon

I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us. ~Walt Whitman

Double the cake. Double the guest list. Double the fun. Double the volume (alright, the volume was more than double).  My own Minnesota Twins turned 11 last Friday.  It was a big birthday bash. Then invitations read, "and bring a baseball glove."  Thank God for nice weather.  They all ran, walked, or rode anything with wheels down to the park and set up their game of baseball.  When I got there, I suggested they turn the diamond around and hit towards the trees, not the road.  They hit.  They ran.  They argued.  I determined that middle school age boys still need an ump.  I did not volunteer.  I said, "Hey, I'm just here to take pictures."

It made me wonder.  Is the baseball field the first place where the male child tries to use his voice to get his way? 
Your foot wasn't on the base!
Yes, it was!
You didn't tag me!
Yes, I did!
I got there first!
I caught the ball before you stepped on the plate!

And, so on, until I thought, How can this be any fun? 

I stood up to leave and shouted, "I'm ordering the pizza."  Then, walked home, trailed by the pack of boys.

After the pizza, they used the football.  I think this is a game of 500.

I thought these pictures turned out great.  And, how can you argue?  The guy holding the ball is the one who caught it.

Finding your voice in the world isn't easy.  What's harder is being still and listening, and accepting that you're not always right, safe, or the winner.

Journaling Prompt:  You've just hit the ball and are running full speed to first base.  As your foot hits the base, you hear the ball land in the first baseman's glove.  Are you safe or out?  At what age can you play a "friendly" game of ball?